My mum and her mum (who lived with us), were formidable in the kitchen. It was like living with a Julia Childs double act.

Night after night, ox tail soup; prawn cocktail, queen of puddings, would miraculously appear. Sometimes I longed for a takeaway or TV dinners just to break the dinner table formality. But after a cooking marathon like that, day in, day out, who can blame them for insisting we sit down to eat?

And the puddings! This lemony surprise was always a winner. It separates into a spongy top with a hot lemony curd underneath.

Ingredients

4 eggs
juice of one lemon
finely grated zest of one lemon
1 tablespoon butter
1 1/2 cups white sugar
1/2 cup sifted flour
pinch salt
1 1/2 cups milk

Method

1. Heat the oven to around 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

2. Separate eggs and beat together the yolks, lemon juice, zest and butter until thick and smooth.

3. Combine sugar, flour, and salt in a bowl.

4. Add a little milk to the yolk mixture, and then a little flour until all combined - beating well after each addition.

5. Beat egg whites until stiff.

6. Fold egg whites into batter and pour into a generously buttered baking dish.

7. Cover dish with baking paper and foil, then tie tightly with string.

8. Place a pan or oven dish of boiling water in the oven, and place the baking dish into the pan. Ideally, the water level should sit at around the half way point.

9. Bake at for one and a quarter hours, keeping an eye on the water level and topping up as needed.

10. Serve hot with cream or vanilla ice-cream.

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