Meyer Lemon Pudding Cake

We finally got our first substantial snowfall of the season.  For this area, it has come really late.  Normally we've been shoveling for weeks.  Winter, in my world, brings comfort food.  Somewhat conversely, from my perspective (being in the Great White North), it also is apparently the season for citrus fruit.  Who am I to argue?

I found the original recipe for this homey dessert in an old Carnation Milk cookbook from 1942 entitled "Growing up with Milk.  Eating and Drinking the Carnation Way."  I tweaked it a little, and I really like the result. (Though I'll share a secret - don't turn your back on the egg whites and allow them to over whip, and you won't get the brown spots in your pudding cakes!)

The original recipe (unsurprisingly) used equal parts Carnation evaporated milk and water. I've used plain milk here, but you can go back to the diluted evaporated milk if you'd like.  You can also use plain ol' regular lemons.  And replace the vanilla bean with a teaspoon of extract, added when you add the milk.  It's a pretty flexible recipe.  But the Meyer lemons and Tahitian vanilla DO play really well together.  Call it a little bit of a modern twist to an old favorite.

1 Tbsp Butter
1 c. sugar

1 vanilla bean, split and scraped (Tahitian for preference, but any kind is fine)
zest of one Meyer Lemon
juice of one Meyer Lemon (about 1/4 c.)
3/8 tsp salt
2 Tbsp sweet rice flour
1 Tbsp white rice flour
1 Tbsp Tapioca starch
1 3/4 c. milk
2 eggs, separated

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Heat some water in a kettle on the stove. Butter 8 8-oz ramekins or one 2 qt casserole.

Place vanilla bean scrapings in a bowl with sugar. Cream together butter and sugar. Add lemon zest and juice and beat smooth. Beat egg yolks and add to sugar mixture, beating until combined.

In another small bowl, combine flours, tapioca starch, and salt. Add this to sugar mixture and beat until smooth. Stir in milk.

In a clean bowl, beat egg whites until stiff peaks form. Fold into lemon-sugar mixture.

Place 1 c. of mixture into each ramekin, or the entire mixture into the casserole dish. Place the dish or ramekins in a baking dish large enough to accommodate them on the middle rack of your oven. Take the kettle and pour hot water into the baking dish until it comes about 1" up the sides of the ramkeins.

Bake for 18-20 minutes for ramekins, 35 minutes for casserole dish, or until set.  

Serve warm, with whipped cream. No, not that kind of whipped cream. Put that can down. What would your Grandmother say?

1 c. heavy cream
1 scant Tbsp. sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract

Beat on high speed until it can hold it's shape. Be careful if you use a stand mixer to do this - modern ultra-pasteurized cream goes from "whipped" to "butter" in a few blinks. Watch it closely.  Or just use a hand mixer or even a whisk.

And, no, I didn't get a picture with the whipped cream.  They didn't last that long.  Enjoy!

January is #citruslove month! The twitter hashtag is #citruslove :).
 Visit Junia, our erstwhile hostess with the mostess to learn more!