Wanton Hussy - Column for 5/27

Custardy Cakes with Strawberry Sauce

Last month meriko forwarded to me a url for "Lemon Pudding Cakes with Apricot Sauce." I can't remember if she said she had made it herself or not. I don't like lemon, so I decided to see what I could change so I would like it.

Here's their recipe:

http://www.foodandwine.com/invoke.cfm?objectid=561D8E94-3AF1-11D6-82A40002B3309983

And blurb: "The unusual thing about these lemony cakes is that while they are baking, the batter splits, creating a creamy, puddinglike top and soufflé-like bottom."

Here's my commentary, in parentheses:

SERVINGS:8 (well, it made 4 huge ramekins bowls worth, plus 2 smaller ones. So I'd say 8-10 of the small size)

INGREDIENTS:

Cake

  • 1 1/4 cups whole milk
  • Zest of 2 lemons (or 3 vanilla beans, split and seeded)
  • 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature (or 30 sec in the microwave)
  • 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
  • 5 large eggs, separated (3 eggs looked ok, 3 were small, so I used all 6 eggs I had)
  • 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
  • 2/3 cup fresh lemon juice (2 lemons) (I used 2/3 C white wine)

    Sauce

    (I totally boycotted their apricot sauce in favor of smashed strawberry syrup ™.)

    MAKE AHEAD

    The recipe can be prepared through Step 6 up to 2 days ahead. Refrigerate the cakes and the apricot sauce separately. Serve cold or at room temperature.

    (I didn't try it, so I don't know. Gerald's been happily eating the leftovers from the fridge, so I guess their edible, but I don't know how well they come out of the ramekins.)

    STEPS:

    1. MAKE THE CAKES: Preheat the oven to 325°. Lightly spray eight 6-ounce ramekins with vegetable cooking spray and arrange them in a small roasting pan.

    (I didn't have 8 6-oz ramekins, and I suspect 10 would be a more appropriate number. Very important to spray all the way up the sides and thoroughly coat the bottom, as I did not.)

    2. In a small saucepan, combine the milk with the lemon zest (vanilla beans) and bring just to a simmer. Strain the milk through a sieve into a medium bowl and let cool to room temperature.

    (Split the vanilla beans, scrape out the seeds, and scrape everything into the pot with the milk. Whisk occasionally as it heats, especially if a skin tries to form.)

    3. In a medium bowl, using an electric mixer, beat the butter with 6 tablespoons of the sugar at moderately high speed until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. At medium speed, beat in the egg yolks, 1 at a time, until incorporated. Using a spoon, stir in the flour, lemon juice (wine) and infused milk until combined.

    4. In a large bowl, using clean beaters, beat the egg whites until soft peaks form. Add the remaining 3/4 cup of sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, beating until the egg whites are firm and glossy. Working in batches, gently fold the meringue into the batter just until combined.

    (Ok, I'm not a "folding" expert, but this was really hard for me. I ended up doing a lot more stirring than I was comfortable with, and still having blobs of white floating at the top of the liquid. I also realized I'm a little unclear on the "whipping" versus "beating" - a wire whisk would have deflated the egg whites a lot, but would have made it smoother overall. I guess it depends on what you want the final outcome to be, consistent or really super fluffy. I had pockets of white that were weird.)

    5. Spoon the batter into the prepared ramekins. Pour enough hot water (ooh, just realized it was supposed to be hot water) into the roasting pan to reach halfway up the sides of the ramekins. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until small cracks appear on top of each cake. Using tongs (ha! How about a spatula and oven mitt?), transfer the ramekins to a rack to cool.

    6. MAKE THE SAUCE blah blah blah, I didn't make their sauce. I took a basket and a half of old strawberries in the fridge that were just this side of overripe, chopped them up, added some water and sugar, and boiled for a while. I considered pureeing it in the blender, but started smashing it all with the potato masher instead. As it cooled, it thickened a lot. Yum!

    7. Run a blunt knife around each cake and invert onto a dessert plate. Spoon the apricot (strawberry) sauce around the cakes and serve.

    So, they turned out mostly ok. There was about ¼ to ½ inch of custardy stuff on the bottom/top. I'd envisioned more, so next time I think I'll cook it for about 25 minutes, or just until the top looks set. Gerald liked the wine flavor, but I didn't, and I think just subbing more milk for it would work just as well (any comments?) I couldn't taste the vanilla flavor at all, but the beans made pretty specks in the cakes. The texture was nice, aside from the spots where there were white bits that didn't get fully incorporated. If I were eating this in a restaurant, I'd want more custard, and be irked about the egg white bits. The strawberries were exactly what I wanted, though.

    Oh, and I made the full recipe wince I was fucking with so many other aspects, but I think halving it would work fine.

    Finally, I'm kind of a sloppy cook. I like to improvise and have fun and relax, otherwise cooking is just another thing to try and fail at doing perfectly, for me. So please forgive my casual approach.

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