The creamy and easy lemon moelleux is a soft dessert whose texture can be compared to a pudding or almost, because after baking it remains very soft; it is a typical French cake. Among the many magazines I periodically buy there is “Ci piace cucinare” directed by Monica Papagna* and inspired by that magazine today I propose the lemon moelleux, extremely creamy, delicate and super soft!
What are the typical ingredients of moelleux? In this delicious cake there is no butter, no oil and not even any yeast — instead we use mascarpone and cornstarch (maizena)!
The soft cake during baking will rise very high and then sink a little as soon as you turn off the oven, but what matters most is the taste — it’s outstanding!
You can vary the flavor of this delicate moelleux by using orange instead of lemon (and use more if you love the flavor), preferably organic or untreated since the recipe also uses grated citrus zest in the batter.
How to decorate the lemon moelleux? Besides the classic powdered sugar, in my opinion you can serve it in small squares and place on each one a tiny slice of peel briefly sautéed with sugar and water until almost caramelized; a sugared candied ginger cube would also be nice…
On the blog I prepared a “strawberry moelleux” with a classic batter but as soft as a cloud…
MOELLEUX WITH STRAWBERRIES
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LEMON MOELLEUX
The kitchen of ASI
- Difficulty: Very easy
- Cost: Very inexpensive
- Preparation time: 10 Minutes
- Cooking time: 45 Minutes
- Portions: 8 servings
- Cooking methods: Oven
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: All seasons
Ingredients
- 11.3 oz mascarpone (about 1 1/3 cups)
- 5.3 oz lemon yogurt (about 2/3 cup)
- 4.2 oz sugar (about 1/2 cup + 2 tbsp)
- 3 medium eggs
- 3.2 oz cornstarch (maizena) (about 3/4 cup)
- 1.9 fl oz lemon juice (about 3 tbsp + 2 tsp)
- 0.35 oz lemon zest, grated (about the zest of 1 lemon)
Preparation
For this soft lemon moelleux the recipe is super easy because you only need to mix the eggs with the sugar, you can even use electric beaters to speed up the preparation.
If you like mascarpone in cakes for its delicate aroma, don’t miss the mascarpone cake recipe!
Add the mascarpone, the lemon yogurt, the cornstarch, the lemon juice and zest and blend again to obtain a smooth and homogeneous mixture.
Line a 7 in (18 cm) diameter pan with parchment paper and pour the batter into it, gently moving the pan a little to level the batter.
Then bake the lemon moelleux in a preheated oven at 356°F (180°C) for about 45 minutes.
I left it in for another 5 minutes, keeping in mind that the central part — let’s say the inner 2–3 cm (about 0.8–1.2 in) — will always remain a little creamier…
Do the toothpick test on the outer part, beyond the inner ~1.18 in (3 cm), OK?
Alright, I’ll stop because this sounds like a tongue twister, darn!
Once baked, let it cool and then carefully remove it from the pan.
Dust it generously with powdered sugar as if it were snowing and serve.
Enjoy your lemon moelleux!
Annalisa
* As of February 12, 2024 she is no longer in that role — she became a mother and is doing other things!
