Lemon Souffle

A baked soufflé pudding of the old school: no flour, no butter in the batter, and no starch to stabilize it, so it rises high in the water bath and settles as it cools. The original gives no oven temperature.

• Oven temperatureThe original gives none. A moderate oven, about 350F, is the usual modern equivalent; at that heat thirty-five to forty minutes in a water bath will set a shallow pudding-dish, and a deeper one will run to the longer end.
• The water bath is not optionalSet the buttered dish in a pan and pour in hot water to come halfway up the sides. Without it the egg at the edges scrambles and weeps before the centre sets.
• "Beaten until dry"This was standard nineteenth-century wording for whites beaten past the stiff-peak stage. Taken literally it gives a grainy, curd-like foam that folds in badly. Stop at firm, glossy peaks that hold their shape when the whisk is lifted.
• Cut and foldAdd the whites in two or three additions and fold with a spatula down through the middle and over, turning the bowl. The lemon juice thins the yolk base considerably, so it deflates quickly if stirred.
• Dish sizeFour eggs and a cup of sugar fill a 1- to 1.5-quart dish, buttered to the rim. Fuller than that and it will rise over the edge.
• SweetnessA full cup of sugar to four yolks and one lemon is sweet by current taste. Three-quarters of a cup gives a sharper lemon flavour, though the pudding will be slightly less tender.
• ServingServes about four, and it is best taken to the table promptly from the oven, since it settles as it cools. "With or without sauce" would likely have meant a thin custard, a hard sauce, or simply cream.