Christmas is just around the corner and I am always under the impression that many people are busy with all their Christmas shopping. For me, I do most of mine online, which is pretty handy as I don’t like to join the crowds at the main shopping places in London!

Most of us will probably have our Christmas dinner or lunch on the eve or on Christmas day itself. For those who have to prepare Christmas dinner or lunch, lots of planning and thoughts are involved; from drafting the menu up to the point to decide what colour scheme to choose for table setting and the overall look and feel. For those who have to plan and think of what to prepare, keep on reading!

You guys will be thrilled and feel lucky at the same time to have Aran from Cannelle et Vanille with us to share one of her great dessert recipes. It could be the dessert that you can prepare to impress your guests on Christmas! 

Aran is very talented. Every time I check her blog, I wish I could bake like her! Not only that, all her photos accompanied with her recipes are nicely composed too.  I once tried making one of her desserts, Yoghurt Mousse and absolutely love it!

Let us today give a warm welcome to Aran from Canelle et Vanille, sharing with us Grapefruit Pudding Cake. By the name itself, I can tell you that it’s gonna be one of my favourites, remember that I love citrus fruits!

Citrus season has started here in Florida so grapefruit, oranges and tangelos are everywhere. This is a variation on the classic lemon pudding cake with the addition of grapefruit. It is amazing how a simple recipe can yield such a delightful dessert.

Light and spongy cake on the bottom and creamy pudding on top. I paired it with a small quenelle of devonshire cream that has been whipped with a little lemon zest and some chopped pistachios for crunch. It is a simple recipe that I hope you try!          

Recipe: Grapefruit Pudding  Cake

Ingredients:

2 egg yolks

185 grams whole milk

½ tsp lemon zest

½ tsp grapefruit zest

60 grams grapefruit juice

100 grams sugar

25 grams flour

pinch salt

2 egg whites

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 325F. Spray the inside of 6 4-oz ramekins (or any other size) with cooking spray and place them on a shallow baking dish.

2. In a bowl, whisk together the egg yolks, milk, zest and juice.

3. In a separate bowl, combine the sugar, flour and salt. Add the liquid ingredients to the dry and whisk until combined.

4. In a separate bowl, whip the egg whites to medium stiff peaks.  Add the whipped egg whites to the custard base and fold gently trying not to deflate them too much. It will be a runny batter.

5. Pour the batter into the ramekins about ¾ of the way full. Bring the baking dish to the oven and fill with hot water to cover about half way up the ramekins.

6. Place the baking pan in the oven and bake the custards until the tops are lightly golden. It will take about 30-35 minutes depending on the size of the ramekin.

7. Remove them from the oven and let them cool completely before unmolding so the pudding part sets.