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Versatile Lemon Pudding

(From scratch, using flour, cooked in the microwave oven)

This filling is delicious, chilled in a bowl or served from the freezer on a hot summer day. Make it with or without meringue. It is also the perfect filling for prebaked tart or pie shells. 

Make sure you have granulated sugar, all-purpose flour, salt, 3 eggs, a juicy lemon, and butter on hand. 

Instructions:

Place the following ingredients in an eight-cup, glass measuring bowl and stir.

1 cup of sugar

4 tablespoons of flour

½ teaspoon of salt

½ cup of water

Add the following ingredients to the above mixture and stir. 

3 well-beaten egg yolks (set aside the whites for meringue) 

1 cup of water

Cook this mixture on high in the microwave for 2 minutes. Then stir well.

Return the filling to the microwave oven and cook on high for three minutes or until thickened.

Add the following ingredients to the mixture. 

2 tablespoons of butter

¼ cup of fresh lemon juice

1½ teaspoons of grated lemon rind

Set the lemon pudding aside to cool. 

Meringue: To make the meringue, whip the three egg whites until frothy and add ¼ cup of sugar, slowly, while still beating. When peaks form, pile meringue on the pie, tarts, or puddings and bake in a 400°F oven for 5 minutes. Watch this process closely. Meringue browns very quickly. Store your lemon treats in the refrigerator once cooled. 

Tips for Making Perfect Prebaked Tart Shells:

Start by making your favourite pastry recipe. This time, I made my Vintage Hot Water Pastry. Roll the pastry, cut it into circles, fill a tart pan with pastry circles, and bake the shells or freeze them, uncooked, for another day.

When you are ready to bake the tart shells, place a paper cupcake liner inside each raw pastry shell and cover the liner with pie weights. I own clay pie weights, but some people use dried beans for this purpose. When I bake pastry shells without filling, I bake them in a preheated 425° F oven for 10 minutes. Then, I carefully remove the liners with the weights and return the shells to the oven for another 5 minutes. Set the shells aside to cool before filling. 

Generously fill each shell with lemon pie filling. Top with meringue. Place the tarts in a 425° F oven for 5 minutes. Check the tarts after 4 minutes to avoid over-browning. 

Confession: These tarts freeze beautifully and are delicious served right from the freezer. As shown above, I ate this frozen tart!

Ideas:

Put filling in an oven-proof custard cup, top with meringue, and bake as you would for meringue topped tarts. This pudding is delicious without a pastry base. 

Serve the filling in small glass bowls for a taste change after a heavy meal. It is particularly refreshing on a hot day or when someone is recuperating from a cold or other illness. 

As some of you know, my husband has Crohn's, and he enjoys eating this treat right from the freezer when he is recuperating from a difficult time. I simply freeze the pudding in small containers. He eats it slowly, scraping pudding curls from the top. He lets the refreshing frozen pudding melt on his tongue.