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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Made this for my partner who loves anything lemony. It was really lush! Recommend.
I am the only person eating this so will be hard to eat all 6 at a time.. what’s the proper storage for it? Is it good in the fridge, and for how long?
Hi Elise, these keep well for about a day in the fridge. See the bottom of the recipe for reheating instructions.
Have you tried freezing? I too am single and can’t eat all 6 🙂
I don’t think these would freeze well, Jeanne — sorry!
Came out wonderfully.
Ended up using skim milk, because it’s what I have on hand, along with bottled lemon juice, and I thought it came out really well. I’ll probably try to make this again, with all the proper ingredients.
If you love lemon desserts you will love this. It is a very light dessert. My eggs were small so I added 1 extra.
could i make these in mason jars by any chance?
As far as I know, Mason jars aren’t oven-safe, so I wouldn’t recommend it — sorry!
I just made these and they were super tasty! The only issue I had was mine didn’t rise as much as I would’ve hoped. Not sure what went wrong but they are still delicious. I love a good lemony dessert!
Delighted to have found this recipe ! Easy and soooo good and reminds me of my childhood. We had a dog named PushUps and one time when my Mom baked this, our dog got right into it as we left it to cool while we went out. From that day on it’s forever known as
” Pushups Pudding ”
Great recipe !! Thank you.
LOL – glad you liked the Pushups Pudding! 🙂
Hi Jenn
I came across your blog just recently and this was the first recipe I tried. Yesterday I made lemon pudding cakes. They are delicious and so easy to make. I really like how you post pictures of all the ingredients. I can tell right away if I have everything before even looking at the recipe. In Canada people are baking a lot and flour, yeast and baking powder are in high demand right now.
Today I’m making your potato leek soup 🙂
Cheers from Ontario, Canada.
Stay safe.
Kinga
Hi- What would you recommend if I dont have the little ceramic dishes to cook them in?
Hi Ariel, You can use an 8-inch or 2-quart baking dish; the cook time will be about the same. Enjoy!
We easily made this gluten free by subbing AP gluten free flour 1 for 1 for the regular flour, and a pinch of xanthan gum.
Delicious. Will be a keeper for sure.
Is it supposed to be cakey on top and more puddingy on the bottom…or does that mean I didn’t cook it long enough?
That’s exactly how it’s supposed to be. 🙂