3 egg whites
1/4 cup and 2/3 cup sugar, in separate batches
1/4 cup flour
7 tablespoons fresh Meyer-lemon juice (about 2 lemons)
1/4 cup melted butter
1 tablespoon grated zest of a Meyer lemon, chopped if the pieces are too long
3 egg yolks
1 1/2 cups buttermilk
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. In a mixing bowl beat the egg
whites and 1/4 cup sugar until stiff peaks form. Set aside. In a small bowl mix
together 2/3 cup sugar and the flour and set aside. In another bowl mix together
the lemon juice, melted butter, and lemon zest. Add this to the flour mixture
and stir well. In yet another bowl combine the egg yolks and the buttermilk. Add
to the lemon mixture and stir well. If you are using regular lemons, taste to be
sure the mixture is sweet enough. Using a rubber spatula, fold the beaten egg
whites into the lemon—egg yolk mixture.
Butter and sugar 6 soufflé cups or ramekins and fill 3/4 full.
Bake in a water bath until top feels slightly firm, about 40 minutes. Do not
brown. The individual cakes will consist of 2 distinct layers, cake and pudding.
If you prefer a more cakelike texture throughout, bake longer and let them brown
a bit. Remove from the oven and immediately take the ramekins out of the water
bath. Let cool to room temperature and then chill for 2 hours to overnight. The
pudding cakes can be served in the ramekins with the cake on top, or inverted
onto plates so that the pudding layer is on top.
Garnish
1/2 cup whipping cream (or heavy cream)
juice of 1/2 regular orange
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon sugar
zest of 1 Meyer lemon
2 blood oranges, peeled and cut into clean segments (a pint of any type of fresh
berries may be substituted)
Note: Blood oranges have bright red interiors and are
sweet-tart.
Whip cream and a teaspoon of the sugar together and set aside.
Put the orange juice, the remaining sugar, and the lemon zest
in a bowl and stir to mix. Add blood-orange segments.
To serve, garnish the chilled cakes with a dollop of whipped
cream and arrange the sweetened orange segments around them. Serves 6
from texasmonthly.com
