TASTE
Real lemon dessert recipe calls for ice cream
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By Wanda Adams
Advertiser Food Editor
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Here's a lesson: Don't try to take notes on a recipe when you're doing six other things.
Last week, I ran a recipe for a delicious-sounding Ritz Lemon Pudding dessert that I'd been told about by someone who dropped by a book signing I was doing. I took notes but I now realize I left out two little words — ice cream — because I was also trying to set up the display, greet other folks and sign books. (I'm not making excuses, just explaining.) Later, I read my notes and they said "vanilla" and I thought it was vanilla pudding. No make sense!
The result is that several dozen readers called or e-mailed and either questioned the recipe (or my sanity) and a few made it and suffered disaster. As you will see, using softened ice cream instead of pudding makes all the difference.
I am so penitent. Mea maxima culpa, as we used to say in my Catholic schoolgirl days.
I was planning to test the recipe last weekend and see where it had gone wrong. But first, I stopped by the office on the weekend to do a few chores, among them flipping through my mail. And, miracle of miracles, there was a letter from the original recipe contributor, Ruby Fukuyama, who set me straight a couple of ways.
Ruby, I could kiss you for saving me from trying to figure out where I went wrong without the aid of the key word "ice cream." I tested the recipe this weekend and it is, indeed, delicious.
What makes it is the ultra-easy Ritz crust, which I plan to use it for other concoctions. I couldn't find lemon pudding (probably because everybody had bought it up to make this recipe) so I used butterscotch, which worked well. My testers and I agree, however, that lemon or chocolate would be much better. It is important to pull the dessert out of the freezer 10 to 15 minutes ahead of time because the crust becomes very solid, as does the ice cream mixture. Use a strong serrated-edge knife to cut the bars and expect the first slice or two to be a little messy.
Here's the recipe and you'll see that now it makes sense. Its real name is:
LEMON ICE CREAM BARS
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Mix crushed crackers and butter together and press into the bottom of a 9-by-13-inch pan (use the back of a spatula or roll a glass over the mixture). Bake 10 minutes at 350 degrees until golden brown. Cool.
Meanwhile, mix pudding with cold water (it will be thick); be sure to whisk it well so the pudding dissolves completely. Now, gradually mix in the ice cream until well blended. (I found a hand-held electric mixer useful for this.) Scrape ice cream mixture into cooled crust. Freeze until firm. Spread whipped topping over ice cream mixture and return to freezer. Remove from freezer 10 minutes before serving for easier cutting. Cut into squares. Makes about 15 servings.
Note: Some similar recipes suggest reserving a small handful of the Ritz/butter mixture to scatter on top of the whipped topping for an attractive presentation.
If you have to transport this dessert, cover the dish with a tent of foil so you don't mess up the top. Put a couple of bags of ice in a container (I used a large disposable foil baking pan) or cooler and cover ice with a thin towel (this prevents any melting ice from getting into the dessert). Nestle the dish into the ice on the towel. And don't make any stops along the way to the party!
