Warm Lemon Pudding Cakes

Tested & Perfected Recipes

This post may contain affiliate links. Read my full disclosure policy.

Spoon into these lovely lemon pudding cakes and discover a layer of luscious lemon pudding beneath the cake!

lemon pudding cakes

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.”

Janet

What You’ll Need To Make Lemon Pudding Cakes

Cake ingredients including lemon, flour, and eggs.

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.

Whisk in a bowl of cake ingredients.

Add the flour and sugar and whisk until smooth.

Whisk in a bowl of cake ingredients.

In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites until soft peaks form.

Electric mixer whipping egg whites.

When you lift the beaters out, the peaks should curl.

Bowl of beaten egg whites.

Whisk a bit of the beaten eggs into the lemon mixture to lighten it. Then add the remaining beaten egg whites to the mixture.

Egg whites in a bowl of lemon mixture.

Gently fold with a rubber spatula until the mixture is smooth.

Spatula folding egg whites into a lemon mixture.

The batter will be light, foamy, and liquidy.

Bowl of light, foamy batter.

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.

Ramekins of batter in a baking dish with water.

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.

Baked pudding cakes in a baking dish.

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!

Lemon pudding cakes topped with powdered sugar and blueberries.

You May Also Like

Warm Lemon Pudding Cakes

Spoon into these lovely lemon pudding cakes and discover a layer of luscious lemon pudding beneath the cake!

Servings: 6
Prep Time: 20 Minutes
Cook Time: 45 Minutes
Total Time: 1 Hour 5 Minutes

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

  1. Preheat the oven to 350°F and set a rack in the middle position. Spray six (6-oz) ramekins with nonstick cooking spray.
  2. 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.
  3. 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.
  4. 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.
  5. 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

Powered by Edamam

  • 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.

See more recipes:

Comments

  • I love these! Can this recipe be doubled? I want to make them for a luncheon I am planning.

    • Glad you like them and, yes, I think the recipe could be doubled. 🙂

  • Wonderful! I liked it without the berries. It is so good!

  • Thank you for this delicious recipe. I just made it for my family and it was a hit. I will definitely make it again! The only change I made was using GF baking flour instead of regular flour due to food allergies.

  • Tried this today and it was really good. The texture was perfect : moist and pudding-y at the bottom and cake-y on the top. Just lovely when warm. The only thing I would change is maybe increase the amount of lemon juice (I like it more lemony) or choose lemons that are more acidic. I had Meyer lemons on hand and they tend to be more mellow. But in any case, this recipe is a keeper.

  • Hi Jenn,
    Could I get away with making a half recipe in a loaf pan and if so, how would I adjust the cooking time? Can’t wait to try it! Thanks!

    • I’ve never made this in a loaf pan but a few readers have commented that they have successfully. Honestly, I don’t know what the bake time would be so I’d keep a really close eye on it. Please LMK how it turns out if you try it!

      • I’m going to make these tomorrow but want to check that it’s all purpose flour and no baking powder

        • — GLYNIS THOMASON on January 18, 2023
        • Reply
        • Hi Glynis, that’s correct. Hope you enjoy!

          • — Jenn on January 18, 2023
          • Reply
          • Mine didn’t cook all the way? It was still watery.

            • — Dalila on February 27, 2024
          • Hi Dalila, Sorry you had a problem with these! If they were still liquidy, it sounds like they needed a few more minutes in the oven.

            • — Jenn on February 27, 2024
  • Hi please can you give me metric measures for milk and sugar as I don’t work in cups here in the UK
    Many Thanks

    • Hi Lucy, The great majority of my recipes (including this one) include conversions to metric/weight measurements. To view them, scroll down to the recipe, and immediately under the recipe title on the right side, you’ll see a little toggle. If you move it from “cup measures” to metric, you’ll see measurements that will work for you. Hope that helps!

      • Hi,

        I was wondering if they can be frozen and if so, should I thaw them out and reheat or bake again from frozen. What temperature and for how long??
        Thanks in advance

        • — MaryAnn Waterhouse on January 6, 2023
        • Reply
        • Hi MaryAnn, Unfortunately, these don’t freeze well, however, you can make these a day ahead and refrigerate. If you’d like to make them ahead, scroll down to the bottom of the recipe to see detailed instructions.

          • — Jenn on January 6, 2023
          • Reply
  • Hi, do you think that I can divide thé recipe by 2 to have 3 ramekins ?
    Tanks!

  • Absolutely delicious!!! And so easy to make. Will definitely be added to my favourite dessert list.

    • — Barbara Davidson
    • Reply
  • Made this over the weekend and it was absolutely amazing! I only had 4 ramekins so I used an 8 in round baking dish & baked for 45 min; it was outstanding! My husband is already asking me to make it again & well, I will, believe me, I will!

  • AWESOME! I baked this in an oval 1.8 litre dish for approx 43 minutes. It was perfect, and delicious. I served it with raspberries and sweetened whipped cream. Definitely a keeper.

Add a Comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.