Lemon Pudding Cake

When I was growing up, we had dessert every single night. My mother taught school and would start supper early in the morning. She would put on a pot of peas or green beans or even brown the meat for dinner. Then, after school, she would pull everything out of the refrigerator and finish the meal. We always had bread too. My daddy said that "bread was the staff of life". She either fried cornbread patties, made biscuits, or had grocery store brown 'n serve rolls. I do not know how she accomplished everything that she did. As I have mentioned before, she was a great improviser with cake mixes and specialty dessert products. I remember the Betty Crocker pudding cake mix very well. Mother would prepare it right before we sat down for dinner and then serve it warm for dessert.

When I married in 1970, one of the first recipes that I tried out of the Better Homes and Garden Cookbook was the lemon pudding cake. It is a sweet, yet tart, warm, and comforting dessert - just perfect for a weeknight treat. 

Lemon Pudding Cake

3/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup sifted all purpose flour

3 tablespoons butter, melted

1/4 cup fresh lemon juice

1 teaspoon grated lemon peel

1 1/2 cups whole milk

3 well-beaten egg yolks

3 stiffly beaten egg whites

Combine sugar, a dash of salt, and flour; stir in melted butter, lemon peel, and juice.

Combine milk and egg yolks, add to lemon mixture.

Fold in beaten egg whites.

Pour into 8 x 8 x 2 inch baking pan.

Place in larger pan on oven rack.

Pour hot water into larger pan one inch deep

Bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes. Serve warm or chilled. 

We enjoy serving this pudding cake warm, just as my mother preferred.