Lemon Surprise

Another old recipe that I thought I would try.  It is a very lemony, kinda spongy cake and it makes a lemon pudding- much like a lemon meringue filling- all warm and gooey on the bottom layer.  Worth Noting: The original recipe only called for 1/2 cup of sugar and the juice of 2 lemons.  Well  the lemons I used yielded 3/4 cup of juice so with 3/4 cup of juice I would add a little more sugar for balance (that’s the problem with old recipe books- measurements are never exact) because I found it a little on the sharp side- hence why I served it with sugared strawberries.

-Enjoy!

LEMON SURPRISE                                                          375º for 45 minutes

5-6 cups of boiling water

1/4 cup butter(softened)
grated rind of a lemon
2/3 cup of sugar
2 eggs separated
½ cup flour

3/4 cup lemon juice
1 +1/4 cup of milk

1. Pre-heat oven to 375º. Butter a 2 pint baking dish. Make sure dish will fit into a 9 by 13 pan. Bring 5-6 cups of water to a boil while you make the batter.

2. Beat butter, lemon rind, and sugar until smooth and fluffy.  Add flour and egg yolks (reserve whites)

3. Combine lemon juice and milk (liquid will curdle). Slowly pour into batter mixture and beat until combined. Scrape sides and bottom to ensure no lumps are in the batter (batter will be very thin).

4. Whip eggs whites until fluffy. Hand fold in the egg whites gently with a spatula. Scrape batter into the buttered, 2 pint dish.

5. Place the 2 pint dish into the 9×13 pan. Pour boiling water into the 9×13 pan until it reaches half way up the baking dish. Carefully place into the oven. Bake for 45 minutes at 375º. Serve warm.

Variation: serve with sliced strawberries that have been bled with ½ cup of sugar.