Summer, Summer, Summer time. Time to sit back and unwind.
I have always loved Summer.
It always meant the end of the school year, getting older, moving on, and love.
When I was little, I would spend Summers at my Grandma's house. We would jump in the car and head to Lawton, Oklahoma. We would always arrive around 2 or 3 in the morning.
The stifling heat and humidity that hit us as we groggily stumbled out of the air conditioned car signaled that Summer vacation had truly begun.
I remember little details. The heat. The sound of the bug zapper hanging above the porch. The locked screen door, my grandma sleeping on the couch waiting for us to arrive. The smell of Pine Sol and Bengay upon walking into the house. It all meant Summer.
This Summer, I'm excited to say that Little Butt will begin making her own Summer memories. This Summer, Little Butt will be heading to her Grandma's house to spend some time. I hope that one day she will look fondly on her Summer's as I do.
Before Grandma's house though, is our visit with The Hubble!
The Hubble is here with us for his mid deployment leave and we couldn't be happier.
I picked Little Butt up early from school on her last day so we could drive to the airport to pick up her Daddy. She was surprised and thrilled that he was finally home!
Today, they went out to ride horses. Little Butt LOVES horses so The Hubble thought it would be a fun Daddy/Daughter adventure date. I can't wait for them to get home and tell me all about it.
Another wonderful thing about Summer is the fresh fruit that is available. There is nothing like cold, juicy watermelon on a hot day.
The fresh berries on this lemon pudding cake is just the thing to satisfy on a Summer afternoon. The cake itself is sticky and moist while the berries pop and crackle on the tongue. This dessert was...perfection. The lemon in the cake provided the perfect amount of tart to counteract the sweetness of the berries and sugar.
I doubled the recipe and made 8 cakes instead of the 4 it originally served and the cakes were devoured within 10 minutes of being plated.
If you are looking for a lovely dessert that is simple to put together after a day at the pool, grab some lemons and fresh berries and whip these babies up!
Let's bake!
Butter or spray some ramekins. Then dust them with sugar. This recipe only makes four cakes, I have a large family so I doubled the recipe.
Beat together the buttermilk, egg yolks, lemon juice, and lemon zest until well combined. Then beat in your flour, sugar, and salt.
Gently fold 1/3 of the egg whites into the batter. Then fold in the rest of the egg whites until well incorporated.
Evenly divide the batter among the ramekins. Place ramekins in a roasting pan then fill with water until water reaches halfway up ramekins.
Bake about 45 minutes until cakes spring back when lightly touched and are a golden brown color.
Allow to cool slightly then invert onto plates.
Top cakes with fresh berries then sprinkle with powdered sugar.
Serve and enjoy!!
Lemon Pudding Cake
Adapted from The Food Network
Printer Friendly Version
Ingredients:
- 1 Tablespoon unsalted butter or Butter flavored cooking spray
- 2/3 cup superfine sugar, plus more for dusting
- 2 eggs, separated
- 2/3 cup reduced fat buttermilk
- 2 Tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 Tablespoon lemon zest
- 1/4 cup unbleached all purpose flour
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup fresh raspberries
- 1 cup fresh blackberries
- 1 cup fresh blueberries
- 2 Tablespoons powdered sugar
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
- Butter or spray 4 1-cup ramekins then dust with sugar.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer, on medium speed, beat together the egg yolks, buttermilk, lemon juice, and lemon zest until well combined.
- Reduce speed to low and beat in flour, sugar, and salt. Beat until combined.
- In a separate, metal mixing bowl, beat the egg whites on high speed until stiff peaks form.
- Gently fold 1/3 of the egg whites into the batter. Then fold in the remaining egg whites until well mixed.
- Divide the batter evenly among the ramekins. Place in a large baking dish and pour water into the dish until water reaches halfway up sides of ramekins.
- Bake for 45 minutes, cakes should spring back when lightly touched and have a golden color.
- Allow cakes to cool slightly then invert onto a serving plate.
- Top cakes with fresh berries and powdered sugar.
- Serve and enjoy!