Lemon Almond Pudding Cake.

I’m here to tell you right now that lemon desserts can be indulgent.

Is it just me? Or do lemon desserts fall on the spectrum of… well, I think I want dessert but I just don’t want anything too rich.

TOO RICH!

Ha.

HAHAHAHAHA.

What does that even mean? My teeth have no idea.

I’ve made a version of this before (ages ago, hello!) in what I believe is called chocolate cobbler. Or something like it. It’s very much like chocolate pudding cake and super decadent, even for my sweet teeth. So I thought a lemon version just sounded perfect. Even when lemon desserts are more indulgent, they just TASTE lighter and fresher. Right?

It’s a brighter, lighter sweetness with a hint of tart. I think it’s a taste bud’s dream.

My only real experience with lemon desserts as a kid was mother lovett’s lemon meringue pie, which I brattily turned my nose up at since it was EW LEMON and my paternal grandmother’s lemon bars, which never made the cut because she also would have texas sheet cake.

Even today, I still must be in the lemon mood to choose it over chocolate. But I’m curious! Is liking lemon desserts as a kid… a thing? Did you like lemon desserts when you were young – or do you have children that do?

I’m just conditioned to believe that as we grow older, lemon desserts find their way to our hearts. And our hips. Unfortunately.

OKAY SO.

The thing is that I don’t even know if I can express how absolutely DIVINE this pudding cake is. It’s light and fluffy on top, almost soufflé like. But it’s just like lemon pudding on the bottom, all rich and wonderful and citrusy. It’s so NOT heavy that you don’t even feel weighed down after eating a bowl of it.

Which means there is always room for more.

This is at the top of my list for Easter desserts. I always love to do something coconut cake-ish, and then something chocolatey too, because, well… chocolate. But lemon hits high at the moment. The only downside is that I’m not quite sure just how far ahead in advance this can be made. We snuck bites of it a few hours after it was baked and I took my mom a larger-than-life serving, but it was all consumed pretty quickly. I’m going to make it one more time and see if I can throw it together the night before.

That’s some super hard work right there.

Also! The original recipe I found called for these to be made in ramekins, but I really just wanted to make one larger cake. This will fit a 9-inch pie plate, but I think you could easily double the recipe for a big 9×13 baking dish. In which case… I’d be tempted to eat the entire thing. Lemon pudding cake for breakfast, lunch and dinner!

Lemon Almond Pudding Cake

Yield: serves 4

Total Time: 1 hour

Ingredients:

3/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 large eggs, separated
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup milk (the original recipe calls for skim, I used whole with good results)
5 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
sliced almonds for topping



Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a 9-inch pie plate with nonstick spray liberally. Or brush it with melted butter!

In a bowl, whisk together the sugar, flour and salt.

In another bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and melted butter. Whisk in the milk, lemon juice, almond extract and lemon zest until combined.

Beat the egg whites and salt in the bowl of your electric mixer until stiff peaks form. Slowly fold the egg whites into the lemon mixture, gently, until combined. Pour the batter into the pie plate.

Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until set. Top with sliced almonds and serve.

[cake base from food and wine]

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No, but really, this is an incredibly excellent breakfast. Trust me.

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