All hail mother nature! Today, for the second day running, London has seen it's first glimpse of proper spring. I can hear birds chirping, the faint buzz from lawns being mowed and I bet that fruit bearing trees are beginning to bud. Yes people, spring is on it's way! It's not all jubilation, there still a while for the great British fruit season to come into season.
There is one saviour of this winter into spring time lull in fruit desserts, namely the citrus desserts. I've fallen in love with this citrus steamed pudding. I've given it a rather generic title of citrus because there is not a citrus fruit that does not shine in this dessert. I've tried it with lemons, I've tried it with limes, sampled it with satsumas and even took a stab at them with blood oranges. Each member of the citrus family performed to gold medal standards in this dessert.
These little puds have a lovely spring like texture that quivers when you come at it with a spoon. My favourite part of the the puds is the little layer of curd that magically appears during the steaming process. If you serve these to friends let them think that you painstakingly layered the curd in. Keep the culinary mystery alive!
Citrus Steamed Puddings
160g caster sugar plus additional for pudding basins
240ml plain yogurt
75ml citrus juice
4 eggs, separated
50g plain flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tbs of the zest of your chosen citrus fruit, finely chopped
butter for pudding basins
Preheat over to 160c (325f). Butter the insides of 4 10cm pudding basins with butter. Genreously coat with granulated sugar because you dont want these little lovelys to stick. Sprinkle a pinch of the zest into the base of each pudding basin.
In a jug combine the yogurt, citrus juice and the egg yolks. In a seperate bowl whisk the the flour, remaining sugar, salt and remaining zest.
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| Zesty flour mix! | Adding the yogurt mix to the flour | The smooth batter and prepped basin |
Whip the egg whites in the bowl of a standing mixer until medium peaks form. When you lift the whisk, the peak should stand at attention, then droop slightly. This should take about 5 minutes.
Add the yogurt mixture to the dry ingredients, whisk until you have a smooth batter.
In three batches fold in the egg whites. Fold gently until the whites are fully incorporated. Don't worry of the batter begins to split, it's perfectly fine.
Ladle the batter into the prepared basins, filling them almost to the top.
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| Good and whipped! | Folding in the egg whites | Complete sponge |
Place the puddings in a roasting pan and pour warm water around them. Pour enough so it comes halfway up the sides of the basins. Cover with foil and bake for 20 minutes or until puddings begin to rise slightly and springs back when touched.
Carefully the roasting pan from the oven, then remove the puddings from the bath. You can serve them warm from the oven or at room tempurature. To serve, run a knife around the edge of the basin, and invert on the dessert plate. You can sprinkle with some additional zest.
Spring is in the air, Spring Pad It now with a click of a button.
