Aunt Mariah's Lemon Sponge Cups

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A&M say: We're so glad ENunn unearthed her Aunt Mariah's version of this classic lemon pudding cake -- its evocative name, mellowed lemon pucker and bare sweetness thoroughly won us over. In one fell swoop, you get two desserts: a delicate, airy cake that rises to the top and browns handsomely, and a lush lemony custard that pools at the bottom, waiting for your spoon. - A&M

ENunn says: I found the recipe for these lemon sponge cups in my Aunt Mariah's old-fashioned recipe box (an actual box), when I was visiting with her in my hometown, Galax, Virginia, to learn how to make her exquisite, feathery rolls. The rolls took lots of practice. The lemon sponge cups, though, were a breeze; also, they make you feel fancy, like a lady. You pour the batter into individual souffle dishes or ramekins, and when they come out of the oven they have cute puffy-brown tops, with a layer of lemon custard on the bottom. Without whipped cream, they are perfectly light and sour-sweet; but a spoonful of whipped cream is always nice for company. - ENunn

Serves 4-6

  • 2 tablespoons butter
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 4 tablespoons flour
  • 1 lemon, grated rind and juice
  • 1 1/2 cup milk
  • 3 eggs, separated
  • 1 pinch salt
  1. Preheat oven to 350. In a large bowl, cream butter. Add sugar, flour salt, lemon juice and rind. In a separate bowl, beat egg yolks; stir in milk. Slowly add second mixture to first mixture. Beat egg whites until stiff; gently fold into mixture. Pour into ramekins or individual souffle dishes and place in pan of hot water. Bake in "moderate" oven (350, in my case) for 45 minutes. You will have a layer of lemon custard, with gorgeous, lightly browned sponge on top. Let cool a bit. Turn out and serve with whipped cream, or serve still in the dish. You can also bake this in one large souffle dish. Aunt Mariah likes to garnish with a thin slice of lemon.
  • This recipe is a Wildcard Contest Winner!

Tags: Easy, lemon

Comments (69) Questions (7)

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20 days ago Hattie Spade Cunningham

I've made a similar recipe and put into a pie crust. Very good!

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about 1 month ago Garry Higgins

Will I be able to bake these earlier on in the day and then reheat for dinner time?

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about 1 month ago Please sign me up

Wonder what these would taste with grapefruit. Plenty of grapefruit on hand.

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about 1 month ago AEC

These are wonderful in every way. Quick, easy & cheap, yet with elegant results. Kids and adults both gobbled them up and wanted more. I think any citrus would work. Bravo. (BTW: I only had low-fat milk on hand and still terrific.)

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3 months ago Marc Osten - Marc's Culinary Compass

This is an unbelievable photo, idea and recipe. Looking at it reminded me of how food can provoke such deep emotion. My 12 year old daughter/chef made a batch of madeleines last week, a small French sponge cake. When I put the 3 minute video of her doing it on my Culinary Compass blog I added some words from the French novelist Marcel Proust. Those words totally apply to Aunt Mariah's lemon sponge cups. He writes: No sooner had the warm liquid mixed with the crumbs touched my palate than a shudder ran through me and I stopped, intent upon the extraordinary thing that was happening to me." You can watch Olivia at work and read the rest of the Proust quote at http://www.marcs-culinary...

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5 months ago Amani

Hello! I was wondering if i could make these in the morning, and bake them at night? The look so lovely!

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5 months ago sfpipeline

If you make them early, bake them early too. Those whipped egg whites aren't going to wait all day for you to put them into the oven.

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5 months ago sfpipeline

I have a couple of recipes that are almost exactly like this one that I have made many times. One calls for plain milk and the other one calls for buttermilk. Try using buttermilk sometime, it's delicious! Also, who makes the glass baking dish in the image - I love it.

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6 months ago alice_kim

Just made these to use up our super-ripe lemons! So quick and easy (though the wait time while in the oven was agonizing :P). I don't eat wheat, so I subbed the flour for brown rice flour, and didn't have milk so used SoDelicious' Coconut Milk instead (not the canned full-fat kind meant for baking/cooking). I also reduced the amount of sugar but added a bit more lemon zest!

The slightly crystallized spongy crust right out of the oven was delicious. I made too many so I'm going to refrigerate them and just enjoy them as a kind of pudding!

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6 months ago sally larhette

A similar recipe was on my test to graduate from a culinary school!Hammersley Bistro in Boston had a similar dessert on the menu for years, if not still. Some recipes have rich cream instead of milk.

Eat your cake and pudding at the same time,laced with fresh Lemon.Good chilled and as soon as you can without burning your tender lips.

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7 months ago Robin Foster

The very first recipe I made from Food 52 and it was awesome. Rave reviews from the family and definitely a keeper.

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8 months ago Cooks4Crowds

I made this just tonight and it was great. Everyone loved it.

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11 months ago The Good Cook

This is delicious! Also, try substituting the lemon with chocolate. I used a double-boiler to melt some dark chocolate and mixed that into the batter.

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12 months ago MissSpicy

So delicious and the perfect end to a meal . . . made these for a dinner party Saturday night . . . so simple to make and turned out perfect in white ramekins . . . made six . . . the sponge cake was soft and the custard was creamy and just the right lemony tartness . . . topped with fresh whipped cream . . . yummy . . . this is a keeper recipe for me!

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over 1 year ago CharlieR

This looks wonderful!

Could you tell me though where you got the glass bowls?

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about 1 year ago The Good Cook

From yo mama! Lolz...

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about 1 year ago The Good Cook

From yo mama! Lolz...

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20 days ago Dazzle-dae

So,if you didn't get any from YO mama, try JENAer Glas Wagenfeld egg coddler (2? sizes available, EXPENSIVE, but a Bauhaus designer classic)

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over 1 year ago whitsy

I don't have a lemon on hand, any way to use lemon juice? Maybe the measurement of it?

Hib_kitchen

over 1 year ago MyCommunalTable

I just tried to measure this about a month ago. It was different depending on the lemon itself. I came up with 3T as average. Hope that this helps. This is such a good recipe.

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over 1 year ago whitsy

Thank you for the tip! I found 2T on another website, so I ended up with maybe between 2T and 3T. They're in the oven now!

Hib_kitchen

over 1 year ago MyCommunalTable

I can't image that it makes a huge difference in this recipe. I can't wait to hear how it turned out. It has been a huge success in my house.

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over 1 year ago whitsy

Delicious!! Going to add a bit more lemon juice next time though, they don't have quite the lemon taste I was hoping for, I love lemon!! But otherwise, perfect.

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almost 2 years ago Elizabeth2

Just made them..Can't wait to see how they come out !

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almost 2 years ago ellenl

I adore this recipe and, like others, really want to buy those egg coddlers! Many thanks.

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about 2 years ago DIANELLY

can I make them the day before and store them in the fridge? and what do I put in individuals for them no to stick, butter with flour?

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over 1 year ago whitsy

I sprayed with a butter no-stick spray, and it turned out perfect.

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about 2 years ago artsycella

Yum! I saw this on here yesterday and had to make it right away! My cups turned out perfectly, even though there were a few points I was a little confused about when attempting to follow the directions. I didn't know how long to beat the egg yolks, or whether I should use a beater to incorporate the yolks into the flour/sugar/butter mixture, or just a spoon. I also didn't know if it matter how high the water bath came up to on the sides of the cups. Anyway, whatever I did, they turned out to have perfect texture, a great contrast between the custard the the airy cake. They looked beautiful and tasted so good I helped myself to two of them.

Ashtaco

about 2 years ago wanderash

Another beautiful family recipe!! Congrats! This is very similar to one of my fav desserts to make, which is a batter of lemon curd and meringue baked in a pretty little dish. I make it for guests a lot, because they too make me feel fancy :)