If you’ve ever had the opportunity to eat at fabulous Bistro Don Giovanni restaurant in the Napa Valley then you might have enjoyed their delicious Meyer Lemon Souffle Cake.
The dessert is part cake and part pudding with a luscious Meyer lemon flavor that is smooth and light and refreshing. Each cake is an individual portion adorned with fresh berries.
This recipe is a close dupe of the same dessert that you can easily make at home! I dressed it up with some pureed homemade strawberry jam and a few frozen berries dusted with powdered sugar.
The best part of this dessert is that you can easily make it in advance. Here is how you can make your own:
You can find the basic recipe for the cake here. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter 6 individual ramekins and set aside. You will also need a roasting pan big enough to fit all 6 of the ramekins. Set roasting pan aside.
In a blender, blend together the buttermilk, 1/2 cup sugar, egg yolks, lemon juice, flour, melted butter and salt until smooth. I like to then strain the blended buttermilk mixture into a bowl to make sure there are no small lumps left and that it’s completely smooth. Set bowl aside.
In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment whisk the egg whites until soft peaks form (I added a pinch of cream of tarter for more stability).
Gradually add the 1/2 cup remaining sugar and beat until egg whites are stiff. Gently fold the buttermilk mixture into the whites in 3 additions. Batter will be runny.
Carefully pour the batter equally into each of the 6 ramekins, filling approximately 3/4 full. Place each ramekin into the roasting pan.
Pour enough hot water into the pan to come halfway up the sides of the ramekins. Place in oven and bake until the tops of the cakes are a nice deep brown. The tops should spring back when done, around 45 minutes.
Carefully remove the ramekins from the roasting pan (I used rubber gloves to get a good grip on the ramekins) and let cool completely before covering with plastic wrap and placing into the refrigerator to chill for at least 3 hours (I let mine chill overnight).
While cakes are chilling you can make a puree to serve with the cakes. In a blender I pureed some homemade strawberry jam until smooth. Keep puree in fridge until ready to use.
When the cakes are chilled, carefully run an offset spatula around the edges of the cake to loosen from the ramekin. Place a small serving plate over the top of ramekin and invert, tapping lightly on the counter to release.
When the cake is on the plate, spoon the strawberry puree around the base of the cake. Top with berries and dust with powdered sugar when ready to serve.
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