Compared to a lot of the recipes in the box, this one is actually pretty clear. It’s the perfect time to try it since right now the lemon trees in Houston are at the stage where everyone has too many lemons to handle. I’m actually a bit bummed that it only calls for one lemon here, but after take one maybe I’ll add some more. 

The biggest assumption I’ll make with this recipe is that the mystery amount well beaten whites is just the egg whites from separating the 3 yolks used earlier. I do have some questions about the flour. In my zero experience making pudding and more significant experience making rouxs, flour needs to be cooked in order to be a thickener, but maybe the 40 minutes in the oven does the trick? There’s also no note about the water bath being hot or cold, but in that case I am actually pretty confident that it’s supposed to be hot. 

You’ll also notice that the recipe calls for rind of one lemon. I don’t know if this is an 80’s thing or a Doris (my grandmother) thing, but every single recipe that I would think was calling for lemon zest says rind instead, so I think it’s just a choice of words issue. There’s nowhere in the recipe that indicates taking out the rind so I’m going to go with zest.

Once I started making the pudding I realized that I’m not quite sure what exactly “well beaten” means, so I went with soft peaks. That may have been a bit too far since it was difficult to fold in and create a smooth…batter? Baking for 40 minutes created a light browning on the top, a toothpick inserted did not come out cleanly (which I guess makes sense with pudding). 

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I let it cool on the countertop before putting it in the fridge, and the pudding seemed to pull away from the sides of the casserole dish. When I served it I realized something very odd had happened, it had become layered, with a pudding consistency on the bottom and kind of a spongecake/souffle on the top. My test tasters thought I did it on purpose. It is called lemon sponge pudding so maybe the texture is correct, but I do think I should have incorporated the egg whites more fully, especially since the recipe indicates you can use small custard cups which says to me that the mix needs to be consistent throughout to have consistent small puddings. It tasted great though (may still add some lemon). 

Having done some research, it turns out this is a real thing! It’s called lemon pudding cake and it does naturally separate into two layers. In my updated recipe I’ve made some changes to up the lemon content, and to up the thickener as well since I’m adding more liquid. I’m also adding blueberries to break up the lemon and add a third textural component.

Ingredients

¾ cup granulated sugar

2 lemons (juice and zest)

3 tablespoons unsalted butter

1/4 teaspoon salt

4 tablespoons AP flour (plus one tablespoon for blueberries)

3 eggs (separated)

1 cup whole milk

1 pint fresh blueberries

• Preheat oven to 350.
• Zest lemons into the sugar and rub it in briefly then set aside to absorb the flavor while you get everything else together. Pre-boil some water in a kettle for the water bath later, take the butter out to bring it up to room temperature and separate the eggs.
• Using a hand mixer cream butter with sugar, then beat in salt and flour. You could use a stand mixer, but since you need a second bowl to beat egg whites I find it easier to switch from beaters to whisk on a handheld mixer than to use multiple bowls and attachments on a stand mixer.
• Switch to silicone spatula and mix in egg yolks and milk. Once fully incorporated mix in juice from the two lemons.
• In a separate bowl beat egg whites until they form soft peaks. Fold egg whites into the lemon mixture.

• Bring the water back up to a boil
• To prepare the casserole dish butter it, then toss the blueberries in one tablespoon of flour and cover the bottom of the casserole dish with them. Pour pudding mix over the blueberries.

• Place casserole in baking pan and bake in water bath for 40 minutes. Put the baking pan in the oven before you pour the boiling water into it. It’s a lot easier to pour from a kettle than it is to transfer a pan of boiling water to the oven without spilling it. Start checking the pudding at 30 minutes and take it out when the top is lightly browned.

• Cool to room temperature on counter before transferring to fridge. Serve cold.