Belinda Jeffery

I love a good homely Lemon Delicious Pudding. It separates into a lovely tangy lemon sauce on the bottom and a delicate sponge on top. There’s just something so utterly satisfying about the combination of warm sauce and light sponge. At times, I make this with limes or a combination of lemon and lime, and they all taste wonderful.

Serves 6

Preheat the oven to 180C. Lightly butter and sugar six 1-cup (250ml) capacity oven-to-table ramekins, or you can make a larger pudding in a medium-sized ovenproof dish. Sit the ramekins or dish in a deep baking tin. (By the way, sugaring the ramekins gives the batter something to cling to as it rises – it’s exactly the same principal used when buttering and flouring cake tins to help the batter cling to the sides.)

In a bowl, mash the butter, caster sugar and salt with a wooden spoon until the mixture is crumbly. Beat in the 3 egg yolks, one at a time, mixing well after each one is added. Sprinkle in the flour and mix it in until it’s well combined. Use a balloon whisk to slowly beat in the zest and juice then add the milk, whisking all the while.

In a clean, dry bowl whip the 4 egg whites on medium speed until they just form soft peaks – be careful not to over-beat them, or they will become dry and awkward to mix into the batter. Gently fold the whites into the batter only until they’re just incorporated and no large lumps of whites remain. Ladle the mixture into the ramekins or dish – it starts to separate quickly, so give it a stir with the ladle between each pout.

Sit the tin on the middle rack of the oven and pour enough boiling water into it to come just over halfway up the sides of the ramekins or dish. Cook the puddings for 25-30 minutes or until the tops are golden and spring back very gently when pressed. (A larger dish will take up to 45 minutes.)

When the puddings are ready, remove the tin from the oven and let the ramekins stand for a couple of minutes then carefully remove them from the water. Wipe the sides dry and sit them on small plates, then dust the tops with icing sugar. To my mind, the puddings taste best eaten warm rather than hot, however, don’t be disappointed that they sink as they sit.