Lemon Sponge Puddings

My mom gave me a huge stack of magazines the other day.  My first thought was to chuck them, but sitting there for hours on end watching cheer practice they did come in handy. Most went in the recycle bin; but one recipe caught my attention. Lemon Sponge Pudding, yes I need this I thought to myself; so I rushed home to whip some up.

Lemon Sponge Puddings

2/3 cup 2 % milk

2 large eggs, yolks and whites separated

1 tbsp. Meyer lemon zest

3 tablespoons fresh Meyer lemon juice (can use regular lemon also)

2 tbsp. unsalted butter, softened

2/3 cup granulated sugar

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

Also need:
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, softened
4 teaspoons granulated sugar

Heat the oven to 325 degrees F.

You'll need (4) 4-6 oz. ramekins and a roasting pan large enough to hold them.  Smear the insides of the ramekins with the 1 tablespoon softened butter and put a teaspoon of sugar inside and swirl to coat.  Dump out excess sugar.  Set Aside.

In a medium saucepan, heat milk just until simmering. Remove from heat. in a medium bowl whisk yolks to blend, then gradually whisk in hot milk. Whisk in lemon zest and juice, then butter until butter melts. Whisk in sugar and flour till smooth.

In a clean mixer bowl add egg whites and beat until stiff. See how the egg whites are holding their shape. Then fold whites into lemon mixture.

Ladle into ramekins.

Place ramekins in a roasting pan. Carefully add very hot tap water to pan to come up about halfway up the sides of ramekins.

Bake 35-45 minutes. Remove from water, let cool 30 minutes before inverting or put in refrigerator.

I refrigerated mine; they were so cool and refreshing that way. It really helped ease the pain of a long day. To ensure the rest of the day was so painless I poured myself a glass of sweet ice tea topped it off with a shot of Limoncello.  

Overall, I loved the dessert the only two things I would change would be; use larger ramekins (so I can have more at one time) and delete the word sponge in the name. I'm sorry, but that reminds me of dish washing or contraceptives; not cake!

Enjoy,

Gina