Clark says: “Often it’s imperfection that we fall in love with. A nose that’s too big, a lopsided grin, the little wispy tufts of hair at the top of an ear. As with lovers, so with dishes, and one of the things that made my mother’s puddings so good when I was a child was that they were very far from perfect and she often slightly under (or over) cooked them.”

Serves: 4-6

Ingredients

60g unsalted butter, plus extra for greasing
180g caster sugar
zest and juice of 2 large lemons
3 eggs, separated
60g plain (all-purpose) or 00 flour
300ml whole milk
a good pinch of salt
cream, to serve

Method

Preheat the oven to 160ºC fan (180ºC/350ºF). Lightly butter a deep, ovenproof dish.

Cream the butter, sugar and lemon zest together until well combined. Beat in the egg yolks, one at a time, until incorporated. Fold in the flour and the milk until you have a smooth batter, then gradually mix in the lemon juice.

In a separate bowl whisk the egg whites with the salt until they form soft peaks and then carefully fold them into the cake batter.

Decant the mixture into the buttered dish and stand it in a roasting tin filled with water to come about halfway up the side of the dish.

Bake in the oven or 45–50 minutes until golden. Eat warm with cold cream.

For The Love Of Lemons: 3 lemon desserts that are summer on a plate