Mmmm Lemon Delicious

The first time I had this dessert, it was made for me by a dear friend, an Irish woman of considerable taste and distinction.  I mention her nationality because, as it turns out, Lemon Delicious seems to be a mostly Australian phenomenon. Certainly other countries have their own versions but they are usually rolled out as "Lemon Self-Saucing Pudding" or with other, similar monikers. At any rate, that first taste of Lemon Delicious was so overwhelming that I have never quite forgotten it - nor the experience of being caught by my hostess as I was licking my plate clean!

I plan to try to make little, individual servings of this pud for serving at dinner parties as I always find that part of the splendour is lost as the big, fluffy, proud pudding is mulched into a pile of syrupy lumpiness. Plus, in truth, I never want to share any of it so individual servings would mean less violence at my dinner table...If I manage to work out an effective recipe, I'll share it here.

60g unsalted butter softened
¾ cup caster sugar
3 eggs separated
1 tsp grated lemon rind
1/3 cup self-raising flour sifted
¼ cup lemon juice (approximately juice of one lemon)
¾ cup milk and icing sugar to dust

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius.

Grease a 1 litre oven-proof dish with butter.
Using electric beaters, beat the butter, sugar, egg yolks and lemon rind in a bowl until light and creamy.
Add the flour and stir with a wooden spoon until just combined. Add the lemon juice and milk and stir to combine.
Beat whites until soft peaks form then gently fold into lemon mixture.
Spoon into the oven-proof dish and place the dish in a baking dish.
Pour in boiling water into the baking dish to come 1/3 of the way up the side of the pudding dish. Bake for 40 minutes or until you can see from the top that it is set in the centre.

There will, of course, be a runny element to this pud so if you see stuff slurping around at the bottom, never fear, it's meant to look like that!


Serves 4