A pointy, zesty winter pudding with a saucy shock that seems as if by magic
Judging by the feedback once I posted an image of my recipe-testing efforts for this column, I appear to be the one of many few individuals who didn’t develop up with some model of this dessert, which Arabella Boxer describes as “a very good sizzling pudding, fast and easy to make, which has been all however forgotten”. Identified variously as lemon shock, lemon delight and even magic lemon pudding, it’s a winter dessert of the sharp and zesty type, quite than comfortingly stable sort, with a “charming little shock”, to cite Margaret Costa, within the type of the sauce that seems, as if by magic, within the backside of the dish after baking. A correct pudding, with the royal seal of approval from Mary Berry, Delia Smith and Nigel Slater, however with out the stodge.
The pudding
Many of the recipes I strive use some mixture of butter and sugar, blended with egg yolks, milk, lemon and a bit flour to make a batter, then leavened with crushed egg whites, however there are a few outliers. First, Regula Ysewijn’s fort pudding from her first e-book Satisfaction and Pudding, which, strictly talking, isn’t a self-saucing pudding, however a steamed lemon sponge, and so buttery and scrumptious, that I couldn’t resist giving it a point out for anybody after one thing a bit extra rib-sticking at the moment of 12 months.
Heston Blumenthal’s flourless instance, primarily based on a recipe from the kitchens of St John’s School, College of Cambridge, is a water pudding, which, in accordance with the Meals of England web site, is a “easy, flummery-like pudding of egg and lemon frothed in water and baked, recognized from information gadgets for the reason that early nineteenth century.” His take, nevertheless, consists of butter in considerably bigger portions than older examples, and one way or the other I find yourself with a gently quivering, clean lemon pudding the feel of a lightweight jelly above a butter sauce. It’s scrumptious, however not, I think, fairly as supposed.
Except pastry chef Karen DeMasco’s recipe from the New York Occasions, which leaves out the butter and makes use of buttermilk as a substitute of milk, the others all differ solely within the ratio of eggs, butter, sugar, milk and flour known as for. The lightest pudding, in Boxer’s E-book of English Meals and credited to a Mrs Arthur James (in any other case referred to as the Edwardian society hostess, racehorse breeder and alleged royal mistress Venetia Cavendish-Bentinck), requires a mere 15g of butter and two eggs, andthe richest, from chef Margot Henderson’s e-book You’re All Invited, 200g butter and eight eggs. The Australian Girls’s Weekly’s lemon delight that options in so many comfortable childhood reminiscences makes use of 5 occasions as a lot flour as Costa’s equally beloved model from her 4 Seasons Cookery E-book, and, unsurprisingly, results in starchier outcomes.
As is so typically the case, the most effective pudding for you'll rely on what you fancy. When you’re cooking for adults and hoping to impress, Henderson’s deliciously tart, ridiculously wealthy recipe is the one to go for; it’s like consuming sizzling lemon curd straight from the jar, and is especially good with chilly cream on prime. When you’re after barely stodgy consolation meals, then the Australian Girls’s Weekly’s model will enchantment. Conversely, if you would like one thing extra delicate, go for James’s or DeMasco’s takes – the latter, with its tangy buttermilk, is as frothy and enjoyable as consuming a sherbet lemon. I’ve determined that mine will sit someplace within the center – clear and lightweight, however nonetheless emphatically a pudding – so I’ve used a comparatively modest quantity of butter (melted, as per the Australian Girls’s Weekly methodology, which makes it simpler to include) and flour, and a median variety of eggs.
The flavouring
Ysewijn tops her steamed sponges with dollops of lemon curd, in addition to including grated zest to the batter, however traditional self-saucing numbers are usually flavoured with lemon juice, however my testers and I miss the bitter notes of the zest in James’s pudding. Although diners ought to be in little doubt that this can be a lemon dessert, I’ve averted the intensely sweet-and-sour character of some of the recipes, as a result of I don’t discover it notably comforting. If nevertheless, you get pleasure from being whacked around the chops with winter fruit, then by all means improve the quantity of juice and zest.
Equally, you may add a second flavour. Henderson goes for vanilla extract, however floor cardamom, ginger, nutmeg and even black pepper can be comfortable pairings, and it strikes me you may even infuse the milk with the likes of basil or thyme.
The cooking
Many recipes name for particular person ramekins, however this can be a dessert that I believe appears extra pleasing, to not point out beneficiant, when served from an enormous bowl, as Henderson recommends. Ensure you grease it nicely to make serving it simpler, and cook dinner it in a tin of water so the bottom stays unfastened and custardy whilst the highest rises and dries out into an ethereal, virtually souffle-like crown – don’t fear a few little bit of cracking; that’s to be anticipated.
Although this pudding is greatest dug into sizzling from the oven, it’s surprisingly good chilly, too, do you have to need to work forward. A jug of cream, although really useful by all my testers, is completely optionally available, and you might want to add contemporary berries on the aspect (raspberries for Mrs Arthur James, blueberries for DeMasco), although, as a result of few are in season, tinned fruit is likely to be preferable. Personally, nevertheless, I prefer it greatest straight from the dish.
Good self-saucing lemon pudding
Prep 15 min
Prepare dinner 30 min
Serves 6
25g butter, plus additional for greasing
100g caster sugar
3 eggs, separated
40g flour
1 tsp baking powder
A pinch of salt
260ml milk
Zest and juice of two lemons
Soften the butter in a saucepan, then put aside to chill barely. In the meantime, grease a medium ovenproof dish (the one I used was 21cm x 15cm) with butter and get out a roasting tin giant sufficient for it to sit down in. Warmth the oven to 180C (160C fan)/350F/fuel 4 and boil a full kettle.
Stir the butter and sugar in a big bowl. Combine the egg yolks into the butter combine, and put the whites right into a second giant bowl.
Stir the flour, baking powder and salt into the butter combination, adopted, little by little by the milk, and blend to a clean batter. Finely grate within the lemon zest, then add the juice (it is best to have about 75ml).
Whisk the egg whites to tender peaks, then fold a spoonful into the batter. Fastidiously incorporate the remainder of the egg whites, so you retain as a lot air in them as potential.
Pour the combination into the buttered dish (it ought to virtually fill it to the brim), then sit the dish within the roasting tin.
Pour in sufficient just-boiled water to fill the tin by two-thirds, then fastidiously switch to the oven and bake for half-hour, till the pudding is golden and set pretty agency on prime, however nonetheless appreciably jiggly under the floor. Serve sizzling or chilly.
Lemon pudding, shock or delight: you probably have fond reminiscences of this dish, what did you name it, and who was accountable? And are there different flavours of self-saucing puddings on the market?
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