Warm Lemon Rossella Pudding
Winter has well and truly arrived in Australia and that means warm and cosy desserts! I love all manner of warm dessert, especially poached and stewed fruits, self saucing puddings and steaming how fruit pies. My friend recently dropped over a basket of zingy Meyer lemons she had grown in her backyard and I knew I had to make a warm dessert with them. For those of you who haven't heard of Meyer lemons before, they are native to China and are more bright and fragrant than other lemons. The zest has a more floral and subtly spicy depth to it, and they are also super juicy. In other words, they are the king of lemons.
If I had to pick one dessert for the rest of my life, this warm Lemon Rossella Pudding would be it. I love warm lemon puddings more than my own children. Ok, maybe not but you get the gist. The thing is, it's the one recipe I gravitate towards as soon as the temperatures drop and the nights turn freezing cold. I've been making this recipe for years but this winter, I wanted to step it up a notch by adding Rossella extract. This dessert is bright, warm, comforting and above all, velvety. It's drowning in a zingy lemon sauce that oozes out from underneath the pudding when you dip your spoon into it. Oh yes, yes indeed.
What is Rossella?
Rosellas (also known as Hibiscus Sabdariffa) are a type of bright red hibiscus growing wild across the top end of Australia on the fringes of rainforests and in the sand dunes.While Rossellas are not originally native to Australia (they were introduced thousands of years ago from Africa) they have been used by native indigenous people for thousands of years spanning across multiple generations as a form of nourishment and medicine, because of their high antioxidant properties. Traditionally, the fibre from the bark was used to make dilli bags, twine and hunting nets.
What does Rossella taste like?
The calyx, stems, leaves and flower petals and seeds are all edible, and they have a pleasantly sweet yet subtly tart flavour, reminiscent of a tart berry and rhubarb.
When are Rossella harvested?
Planted during spring as the weather warms up, rosellas are harvested through March and April.
How do you use Rossella in cooking?
Rossella is highly versatile and can be used in sweet and savoury culinary techniques, in desserts, soups, chutneys, sauces and even with lamb, chicken and pork. They are commonly used in jams and teas thanks to their unique flavour and bright colour. And the leaves (also known as ‘red sorrel’) are also edible and usually steamed or stir-fried like spinach.
Where can I get Rossella extract for this recipe?
Australian Superdood Co. These guys are my go-to for native and indigenous ingredients. Here is the link to grab the Rossella extract.
It's no secret I love cooking with native Australian ingredients, so while you're here make sure you check out these recipes featuring native ingredients Lemon Myrtle & Thyme Damper, Apple & Quandong Galette, Campfire Baked Brie with Bush Dukkah, and Rhubarb and Apple Crumble with Davidson Plum.
Anyway, I hope you settle into winter and treat yourself to a night in front of the heater or fireplace with a bowl of homemade warm Lemon Rossella Pudding. I promise this will be your new favourite winter dessert. If you love this recipe, please leave a 5 star rating below because it lets me know what you think, and it helps other people discover my recipes and we definitely want that. And did you know? You can also stay in touch with me by following along on Instagram and Pinterest.
Information about native Rossella has been obtained fromThe Australian Superfood Co website, which I consider to be an essential native Australian ingredients resource.
Lemon Rossella Pudding
Servings
4
Prep Time
15 minutes
Cook Time
45 minutes
If I had to pick one dessert for the rest of my life, this would be it. This dessert is bright, warm, comforting and above all, velvety. It's drowning in a zingy lemon sauce that oozes out from underneath the pudding when you dip your spoon into it. Oh yes, yes indeed.
Ingredients
3 tablespoons of salted butter at room temperature, plus extra for greasing
1 cup caster sugar (fine white sugar)
1 teaspoon of vanilla bean paste (vanilla extract is also fine)
3/4 cup lemon juice (approx 4 lemons)
1 1/2 tsp rossella extract. If you don’t have this ingredient at the time of cooking, that’s totally ok. You can leave it out. Although I do highly recommend using Rossella.
3 eggs separated into two bowls
1 cup full cream milk
1/2 cup all flour
Directions
Preheat oven to 180C. Grease an oven proof dish with butter. I used 4 x 250ml (1 cup) ceramic dishes.
In a food processor or a blender, blitz the butter, sugar, vanilla, lemon juice and rossella extract for 30 seconds. Add egg yolks, milk and flour and blitz again until the mixture is silky smooth.
In a stand mixer or with a hand held electric beater, beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form. Gradually fold the batter mixture into the egg whites and stir softly. It’s totally ok if it’s not completely mixed in, just focus on folding it in lightly.
Pour the batter into the greased baking dish and if needed, use the back of a spoon to smooth the top. Place the baking dish in a roasting tray and gently pour hot tap water into the roasting tray till about halfway up the sides of the baking dish.
Bake the pudding in the oven for 35 to 45 minutes, or until the top of the pudding starts to turn lightly golden in colour. Serve as is and enjoy!
Recipe Note
For this dish you will need a food processor or blender, a stand mixer or an electric beater, a baking tray, and a roasting dish.
You must use a blender or a food processor for this recipe. Don't try to combine the ingredients in step 2 using a stand mixer oran electric beater; the ingredients won't combine thoroughly and the lemon will split the butter.
