Cinderella’s Hearth: Easy Lemon Pudding

(Note: I originally published this in a small weekly newspaper that I wrote nearly a thousand columns for over many years. I hate to see them disappear, so I’m recycling them. You’ll be seeing plenty of these going forward. This gem is from 2021, and it really is a delicious treat! We now have a granddaughter as well as a grandson, and this pudding is still a hit. KW)

The other night, my daughter texted me, raving about a delicious lemon pudding she makes that both her husband and son love. It’s incredibly easy, requires only three ingredients and comes together in one minute. Really.

I haven’t made it yet, but I went to the website that originally published the recipe, and it looks so yummy and so easy that I had to share it. The site is called Owl B Baking, and I’m pretty much going to replicate the recipe here. Cecelia did the same. She does add a crunchy crumble on top of it, and I’m including that recipe as well. She can’t remember its origin, and maybe she made it up herself, but I’ve had it on other treats she’s made. It’s yummy.

The pudding recipe absolutely relies on the citrus to make it thicken properly. You can substitute limes for the lemons, or possibly orange juice. You must, I repeat, must, do the steps exactly in the order they are given, or you won’t get pudding. The pudding is a bit runny when it’s first put together, but if you refrigerate it for eight hours or overnight, it will thicken like other puddings.

You can use this on fruit, over pound cake, in a trifle, as part of a parfait, as a fruit dip, etc. just use your imagination. Here we go.

Easy Lemon Pudding

1 14 ounce can of sweetened condensed milk

1 cup of heavy whipping cream

3.5 to 4 tablespoons of fresh lemon juice

 (roughly 1 to 2 lemons)

Pour the sweetened condensed milk into a large bowl, then add the heavy cream. Whisk them together just to combine. You don’t need to do more than that. Next, add the lemon juice and then stir immediately. You should see the thickening begin in seconds. Continue whisking for about a minute or until the juice is completely combined. Refrigerate. It keeps for about three days. This makes roughly two cups and is very easy to double.

Cecelia’s Crunchy Crumble

4 full-size graham crackers, in pieces

2 tablespoons brown sugar

2 tablespoons melted butter 

Mix all ingredients together and spread on parchment paper that’s on a cookie sheet. Bake for 10 minutes at 350 degrees. Cool. Break up if needed. You’ve got a crunchy crumble that’s great on the lemon pudding, ice cream, fresh fruit, etc.

Cecelia says you can mess around with the ingredients, adding nuts, for example, and it will still taste great. It’s hard to quantify how much it makes, but it easily satisfies the three of them on a variety of desserts.

There you go. I’ve given you two recipes you might use for Thanksgiving or any time of the year.