Lemon Pudding Cake

Preheat oven to 350ºF. Lightly grease a shallow 1 1/2 quart oblong casserole dish. Set the prepared casserole dish inside a rectangular roasting pan (I used a 13×9 pan).

Set a kettle full of water to boil on the stove over high heat for the water bath. When ready, turn off heat and set aside.

Meanwhile, stir together the flour and sugar in a small mixing bowl. Set aside. In another medium mixing bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and melted butter. Whisk in the milk, zest and lemon juice. While whisking, add the flour/sugar mixture to the liquids and whisk until smooth.

In the bowl of a stand-mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the egg whites and salt on medium-high speed until stiff peaks form. Gently fold the beaten egg whites into the batter. Pour the batter into the prepared casserole dish. Sprinkle the top of the batter with turbinado sugar.

To the roasting pan, pour just enough of the hot water from the kettle to go halfway up the outside of the casserole baking dish. Bake until the top of the cake is golden brown, about 30-35 minutes. Dust with powdered sugar and serve warm or chill and serve cold.

Note: Why turbinado sugar and powdered sugar on top? The turbinado sugar is added before baking to give a delightful crunch and much-needed texture to the cake. A light dusting of powdered sugar is added before serving just simply because it makes a beautiful presentation. The powdered sugar can be omitted, if you prefer.

Adapted from Real Simple.