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Lemon Filling
1 lemon (juice and grated rind) 1 cup cold water 1 cup sugar 1 egg 1 tablespoon Five Roses flour Beat lemon rind and eggs together.
Stir in sugar and lemon juice. Dissolve flour in cold water. Cook in double boiler till it jellies. Spread as usual.
A flour-thickened lemon filling for layer cake, of the sort that sits between the American lemon-cheese filling and a proper curd. The whole thing hinges on holding it below a simmer while the egg sets.
- Gentle heat, no boilWater in the lower pan should be barely trembling, not boiling, and the filling should reach about 175-180F. Egg cooked harder than that curdles, and no amount of beating will bring it back smooth.
- How long "till it jellies" takesExpect 10 to 15 minutes of near-constant stirring. It thickens suddenly once the flour hydrates and the egg begins to set; pull it the moment a spoon drawn through leaves a track that holds.
- Five Roses flourA Canadian wheat flour from the mill that published the book, marketed for general household use. Ordinary all-purpose is a workable substitute; use it at the same measure.
- One tablespoon to a cup of waterThat is a very light hand, and this filling sets soft — spreadable, not sliceable. If you want it firm enough to stack a tall cake, 2 tablespoons of flour or 1 tablespoon of cornstarch gives more body without changing the flavour.
- Egg countThe ingredient list says one egg, the method says "eggs." One large egg is consistent with the quantities; treat the plural as a slip in the printed text.
- Zest firstGrate the rind before juicing — a spent lemon half is awkward to zest. Beating the rind with the egg, as directed, draws out the oils and gives a stronger lemon flavour than adding it at the end.
- Strain and coolPass the hot filling through a sieve to catch any set egg and the coarser rind, then cool it fully before spreading or it will slide off the cake and soak the crumb.
- Yield and keepingRoughly 2 cups, enough for two or three layers of an 8- or 9-inch cake. Being egg-based, it belongs in the refrigerator and should be used within two or three days.
The Five Roses Cook Book was published by the Lake of the Woods Milling Company of Montreal in the early twentieth century and distributed in enormous numbers to Canadian households, which is why the flour in this filling is named by brand rather than by type — the book existed to keep that sack in the pantry. Lemon fillings thickened with wheat flour and an egg appear regularly in cookbooks of the period, flour being the thing every cook already had by the barrel. The technique is the same one behind cream pie fillings and blancmange, and recipes of this type are often grouped under names like lemon cheese or lemon butter in older British and Canadian books, a reflection of how thin the line was between a cake filling, a tart filling and a preserve to spread on bread.