1 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
1/4 cup water
2 tablespoons freshly grated orange zest
1/2 cup heavy cream
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted, plus more for greasing the baking dish
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
Seeds from 1 1/2 vanilla beans or 1 1/2 tablespoons vanilla bean paste
1 cup (120 grams) unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon fine salt
Vanilla ice cream, for serving
Arrange a rack in the middle of the oven and heat to 350°F. Lightly grease an 8-inch square baking dish with butter.
Bring the orange juice and water to a boil in a small saucepan while you prepare the batter. In a medium bowl, whisk together the zest, cream, melted butter, lemon juice, and vanilla bean seeds or paste; set aside.
Whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. Add the cream mixture and stir just until combined. Transfer the batter (it will be quite stiff) to the prepared dish, smoothing the top with a rubber spatula. Set the baking dish on the oven rack and carefully pour the boiling orange juice over the surface of the batter. (This may sound odd, but it’s this mercurial.) Bake until the cake on top has a crisp golden surface and the pudding sauce on the bottom bubbles, 27 to 35 minutes.
Spoon the pudding cake onto each of 6 plates and top each portion with a small scoop of ice cream. Serve immediately.
Reprinted with permission from Sara Moulton's Home Cooking 101: How to Make Everything Taste Better by Sara Moulton, copyright (c) 2016 by Oxmoor House, an imprint of Time Inc. Books