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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I am so glad to see this recipe. My Mom had the Gourmet cookbook and always made a similar recipe for Sunday Dinner dessert out of it. I inherited the book and when I was diagnosed with Celiac Disease 30 years ago gave all my cookbooks away as there were no recipes for cup for cup gluten free flour mixtures or any commercial mixtures available. Since giving all my books away I have looked everywhere for a similar recipe. FINALLY. It works well gluten free as there is not a lot of flour to replace. It was delicious and pretty much as I remembered it. Thank you
When do you add the melted butter that is listed in the ingredients?
Hi Barbara, You add the butter to the bowl with the egg yolks, milk, etc. Enjoy!
Could you use sour cream or yogurt instead of milk?
I wouldn’t recommend it – sorry!
These look wonderful…and SO easy! Can you gently fold in any berries to the batter before baking, in addition to those placed on the top after they’re baked? Or would that change the consistency and cause th no to bake properly?
Hi Kimberly, I don’t recommend it. The fruit will add liquid to the cakes and throw off the wet/dry ratios. Hope you enjoy them nevertheless!
Absolutely delicious and really easy! Makes such an elegant dessert. Love that it’s super light as well. I get rave reviews when I serve this. I have made a blueberry compote to accompany but have also used fresh berries. Make this! You won’t regret it!
I need to serve four people; only have eight inch ramekins.
Should I fill 6 of them 3/4 full?or fill four right up to the top?
Reheating instructions are not at the end if the recipe…or am I missing them? Thank you.
Thank you.
Hi Diana, I’d use four 8-inch ramekins. Bake time will be a bit longer; if you find that the tops are getting too browned before they are done baking, loosely lay a piece of foil over top of them. And the reheating instructions are in the make-ahead section of the recipe (at the very bottom). Hope that helps!
Question: can I use any fruit other than lemon?
Hi Ilana, A few people have commented they’ve made this using oranges or limes. Hope you enjoy if you try either one!
I successfully subbed King Arthur gluten free all purpose flour. I would cut the sugar a bit, both otherwise super tasty and really quite easy!
Absolutely delicious! My egg whites never got to the stiff peak phase, but the dessert was still yummy.
Hi! Do you have a preferred ramekin set that you could share? I am in need of one and would love to make some of your recipes that use them. Thank you!
Hi Samantha, I like these. 🙂
This has become one of our favorite. The flavor is so refreshing I add a little less sugar. A must to make it is always a big hit.
Wow, stumbled across this last night. Absolutely amazing, this will be a regular. Thank you just beautiful 💛
Hi, How much less sugar please?