Lemon delicious pudding

Winter is the perfect time of year to bake hearty puddings for dessert. In New Zealand, we traditionally eat Christmas pudding in summer but it makes much more sense to enjoy it as a winter warmer when then weather is cold.

This recipe for lemon delicious pudding originated from the Australian Women's Weekly Baking Recipes and Secrets from the Test Kitchen cookbook. I increased the quantities by one third to fit my 2 litre Pyrex dish. I also played around with some of the ingredients and steps. For example, I have a stand mixer but no electric hand beaters, so whisked the egg whites first and set them aside, then used the same mixing bowl for the next few steps. (As long as you don't contaminate the egg whites, you don't need to clean the bowl in between.)

The method is also different to how I'd usually make a self-saucing pudding, as my first attempt turned out extremely runny. Now, I like self-saucing puddings but the amount of liquid swimming in the bottom of the bowl was ridiculous, so I increased the amount of flour slightly and baked it in a roasting dish half-filled with boiling water. I also refrigerated the mixture in the dish for a few hours before baking and it turned out perfectly - really handy if you want to prepare the pudding in advance.

Lemon delicious pudding

Ingredients

• 105 g butter, softened
• 4 t lemon rind
• 145 g caster sugar
• 4 eggs, separated
• 50 g self-raising flour
• 500 ml milk
• 110 ml lemon juice
• 3 t icing sugar

Method

1. Preheat oven to 180°C. Grease a 2 litre (8 cup) oven proof dish and place inside a roasting dish.
2. Whisk egg whites until firm peaks form. Set aside.
3. Using a K-paddle attachment, beat butter, lemon rind and sugar until pale. Beat in egg yolks one at a time until thick, scraping down the side of the bowl with a spatula in between each addition.
4. Change back to the whisk attachment. Whisk in the flour, milk and juice until well combined.
5. Gently fold the egg whites into the lemon mixture, in two batches. Pour mixture into the dish. Pour boiling water into the roasting dish until it comes to about halfway up the baking dish.
6. Bake pudding for 35 minutes or until golden and just firm to the touch. (It will be still quite wobbly underneath.) Dust with icing sugar and serve immediately. Serves 8.

Lemon delicious pudding