fluffy lemon custard cups

April marked the one-year anniversary of this blog. My plan for something clever or exciting for the occasion ended up being about the time I was rethinking the direction of the site and what I really want it to be. The date quietly came and went.

Before that one year mark rolled around I made an important discovery: I was tired of being jealous. The average new blog has few readers, little content, no archives, a dearth of incoming links, and a potentially sharp learning curve. It’s easy to find hundreds of blogs that are better than your own and looking at those blogs can be extremely discouraging. I would browse posts thinking that my blog would never have photos that good or that many subscribers.

That mentality set me up for disappointment. Something needed to change, and that something was my perspective. Each post I write gets better, each photo I take teaches me something, and each meal I cook is worthwhile. Instead of wasting energy on being jealous, I decided to be legitimately happy for other people’s success and to use them as role models. Instead of pouting about what my blog wasn’t, I focused on what I could do to improve it and make it more like those I admired.

It was a small shift that made a huge difference to me. It really impacted my feelings about blogging and gave me new inspiration to make my own blog better. Sometimes my photos aren’t white-balanced or styled or properly lit because I would rather share this recipe with you than not. I can’t say why each reader comes here, but it’s not because I am a professional photographer. However, I do appreciate your visit no matter what your reason, and every comment or email or phone call I get to tell me that someone made one of my recipes and loved it seriously makes my day.

Thank you all for visiting, it means a lot to me.

This recipe comes from that paragon of unattainable kitchen perfection, Martha Stewart. Last week we had friends over for dinner with a limited amount of prep time, so I wanted a dessert that was simple and delicious but didn’t take much time. It’s sort of a cheater souffle with a light layer on top and a custardy bottom (you can sort of see in the next photo). Slightly sweet, slightly tangy, and served with berries, it’s a wonderful summery dessert to end a meal with people you love.

Fluffy Lemon Custard Cups

Adapted from Martha Stewart
Serves 6

Ingredients:

• ~1 tablespoon room temperature butter
• 3 large eggs, separated
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• zest of 1 lemon
• 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
• 1 cup milk
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• powdered sugar and fresh berries for garnish

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Butter six 6-ounce custard cups or ramekins. Place a towel in the bottom of a 9×13-inch pan to prevent cups from sliding. Place custard cups in towel-lined pan. Bring 6-8 cups of water to a boil while mixing up batter.
2. Whisk together egg yolks and sugar until light in color. Whisk in flour, then gradually add lemon juice and milk. Stir in lemon zest.
3. In a separate bowl, use a stand or electric mixer to beat egg whites and salt until they form soft peaks. Fold egg whites into batter (it will be thin).
4. Divide batter equally among prepared cups. Pour boiling water into the pan to reach halfway up the sides of the cups. Carefully move baking dish to preheated oven. Bake 20-25 minutes until tops are golden brown and pudding is visible on the bottom.
5. Serve warm or at room temperature dusted with powdered sugar and topped with fresh berries.

Tagged as: citrus, dessert, fruit, lemon, pudding