White House Recipe From The UK State Dinner: Steamed Lemon Pudding

White House Executive Pastry Chef Bill Yosses has unveiled a home-cooking version of the Steamed Meyer Lemon Pudding that President Obama and First Lady Obama served as the dessert for Wednesday's State Dinner honoring British Prime Minister David Cameron and his wife, Mrs. Samatha Cameron. A sweet ending to the formal affair, the dessert, said the White House, is "a nod to the traditional British treat." (Above: The Head Table at the dinner, with the President and Prime Minister in the center, and George Clooney beside Mrs. Obama at right)

The showstopping Winter Harvest menu was designed by Executive Chef Cris Comerford to blend US and UK culinary traditions. As served at the State Dinner, the pudding was topped with a cage of spun sugar and a candied lemon wedge with Idaho Huckleberry Sauce "to unite the British and American flavors."

Newtown Pippin Apples were also used, but these elements have been left out of the home version of the recipe, which serves six. (Above: The dessert as it appeared during the afternoon menu preview event)

The UK State Dinner, the largest the President and Mrs. Obama have hosted, was held in a huge pavilion on the South Lawn. Iron Horse Russian Cuvee 2007 (Green Valley, Sonoma County, CA), was served with the dessert course. The guest list.

Chef Yosses used Meyer Lemons for the State Diner, but any kind of lemon is fine for home use. The recipe requires an electric mixer (or very strong arms for whisking), six individual custard dishes, and a deep roasting pan. The pudding is cooked in a water bath, explained in the directions below.

White House Steamed Lemon Pudding

Ingredients
3 tablespoons butter, melted and cooled

3/4 cup sugar

1 tablespoon lemon zest

3 large eggs, separated

1/3 cup all purpose flour

1 cup milk

6 tablespoons lemon juice (70g)

1/8 teaspoon salt

Method
1. Heat oven to 320F

2. Butter six individual custard dishes and coat with sugar

3. Place a folded towel on bottom of a roasting pan and boil water for water bath.

4. Whisk the sugar and flour together; set aside.

5. In a separate bowl, whisk the yolks and butter until smooth; whisk in the milk, lemon juice, salt and lemon zest until blended; whisk the flour mixture into this. (Note: the batter will be very liquid)

6. Beat the egg whites until stiff and fold into the above mixture.

7. Immediately ladle into the custard cups and place in the prepared baking pan filled halfway with hot water. Bake until the puddings are puffy and golden on top, about 50 minutes.

8. Serve warm

*Makes 6 individual servings.

CLICK HERE for links to all posts about the Camerons' Official Visit and the State Dinner. Check the sidebar for more White House recipes.

*Top photo by Pete Souza/White House; second by eddie Gehman Kohan/Obama Foodorama; third via White House