Creamsicle Pudding Cake

By MaryEllen

Ingredients

• 1 cup fresh orange juice
• 2 tablespoons freshly grated orange zest
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted, plus more for greasing the baking dish
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• Seeds from 1 1/2 vanilla beans or 1 1/2 tablespoons vanilla bean paste
• 120 grams (about 1 cup) unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon table salt
• Vanilla ice cream as an accompaniment

Preparation

Step 1

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease an 8-inch-square baking dish with butter.
Bring the orange juice and 1/4 cup water to a boil while you prepare the batter. In a small bowl, whisk together the zest, cream, melted butter, lemon juice, and vanilla bean seeds or paste.
Whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl. Add the cream mixture and stir just until combined. Transfer the batter (it will be quite stiff) to the prepared dish, smoothing the top with a rubber spatula. Set the baking dish on the middle shelf of the oven and carefully pour the boiling orange juice over the surface of the batter. (This may sound odd, but it’s this mercurial.) Bake for 27 to 35 minutes, until the cake on top has a crisp golden surface and the pudding sauce on the bottom bubbles.
Spoon the pudding cake onto each of 6 plates and top each portion with a small scoop of ice cream. Serve immediately.
Yield: 6 servings.