Warm Lemon Pudding Cakes
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Spoon into these lovely lemon pudding cakes and discover a layer of luscious lemon pudding beneath the cake!
As someone who cooks for a living, I’m always mindful of dessert portion sizes, yet I make an exception for these irresistible lemon pudding cakes. They’re refreshingly light and practically guilt-free. Plus, they come with a delicious surprise: the batter separates during baking into a fluffy cake layer and a luscious lemon pudding beneath. If you don’t have ramekins, an 8-inch square or a 2-quart baking dish works just as well—the baking time will be about the same.
“Absolutely delicious and really easy! Makes such an elegant dessert…I get rave reviews when I serve this.”
What You’ll Need To Make Lemon Pudding Cakes
Step-by-Step Instructions
First, spray six (6-oz) ramekins with nonstick cooking spray then begin making the batter by whisking the egg yolks, milk, lemon zest, lemon juice, melted butter, and salt in a large bowl.
Add the flour and sugar and whisk until smooth.
In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites until soft peaks form.
When you lift the beaters out, the peaks should curl.
Whisk a bit of the beaten eggs into the lemon mixture to lighten it. Then add the remaining beaten egg whites to the mixture.
Gently fold with a rubber spatula until the mixture is smooth.
The batter will be light, foamy, and liquidy.
Place the prepared ramekins into a 9-by-13-inch baking dish. Ladle the batter evenly into 6-oz (180-ml) ramekins (it will come almost to the top). Using a teapot or pitcher, pour room temperature water into the pan to reach halfway up the sides of the ramekins. The water bath (also called a bain marie) regulates the temperature and keeps the cake baking at a gentle temperature so the custard, or pudding, can form.
Carefully place the baking pan in the oven and bake for about 45 minutes, or until the cakes are puffy and lightly golden on top.
Using tongs, carefully remove the ramekins from the baking dish and let cool on a rack for about 20 minutes before serving. (They will sink a bit as they cool; that’s okay.) Dust with Confectioners’ sugar and serve with berries, if desired. Enjoy!
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Warm Lemon Pudding Cakes
Spoon into these lovely lemon pudding cakes and discover a layer of luscious lemon pudding beneath the cake!
Ingredients
- 3 large eggs, separated
- 1 cup milk (low-fat or whole)
- 2 teaspoons lemon zest, from 2 lemons
- 6 tablespoons fresh lemon juice, from 2 lemons
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 6 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1 cup sugar
- Fresh berries and Confectioners' sugar, for serving (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F and set a rack in the middle position. Spray six (6-oz) ramekins with nonstick cooking spray.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the egg yolks, milk, lemon zest, lemon juice, butter, and salt. Add the flour and sugar and whisk until smooth.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the egg whites until soft peaks form. (The peaks should curl when you lift the beaters out of the bowl.) Spoon about ¼ of the egg whites into the lemon mixture and whisk until smooth. Add the remaining egg whites and, using a rubber spatula, gently fold into the lemon mixture until smooth. The batter will be light, foamy, and liquidy.
- Place the prepared ramekins into a 9-by-13-inch baking dish. Ladle the batter evenly into the ramekins (it will come almost to the top). Using a teapot or pitcher, pour room temperature water into the pan to reach halfway up the sides of the ramekins. Carefully place the baking pan in the oven and bake for 45 to 50 minutes, or until the cakes are puffy and lightly golden on top. Using tongs, carefully remove the ramekins from the baking dish and let cool on a rack for about 20 minutes before serving. (They will sink a bit as they cool; that's okay.) Dust with Confectioners' sugar and serve with berries, if desired.
- Make Ahead: The cakes can be made a day ahead of time. Once completely cool, cover the cakes with plastic wrap and store at room temperature. Before serving, preheat the oven to 350°F and set a rack in the middle position. Remove the plastic wrap and place the ramekins on a baking sheet; heat for 10-15 minutes, until warmed through.
Nutrition Information
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- Per serving (1 cake servings)
- Calories: 248
- Fat: 7 g
- Saturated fat: 3 g
- Carbohydrates: 43 g
- Sugar: 36 g
- Fiber: 1 g
- Protein: 6 g
- Sodium: 152 g
- Cholesterol: 105 g
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
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Can it be frozen?
Unfortunately not– sorry!
Can the milk be substituted for Almond milk?
I haven’t tried these with almond milk, but I think it should work. I’d love to hear how they turn out!
I just made these with Almond milk and they turned out perfectly! Absolutely delicious!
So glad to hear that– thanks for for follow up!
what size ramekins? sound delicious
Hi Bernice, The ramekins should be 6 oz.
Do you use hot water or cold in the baking pan for this recipe?
Hi Pam, I use room temp water – I will update the recipe. Thx!
This looks so inviting! But I am trying to cut refined white sugar from my diet. Is it possible to substitute the sugar with honey/maple syrup etc?
Thanks!
Hi Nita, I’d probably start with subbing half of the sugar with honey or maple syrup, then increase from there if it works out.
Your Warm Lemon Pudding Cakes sound wonderful. I’m trying to eliminate as much white, refined sugar from my diet as I can. Do you have any recommendations for a substitute?
Hi Diana, I think you could substitute half of the sugar with honey or maple syrup. Please let me know how it turns out if you try it that way.
Hello, I love your recipes! I was wondering if I can prepare the lemon pudding cake in one large baking pan, instead of ramekins?
Thank you.
I haven’t tried it myself, Donna, but I do think it would work. I’ve seen many similar recipes prepared in a 8-inch or 2-qt baking dish.
This looks so good. I love lemon. I’m doing low carb. Do you think I can substitute the flour for an oat fiber or almond flour?
Hi Beth, I’m not sure you’ll get the same cakey texture with all oat fiber or almond flour – I’d suggest replacing half of the flour with almond flour and see how it works out.
What is the size of the ramekin? Ramekins are not created equal; can you recommend a particular brand/s?
Hi Anna, the recipe calls for 6-ounce ramekins. The ramekins I use are expensive ones from Pier 1 and they work just fine. Williams Sonoma has nice ones if you don’t mind spending a little bit more.
World Market has them for $1.49 a piece. They work great!
I made them on Tuesday night and used gluten-free flour (baking mix type) and they turned out great. My husband and son were amazed.
are Meyer lemons okay to use?
Sure!
Looking for something special for the coming Father’s Day, and find this recipe with so many great reviews! Unfortunately, my father only likes vanilla dessert…So just wondering if I can just replace the lemon juice with milk or water, and skip the lemon zest? If not sure, would you provide some suggestion for my experiment? Thank you!
Hi Frances, unfortunately, I don’t think this would work without the lemon. Because lemon adds tartness you’d also need to adjust the sugar content and I don’t know how that would impact the results. For something more predictable, I’d look for a vanilla version of this. Sorry!