lemon dessert Archives - I am a Honey Bee

Oh, what a weekend! Such a good weekend!!!

My sister came up from Connecticut on Saturday so we could go wedding dress shopping. We went to David’s Bridal in Danvers to start our shopping adventure. I had done some previous browsing on-line but nothing had jumped out to me so when we got there we just started grabbing dresses based upon the vision I had in mind. Plus, a few more that I wouldn’t have originally considered, like a short dress and a mermaid dress. Some looked surprisingly good but didn’t make the cut.

Ultimately, I the dress that I did pick was the first dress that I tried on. We both really liked it early on but I didn’t like a shadow from where the tulle was added to the lower portion of the dress. I tried it on again to see who annoying that shadow was – it was annoying. I jokingly mentioned that I would love to hack it off and the great women helping me there said it could be done. They suggested that I get a petticoat to replace the fullness from the tulle we would be removing. Plus, we added a grey band around the waist and it all fell into place. Woohoo!!

Plus, my sister picked out her Matron of Honor Dress. Getting things done!!

I had a busy Saturday so my Sunday was a bit more relaxed with some baking in the morning, and new laptop shopping in the afternoon. Ugh, that’s the worst. But the cake I made was delightful!!

I had grabbed some Meyer Lemons at Trader Joe’s on a whim the last time I was there. They were taunting me every time I went into the kitchen as I had no plan for them. I had to figure something out fast before they went bad. I turned to Pinterest to find a recipe to use up those Meyer lemons.

Side note- is Pinterest the new Google? It is for me! I need a recipe. Pinterest! Home design inspiriation. Pinterest! Wedding hair styles. Pinterest!

So I found a few great recipes and Price narrowed it down to this Meyer Lemon Pudding Cake from Kelsey, aka The Naptime Chef. It looked and sounded great. I love pudding cookies so I was intregued and then even more intrugided as there is no pudding in the cake! What?!?

The texture is what gives the cake it’s name. It’s dense, but airy. It’s creamy, but fuffly. It’s just plain interesting! We loved it, as did autumn’s daycare teachers. They are saints with all those kids running around. They deserve a slice of cake with a cup of tea while the kiddos nap. (Also, last week Autumn woke up early during naptime and then yelled to wake the rest of the kids up so they could all play again. Naughty!)

Kelsey does note that you get a different consistancy when you use a glass pan, it’s a little less dense on the bottom, than when you use a metal pan. I thought the results I had, with the metal pan, were enjoyable, but I would like to try it with a glass pan to check out the difference.

Meyer Lemon Pudding Cake

Makes a 8″ square or 9″ round cake*

Ingredients

1 1/4 Cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons cornstarch
1 1/4 Cups sugar, divided
5 Tablespoons unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
2 Tablespoons grated Meyer lemon zest
5 eggs, separated, yolks in one bowl with whites in another
1/2 Cup fresh Meyer lemon juice
1 1/4 Cups whole milk

Process

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Lightly butter a baking pan*. Place the baking pan in a larger roasting pan to create a ban marie later.
Bring several quarts of water to boil for water bath.
Mix flour and cornstarch together in a bowl, set aside.
Cream the butter, 1 Cup sugar, and lemon zest until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.
Beat in the egg yolks, then flour mixture, mixing until smooth.
Slowly mix in the lemon juice, then mix in milk. Set the custard mixture aside.
Beat the egg whites until they hold soft peaks. Addthe remaining sugar and beat egg whites to stiff, moist peaks.
Gently stir a dollop of the egg whites into the custard. Then, working slowly, fold the remaining egg whites in bit by bit until they are all incorporated, but not over beaten.
Pour the batter into the buttered baking pan. Fill the larger pan with the hot water until it comes halfway up the side of the smaller pan.
Bake until pudding cake center is set and springs back when gently touched, about 1 hour. Let pan cool for 1 hour before serving.

*There is some flexibility in the shape of the cake pan you use, as long as you have the same volume capacity. For expample, the recipe called for a 8″ x 8″x 2″ square pan, but I didn’t have it so I used a round 9″ x 2″ (deep), as it has the same 8 cup capacity. I refered to this chart for help.

Sourced from The Naptime Chef