A Lemon Orchard and Lemon Pudding Cakes

Lisbon Lemons in the Salinas Valley

“A few miles south of Soledad, the Salinas river drops in close to the hillside bank and runs deep and green. The water is warm too, for it has slipped twinkling over the yellow sands in the sunlight before reaching the narrow pool. On one side of the river the golden foothill slopes curve up to the strong and rocky Gabilan mountains, but on the valley side the water is lined with trees—willows fresh and green with every spring, carrying in their lower leaf junctures the debris of the winter’s flooding; and sycamores with mottles, white, recumbent limbs and branches that arch over the pond.”

Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck

Inspiration

Although I have lived in Monterey County, California most of my life I had no idea lemons were grown just a half hour drive from my home until last year. Lettuce, strawberries, broccoli, cauliflower, artichokes, celery, tomatoes, wines grapes of these I knew, but lemons? I very much wanted to learn more. I contacted Brokaw Ranches and Nursery home office in Ventura and inquired about a tour of their Lemoravo Ranch located locally in Monterey County. Brokaw Nursery LLC began Lemoravo Ranch in the early seventies. The lemons are grown and harvested year round for Sunkist. Kirk Williams, whose father Jim is one of the founding partners of Brokaw Nursery offered to give Athena and me a tour of the lemon orchard near the city of Soledad. Lemoravo Ranch is nestled in an alluvial plain, in the foothills of the Santa Lucia Mountains. We drove south from Salinas along Highway 101 until we passed the city of Soledad and then headed west past Mission Soledad to the ranch. When we first met Kirk we didn’t know what to expect; there wasn’t a lemon tree in sight. It was only when we drove up into the Santa Lucia foothills that we saw the magnificent lemon orchard and surrounding vineyards. Perched above the valley floor, the 400 acre lemon orchard at Lemoravo Ranch affords a view east, across the valley to the Gabilan Mountains and the Salinas Valley agricultural fields and cities below. The view was just as spectacular and refreshing as the lemon trees full of Lisbon lemons ready to harvest in January.

A morsel of historical trivia surrounds the John Steinbeck quote in today’s post. Larry Rose of Brokaw Nursery LLC told me the geography described in the opening passage in John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men around George and Lenny’s camp is very near Lemoravo Ranch.

Essentials

I am extremely fond of lemon desserts. Given a choice, I will choose lemon over chocolate every time. A trip to the lemon orchard was inspiration in lemony yellow and vibrant citrus green leaves for Valentine’s Day. Sunshine imbued yellow hearts hover above the sweet moist cake. Burrowing down further one reaches the bright, clean tangy yet sweet lemon pudding. A dessert that has a light touch, yet full of intensity, all wrapped in luscious ribbon. A perfect Valentine.

When I make lemon desserts I almost always double the amount of lemon zest in the recipe, otherwise the dessert is just too sweet. I added a lot more zest to this recipe. I wanted a zingy, zippy refreshing lemon dessert. How much zest you use is up to you. Maybe there is a middle ground between 1teaspoon and 2 tablespoons. For me 1 teaspoon was not going to be enough to bother making the dessert. After all, lemon is the star of this dessert. I insist on a deliberate lemon flavor, no hinting about. Save the sweet Meyer lemons for another day.

The recipe for the Lemon Pudding Cakes is from The Williams and Sonoma Baking Book. The candied lemon on the top of the Pudding Cakes are my addition. I made the pudding cups in 1/2 C wide-mouth, glass canning jars, rather than traditional ramekins. Baking instructions for both containers are listed below in the recipe. A simple recipe but it is easy to over beat the egg whites and over bake the pudding cakes. Beat the egg whites just until you have soft peaks, fold them into the cake batter thoroughly and if using glass canning jars check after 20 minutes in the oven. Mine were done after 25 minutes. When done, the billowy cake tops are firm to the touch, while the lemony pudding hides below. A bit of lemon nirvana in a jar.

	Ingredients
	For the cakes
1/2 C (2-1/2 oz/75g)	flour
1/4 t	salt
3	large eggs, room temperature, separated
1 C (80z/250g)	sugar
1 t	finely grated lemon zest, I used 2T and prefer Lisbon or Eureka lemons for this recipe
1/3 C (3 fl oz/80 ml)	fresh lemon juice
11/3 C (11fl oz/330ml)	whole milk
	For the candied lemon topping
1/2 C	sugar
1/2 C	water
2	lemons for 8 lemon slices 1/4” thick

1. Preheat the oven to 350° for the ramekins, 325° for the canning jars. Place eight 1/2 cup ramekins or canning jars in a large baking dish and pour in water to reach halfway up the sides of the ramekins.
2. In a small bowl, stir together the four and the salt. In a separate non-reactive bowl, using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat the egg yolks with 3/4 cup (6oz/180g) of the sugar until pale and thick, about 3 minutes. Stir in the flour mixture and beat until very thick, 2 minutes more. Stir in the lemon zest, juice and milk.
3. Using an electric mixer on high speed, whip the egg whites until foamy. Sprinkle in the remaining 1/4 C (2oz/60g) sugar and whip until soft peaks form when the beaters are lifted. Do not over beat. Using a silicone spatula, stir one-fourth of fourth of the egg whites into the lemon mixture. Gently fold in the rest just until no streaks of egg white are visible. Divide the mixture evenly among the ramekins or canning jars.
4. Bake until the centers are firm to the touch and the edges pull away slightly from the sides of the ramekins, 40–45 minutes or 25–30 minutes for the canning jars. Remove from the oven but leave in the water bath for 15–20 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature straight from the ramekins or canning jars.
5. For the candied lemon topping, stir together the water and sugar in a large skillet over medium high heat until the sugar is dissolved. Add the lemon slices in a single layer, simmer until the centers become translucent, 15–20 minutes. Turn the slices a few times while they are cooking. Remove the slices to a cooling rack placed over a sheet pan or parchment to cool. Top each ramekin or jar with a slice of lemon.

For the Valentine decorations I used Martha Stewart heart shaped stickers, attached to toothpicks. I used colored pencils to imbue a soft yellow to the white hearts. Ribbons and trims are from my personal collection.

A lemon note: Lisbon lemons from Lemoravo Ranch were used in my first testing of the recipe; subsequent recipe testing and related photos include Eureka lemons from a neighborhood lemon tree.