Orange Pudding Cake is a wonderful low-sugar church lady kind of dessert that’s the perfect creamy antidote to cooler weather. There’s only one tricky aspect to this recipe and that is the danger of overcooking it.
Minor Avoidable Pitfalls
Theoretically, this should be easy to avoid except for the fact that it keeps cooking after you take it out of the oven. So pay attention to your timer and know whether your oven runs hot or cold. Do that and all will be well.
Flub it and your children will mercilessly ridicule your incompetence and will throw gelatinous chunks under the table in hopes that it will also be rejected by the family pet thereby deepening your humiliation. Rex the rescue pet will then drag them to various places in the dining room for careful inspection all the while pawing them into the rug forming orange stains distinct from the general pattern and which you will never succeed in removing. Moral. Don’t overcook this. If perfection is beyond your powers think runny not rubbery.
What you need
To get started you need two bowls and a hand mixer or whisk. All the ingredients save the egg whites go in one bowl and when they’re fully incorporated you will beat the egg whites to soft peaks. Lighten the mixture by gently whisking in a spoonful or two of the whites then fold in the rest. The whites should still have volume but not be in huge pieces.
When you’re spooning the batter into the ramekins make sure the ladle goes all the way to the bottom of the bowl so you’ll get equal portions of egg white and the more liquid batter at the bottom. This recipe will fill four large ramekins as shown in the photos or six of the smaller Pyrex custard cups that most people have.
Into the oven
And it’s a good idea to put the cups in the roasting pan before filling. For stability fold a dish towel and place in the bottom of the pan. After you’ve filled the ramekins pour in the water and pop in the oven. They should look like this when they’re done:
You’ll notice that in this shot the tops are brown and the others not. That’s because the paler cakes were covered with foil, the brown ones weren’t. They both seem to cook at the same rate so it’s a matter of personal preference since both taste good.
They’re ready to eat after about an hour of cooling at room temperature or you may put in the fridge if you’re making them ahead. Finally, don’t forget to dust the top with a little more orange zest and enjoy!
And if you like this you might enjoy:
- 3 medium eggs, separated
- ⅓ cup orange juice
- ½ cup sugar
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons butter, melted & cooled
- zest from one medium orange
- 3 tsps. corn starch
- ¼ cup flour
- ¾ cup whole milk
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Butter ramekins
- Beat egg yolks, orange juice, milk, sugar, vanilla, butter & salt until smooth.
- Stir together orange rind, cornstarch & flour and gradually add to mixture until smooth.
- Beat egg whites to a soft peak.
- Take a couple of spoonfuls & beat into the mixture until smooth to lighten it then fold the remaining egg white into the mixture.
- Ladle the mixture into the ramekins starting with the ladle at the bottom of the mixing bowl & coming up to the top. This is to ensure that each ramekin has some liquid & some egg white.
- Place ramekins in a pan with about 1 inch of water in the bottom, cover with foil and bake for about 40 minutes.
- They should still have a little wiggle in them when you remove them from the oven.
- Let cool for an hour before serving.
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