SERVES 8
- 8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
but still firm
- 1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
- 6 large egg yolks, at room temperature
- 3/4 cup lemon juice (3 to 4 lemons' worth)
- 2/3 cup all-purpose flour, sifted
- 1 tablespoon finely chopped lemon zest
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 2 cups whole milk
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 6 large egg whites, at room temperature
- 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Bring kettle of water to
boil. Make sure that you have a 10-inch cake pan and
a roasting pan large enough to accommodate it.
Beat the butter and all but one tablespoon of the sugar
until fluffy, about 3 to 4 minutes in an electric mixer.
Add the 6 egg yolks, one at a time, beating 20 seconds
after each addition.
Mix in the lemon juice, flour, zest, and salt on low
speed for 10 seconds. Scrape the bowl and mix another
5 seconds. Fold ingredients together by hand with a
large rubber spatula to finish. Gently whisk in the
milk and cream until smooth.
Beat the egg whites with the cream of tartar for 30
seconds and then gradually add the remaining 1 tablespoon
sugar. Beat until the whites hold soft 2-inch peaks.
Fold whites into the custard mixture. Pour into a 10-inch
cake pan that has been set into a roasting pan. Pour
the hot water around the cake pan until it come halfway
up the sides. Place roasting pan in oven and bake about
50 minutes, or until custard is just set in the middle.
Turn pan halfway through cooking and check custard for
doneness at 40 minutes.
Remove pan from water bath to cool and serve at room
temperature. (Use a large serving spoon to ladle out
individual portions.)
WHAT CAN GO WRONG? The biggest problem with this recipe
is getting the right size cake pan. You really do need
a 10-inch pan, and a springform pan will probably leak
unless properly lines with foil. Smaller cake pans will
not hold the batter.
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