Saturday, March 1, 2008

Lemon Pudding Cake

I wanted to revise this recipe a bit before I posted it, but hey, it's not like I am writing a cookbook here. The recipe tastes great and is filled with lemony goodness. Here are a few caveats, though. First, I used Bird's custard powder for the pudding. This is easily obtained in Canada, but maybe not in the U.S. It is essentially cornstarch with flavouring, so I was going to try a version that had just cornstarch or arrowroot powder. Second, I used an 8x8 pan which was filled to the max. It still turned out and did not over boil, but maybe a slightly larger pan is in order. The lemon cake is Isa's Lemon Gem Cupcake recipe from Veganomicon, so many thanks to her for letting me post it here.

INGREDIENTS
Lemon Pudding
- 2 tbsp Bird's custard powder
- 1 tsp arrowroot powder
- 1 cup sugar
- juice of two lemons
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 1/4 cups plain soy milk

METHOD
1. Mix together dry ingredients in a saucepan and whisk in wet ingredients. Bring to a boil over medium heat, whisking constantly. Pour into a lightly greased 8x8 pan and place in the fridge to cool a bit while you make the cake.
Lemon Cake
- 1 1/3 cup flour
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 3/4 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/4 cup canola oil
- 2/3 cup plus 2 tbsp sugar
- 1 cup soy milk
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- juice of 1 lemon
- zest of 1 lemon

METHOD
Preheat oven to 350 degrees
1. Whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a bowl.
2. In a separate bowl, whisk oil, sugar, soy milk, vanilla, lemon juice and zest together. Add into dry ingredients and gently whisk until smooth.
3. Remove 8x8 pan from fridge. Spoon cake batter on top of the pudding.
4. Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until top is golden brown and cake is firm. You can't really do the toothpick test here, so give the pan a shake to see if the middle jiggles. You can also press the middle with your fingers to see if it is firm.
5. Cool a bit before serving (but it should still be warm). Scoop out a section of the cake, then spoon the pudding over top. Enjoy!