Recently I’ve had a childhood dessert tugging at my memories. It was something my Mom made frequently and has slipped my mind for years. The arrival of a box of citrus from snowbird relatives put my planning into high gear feeling this Guest Post would be a perfect time to try to make it myself for the first time. Though in Colorado we can expect several more cycles of teasingly spring temps followed by a ruthless, soppy dump of snow until late May, some of you may already be enjoying the feeling of the season’s renewal. This recipe, Lemon Custard with Pillow Top, feels bright and an ‘Ode to Spring’ to me.
As a child I found this custard wondrous and magical. How one could prepare it so there was beautiful lemony custard on the bottom and a light cakey top was unimaginable. It’s quite easy, I’ve learned with my first crack at. Though I prepared this from a family recipe, my mother believes my grandmother (who passed the recipe to my Mom) was first inspired to make it from a Joy of Cooking recipe so I want to be sure to give that nod here too not knowing the true roots of this in our family culinary lineage. I made mine in the same custard cups my Mom used to make it when I was a child. I will resist labeling them as ‘vintage’.
Lemon Custard with Pillow Top
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons of softened , Unsalted Butter (plus extra to butter the ramekins)
- 2/3 cup Extra Fine (or ‘Baker’s’) Sugar
- 1/8 teaspoon Kosher Salt
- 4 large Eggs , room temperature
- 3 tablespoons All Purpose Flour (gluten-free or regular)
- ¼ cup freshly squeezed Lemon Juice
- 3 teaspoons Lemon Zest
- 1 cup Whole Milk
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Butter 6-6 ounce custard cups or ramekins.
- Using a wooden or other sturdy mixing spoon, mash together the softened butter, sugar and salt until crumbly and combined.
- Slowly stir in lemon juice (make sure to remove any seeds!) and lemon zest. When combined, stir in milk.
- In a separate upright mixer bowl or using a hand held mixer, beat 4 egg whites until firm but not dry.
- Fold the egg whites gently into the lemony batter just until combined.
- Spoon gently into custard cups (do not pour). Place custard cups into a roasting pan where they will not touch each other. Add hot tap water to reach halfway up the side of the custard cups (water bath).
- Cook until the custards are lightly browned on top and a knife comes out clean; approximately 30-40 minutes. Remove from oven and allow custards to remain in the water bath an additional 10-15 minutes to set.
- Enjoy at any temperature!
Chef Dennis says
hi Toni
great job with your post for me, thanks for all your hard work on this wonderful dish!
Cheers
Dennis
Belinda @zomppa says
Definitely looks like spring to me – happy dessert.
egb says
Yum! Looks great and I just might have to try this one out! Well done.
Beach House Living says
Looks like spring is definitely in the air!
Josie Lee Suská says
Thanks for posting play-by-play pics. I don't make a lot of custards and your post definately inspires one to try another go at it!
Diann G says
Oh yummy! I gave up sweets for the Lenten period…but this will be one of the first treats I will make and indulge in once Easter is here! Can't wait!
Island Vittles says
This is one of my favourites from my childhood too…thanks for reminding me — I may make it tonight! theresa
The manly Housewife says
Wow these look great my wife and I are going to try these. Great pics too!
Lin Ann says
Sounds wonderfully light and airy. So fresh! Congratulations on your guest post for Chef Dennis!
Celia says
I have a set of those cups too! Got them from my grandma when she cleaned out her kitchen to move to FL. This looks like a great treat to fill them with!
thislittlepiggywenttothefarmersmarket.com says
Must try these – I remember a similar dessert when I was a kid. I'm in NJ but trying to feed my family with local, organic produce….we are looking forward to spring!
Amy says
This sounds amazing, so light and airy! I am loving anything lemon right now :)!
claudia lamascolo says
We just planted a lemon tree, this recipe is a keeper for them! I thank you for your visit. I love the honey fried puffs that are almost hollow inside, have made them many times… especially around Cinco De Mayo.. thanks for reminding me… would love a great recipe for them if you have one posted!
adventuresomekitchen says
beautiful as always!! I've been doing a lot with citrus lately- I think it's because I need sunshine!!! Happy Spring!!
Angie's Recipes says
So smooth and light! Just right up my alley.
Angie
Le says
This dessert looks lovely! I love lemon infused flavours in anything. I saw your guest post from Dennis' site and thought I'd check out yours.
Will definitely be following your blog now 🙂
Le
P.S Check out mine too!
Beyth says
What a lovely dessert! I tried this last night and my husband decided that three bowls of it made a perfect dinner. 🙂
Just one little note – I think you may have accidentally omitted the flour from your instructions (it's on the ingredient list, but doesn't appear in the step-by-step). As I was folding in the eggs whites, I thought, “Did I miss an ingredient? This looks awfully thin.” I spooned out what I could of the eggs whites, mixed in the flour, and then added the egg whites back in. It worked out beautifully, but just thought you might want to know!
(Btw, I've stumbled over to your site courtesy of my good friend, Lindsay, at Rosemarried.)
Melissa@EyesBigger says
I love anything with lemon in it so this is a must try on my lemon dessert list. And I love your polka dot mixing bowls! Are they fireking? And I have the same custard cups and I'm not that old so I'm ok with you not calling them vintage 😉
Cindy H says
WOW, this looks great! Thanks for sharing. Can’t wait to make.