These mellow yellow pots are like little bursts of summer – fresh, citrussy sponge with a gooey centre and a sticky lemon curd glaze on top.
The problem with lemony puddings is that they often taste bland, but these are properly zingy, and though the lemon curd is sweet it isn’t overpowering. You can eat them hot or cold but I like mine piping hot – with even more lemon curd dolloped on the side.
Makes 4
Ingredients:
325g jar of lemon curd 60g self-raising flour 2 large eggs
You’ll also need four small ramekins, glasses or serving pots (approx 150-175ml capacity), and a large deep baking tray
Method:
Preheat the oven to 180C / Fan 160C. Butter the pots or ramekins around the sides and base – this stops the sponge from sticking.
Separate the eggs, putting your whites into a larger bowl. Sift the flour over the yolks and add 300g of the lemon curd. Mix until smooth.
Whisk the whites to stiff peaks – if you’re using an electric whisk, this should only take a few minutes, but you’ll need to allow longer if you’re doing it by hand. You know they’re ready when you can turn the bowl upside-down and the whites stay put!
Slowly fold the egg whites into the lemon mixture, a spoonful at a time, and combine using a folding and cutting motion. This keeps air in the mixture and will give you light, fluffy sponges. Keep going until all the egg white has disappeared.
Divide the mixture between the prepared pots. There should be enough to go halfway up each pot – don’t worry, they will rise as they bake.
Place the pots into the baking tray and, using a just-boiled kettle, fill the tray with half an inch of boiling water around the pots. This is called a bain marie, which creates steam inside the oven and ensures your sponges bake evenly.
Carefully slide the tray into the middle shelf of the oven and bake for 20 minutes, until the sponges just start to crack on top. Once they’re done, take them out of the oven and leave them in the bain marie for another five minutes.
Drizzle the rest of the lemon curd over the tops of the pots while they’re still hot. I like to decant mine into a piping bottle or bag, but you can just as easily do it with a teaspoon.
The pots will keep for 3-4 days in the fridge.