Meyer Lemon Pudding Cake

Who knew that whipping egg whites separately and folding them in just before baking would create this luscious lemon cake with a creamy pudding texture? Well, maybe you did, but this was an outstanding new discovery for me! I’ve made the “cobbler” cakes a few times before. You know the one where you top the cake batter with a sugar mixture and then pour hot water or coffee over the top and then bake it, which creates this gooey, fudgy, sauce layer in the bottom similar to a fruit cobbler. Well, this is not that. It’s like a creamy pudding underneath a lemon cake and there’s no hot liquid to mess with at all. So none of that scary dance to the oven with a pan filled to the brim of hot molten liquid that you know will jump out and burn you because your middle name is grace and somehow the floor jumped up and tripped you on the way to said oven with said pan. No, I’ve never done that before. Why do you ask??

In case you haven’t figured it out by now, we love lemon in our house. We have a tendency to add it to everything. So naturally, we love tart lemon desserts (hello lemon meringue pie and O.M.G. I just realized that if I can come up with a dairy free crust then this pie is totally on my dairy free diet!! Hallelujah!), but this yummy cake is actually made with meyer lemons. And meyer lemons are far less tart than the conventional version thought to be a cross between a mandarin orange and a lemon, they have a more subtle flavor that pairs really well with blueberries and almonds. I love meyer lemon in savory dishes with chicken or on pizza. It’s delicious with rosemary. You can use it in place of lemon in just about anything.

So this yummy, impossibly light dessert gets topped with a handful of sliced almonds, a sprinkling coating of powdered sugar, and fresh blueberries for the ultimate spring treat to make you feel good, but not guilty because you don’t feel like a bloated cow after eating even half the pan. Something I can attest to as very important post-pregnancy when your body is already doing some wonky things.

Also, this recipe is totally dairy free!! You could substitute butter for the oil and regular milk for the almond milk though if you prefer.

Enjoy! <3 K&R