Meyer Lemon Custard Cakes

When life gives you lemons, you can do a whole lot more than make lemonade.  With our tiny backyard tree drooping from the weight of these gems, I’m acting like a kid in a candy store.  Neener, neener, ha, ha!  I have Meyer lemons!!  Especially since rain and clouds haunt us, and all seems grey most days, their vibrant, intense yellow color brightens our tabletop as surely as the missing sun.

So it was with delight that I found a recipe that turned them into a modern version of pudding-cake.  Do you remember those?  You put together some ingredients, throw them all in a baking dish, and out comes a sweet cake with a pudding sauce.  I hadn’t thought of one in years.  But this is like the pudding-cake’s grown-up cousin: tart, tangy, with a lighter than air texture that melts in your mouth.  Find some Meyer lemons, get out your ramekins, and start whipping those egg whites.  You, too, could be walking on sunshine.

Meyer Lemon Custard Cakes
(from Bon Appétit)
Makes 8

Ingredients
3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar, divided
1/4 cup all purpose flour
Pinch of salt
1 1/3 cups whole milk
2 large eggs, separated
1/3 cup fresh Meyer lemon juice or regular lemon juice
2 tablespoons finely grated Meyer lemon peel or regular lemon peel
Whipped crème fraîche (I would have preferred a tiny dollop of whipped cream instead.)

Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter eight 3/4-cup ramekins or custard cups. Whisk 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons of the sugar, flour, and pinch of salt in medium bowl to blend. Combine milk, egg yolks, lemon juice, and lemon peel in large bowl; whisk until blended. Add flour mixture to yolk mixture and whisk custard until blended.

With an electric mixer, beat egg whites in another large bowl until soft peaks form. Gradually add remaining 1/4 cup sugar to whites and beat until stiff but not dry. Fold 1/4 of whites into custard. Fold remaining whites into custard in 2 additions (custard will be runny).

Divide custard equally among prepared ramekins. Place ramekins in large roasting pan. Place the pan in the oven. Carefully pour enough hot water into pan to come halfway up sides of ramekins. Bake custard cakes until set on top (custard cakes will be slightly soft in center), about 30 minutes. Chill custard cakes uncovered until cold, at least 4 hours, then cover and keep refrigerated.

Run small knife around each custard cake to loosen. Invert each cake onto plate. Place dollop of crème fraîche on cakes and serve. (The flavor of whipped cream would be far preferable to me, as the lemon is already tangy and the cream would be a gentle counterpoint.)

Tagged as: citrus, lemon dessert, Meyer lemon, Meyer lemon custard cake recipe, pudding cake