In Search of: Gramma Pie (Grandma’s)

 

When talking to a sibling, we often fondly reminisce about food from out childhood, the Lemon Pudding Cake, Melting Moments, Jamdrops, Christmas puddings, Flummery and one childhood memory of a pie we only tried once and never forgot.

I was reminded of this pie when shopping for vegetables and a different type of pumpkin was for sale.  A Gramma pumpkin.  Startled, (I am ashamed to admit this), it reminded me of the name of the pie that lived on in my memory because as a child I thought the pie was called Grandma Pie because she had created it, or Grammar Pie, because she did like us to speak and write correctly.  On impulse I bought some of the Gramma pumpkin and went home intent on finding a recipe and attempting to recreate the pie from my childhood.

In Search of: Lemon Pudding Cake (Grandma’s Recipe) Version Five

This cake was unplanned and the product of a need for cake (cake addiction is not a recognised addiction as yet) and trying to consume groceries before the use by date.  There seems to be a fine balance between having ingredients on hand in case inspiration strikes and they are needed and/or using them within the time period while they are still fresh and not expired.

In Search of: Lemon Pudding Cake (Grandma’s Recipe) Version Four

It has been a little while since I attempted to find this recipe and this time I once again opted for a cake which did not use packet cake, pudding or jelly mix.

The source of the recipe is here: https://www.thekitchenmagpie.com/lemon-bundt-cake/.

I sought and  received approval to use this recipe.  The Kitchen Magpie also has a recipe for a lemon pudding cake that I may attempt later, but at the time the ingredients for the Bundt Cake were already in the house the decision was made to try it.

In Search of: Lemon Pudding Cake as made by my Grandmother for my birthday – Version 3

The third of the attempts to replicate the best Lemon Pudding Cake I’ve tasted.

Source: http://www.amykayskitchen.com/moist-lemon-bundt-cake/

In Search Of: Grandma’s Lemon Pudding Birthday Cake, Version 2.

The second of the attempts to replicate the cake my grandmother made.

Unfortunately it seems most of the supermarkets in my general area do not stock lemon pudding mix, instead it is only possible to obtain vanilla pudding.  While this is not perfect, if the consistency of the cake is okay, it may be possible to adjust the flavours and make up for the lack of lemon within the pudding mix.

In Search of: Grandma’s Lemon Birthday Cake. 1st attempt.

My maternal grandmother was a wonderful cook.  She baked regularly and I grew up with melting moments, jam drops, jam tarts, ‘cheese’cakes, and other delights for which I sometimes grow nostalgic.

The lemon pudding cake was my birthday favourite.  Maybe because I like lemon, or because it was large, or the icing was the lovely mix between sweet and tart, or she decorated it with ‘Smarties’ and sometimes ‘Freckles’.  The cake was always moist and not too crumbly.

Recently I found one of my grandmother’s recipe books but it did not contain the recipe for this cake.  After talking with one of my siblings and recalling some conversations some conclusions were drawn.  Unlike most of the cakes my grandmother made, this was made in a ring tin.  It was also a combination of a packet lemon pudding and a packet lemon cake.

I do not, as a rule, like packet cake.  It often has an underlying chemical flavour and not knowing exactly what is in the mix makes me uneasy.  In spite of these reservations, I am determined to try to make the cake and record the recipe so I can make it and share it with others.

None of the baking books which I currently own contain a recipe for the cake I remember.  In this case I turned to ‘Chef’ Google and began searching.

After a while it became clear to me that searching for a ‘ring’ cake has rather strange results including some reference to an obscure trilogy of books about hobbits, rangers, orcs etc. (and I do not believe one cake will rule them all) which didn’t seem to be helpful. Further searches led to something about weddings which did not feature lemon cakes very often, but did have lots of flowers made of royal icing.  Further thinking and searching indicated that looking for a ‘Bundt’ cake might be more helpful. More searching and a few promising recipes were found (the links to these recipes will be included).

The first one selected was one which used lemon jelly (Jell-O in the recipe) instead of lemon pudding.  As my search of the supermarket only revealed vanilla pudding, it was decided that this would be the first attempt to re-create the recipe.

 

Link to recipe:

http://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/glazed-lemon-flute-cake

It was very easy to make.  It took very little effort and there was a slight guilty feeling attached to making this cake due to the ease of simply emptying packets and doing a tiny bit of measuring.

The Bundt pan was a present and this was the first time it was used.  When the cake was turned out it looked similar, if a great deal smaller, than the cake I remembered.

On making the glaze, a problem was encountered.  Instead of remaining on the cake most of it ran down the sides and settled on the bottom of the plate.  This was not the result I wanted.  When making the icing it seemed too thin but the decision had been made to follow the recipe properly.

Cutting the cake, it appeared to have the right crumb and was moist. Slicing it was easy and I eagerly bit into it.

It was not the cake I remembered, but I did not expect it to be.  It is a quick and easy cake, has quite a pleasant taste and is moist with a similar consistency to the memorable birthday cake.

While I enjoyed the cake, I will probably not make it again as the package cake flavour, while subtle, is still present.

Verdict: A quick and easy moist lemon cake but not the one I am in search of.