Pudding Cake

I made pudding cake last night, as the light ending to our typical mid-week dinner. By Wednesday or Thursday my imagination has been exhausted, we're strapped for time, and no sign of weekend leftovers. I usually turn to one of our favorite low-fat turkey or chicken sausages that we get in mega-packs from Costco. So last night was no different, with sausage, salad, and roasted brussel sprouts. What WAS odd was that my cat decided he suddenly LOVED brussel sprouts, and perched himself next to me on the couch and stole one from my plate, fast as lightning. Didn't want any of my sausage but gimme that brussel sprout!

So anyway, I found a recipe for these orange pudding cakes, and they take so little effort and the only fat in them is from the one egg per two servings. They were alright - I'm pretty sure I had the oven up too high as I didn't let it rest from the roasted sprouts and so they came out overcooked on top. A lower heat would have allowed them to cook slower and the middle be more pudding-y. Regardless, they were unbelievably easy and fast to whip-up while the rest of dinner was cooking. And I had a bunch of clementines I'm still working through, so they provided the zest and fresh juice.

I stole the recipe from here, but I'll reproduce it as well. This cake, being fruit-based, is more fragile and like a souffle than the typical chocolate pudding cakes. The sorry bit of whipped cream I stuck on top wasn't enough - next time might call for a creme anglaise!

I halved it for the 2 of us. I cooked it in 2 souffle cups, but you could do it in a pan like the recipe says as well. I stuck a pan of water in there with the cups to keep it moist.

Orange Pudding Cake
(adapted from All American Desserts)

2 eggs, separated
1/4 cup fresh orange juice
2 tsp orange zest
2/3 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 350F.

Place a 9-inch cake pan, filled with about 3/4 inch of water, into the oven. Grease a 1 quart (4 cup) souffle dish and set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk together sugar, flour and salt. Add in egg yolks, orange juice, orange zest, milk and vanilla, and whisk thoroughly.

In a medium bowl, beat egg whites to soft peaks. Stir or fold egg whites gently into orange mixture, until well combined. Pour mixture into prepared souffle dish and gently place in water bath.

Bake for 45-50 minutes, until the cake has risen and begun to pull away from the sides of the dish. Serve warm. Serves 4.