18 August, 2020
~~~~
In this classic lemon delicious dessert, I have added an extra hint of flavour by infusing the milk with lemon verbena leaves. This is optional but makes a nice addition if you have the herb on hand. It is available from bulk food stores that sell loose-leaf herb teas.
Lemon verbena is an easy-care perennial herb. I grow it in a pot to keep it at a manageable size and regularly prune the branches to then hang in a warm position to dry. Once dry, I store the leaves in a large jar for an uplifting tea – add 2-3 leaves to a cup and pour over boiling water.
A seedling makes an excellent gift – which is where mine came from – and a small plant in a pot will produce enough leaves for lemon-scented tea year-round. A must-have herb in any big or small garden.
Lemon Delicious - Infused with Lemon Verbena
Ingredients
- 1 cup (250ml) milk of choice (I used oat milk)
- 5-6 lemon verbena leaves or 1 tsp dried leaf -optional
- 70 g butter
- ¼ cup (50g) sugar
- 2 tbsp mild honey or use extra sugar
- 3 eggs, separated
- 2 lemons
- ½ cup (70g) self-raising flour
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 170°C. Grease a 20 x 25cm baking dish.
- If using the lemon verbena, first heat the milk in a small saucepan until hot (do not boil). Remove from the heat, add the verbena and leave to infuse for 15 minutes. Remove the leaves.
- Place the butter, sugar and honey in a bowl and use an electric beater to mix until fluffy and creamy. Add the egg yolks and zest of 1 lemon. Beat again to combine.
- Sift over the flour and use a spatula to fold into the egg mixture, followed by the infused milk.
- Juice the lemons – you want about one-third of a cup of juice – and stir through the mixture. It will be quite a runny batter.
- Place the egg whites into a bowl and use clean beaters to whisk until soft peaks form. Fold this through the lemon mixture then pour into the prepared dish. Sit the dish inside a roasting tray and pour boiling water into the tray to come halfway up the sides of the dish. Bake for 25-30 minutes until the lemon delicious is just set - a little wobble is fine. Serve with cream or vanilla ice cream.
Just wondering if you have a Brand of SR flour you prefer, I find it often has an almost baking soda taste once cooked, thanks 🙂
Hi Donna, I tend to make my own adding 1 tsp baking powder per 1 cup flour because I rarely use it so easy to make a small batch as needed.
Hope that helps
Nicola
Hi Nicola
Can I make this with gluten free flour
I’m loving your new book the boiled lemon and coconut loaf a family favourite
Thank you
Denise
Hi Denise, thank you for the lovely feedback 🙂
Yes, you can make this with gluten-free flour. Depending on the flour used it may not be quite as light as using wheat flour. I tend to make a mix of 2/3 rice flour and 1/3 tapioca. Or see the gluten-free flour mix in my book.
Enjoy!
Nicola