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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Love your website and all the recipes I have tried they are so good… your step by step instructions makes every recipe easy to follow… I have made this recipe multiple times, first time I made it with lemon, but I am not a big fan of lemon cakes. So decided to make it with orange instead, it was yummy! I didn’t have the ramekins so I used glass oven safe dishes, I kept the same time for baking. Love love this recipe my kids loved it as well. Thank you Jenn for another great recipe!
Delicious! Wondering if I can make these ahead, freeze, defrost and warm up as instructed?
Hi Aner, glad you like them! Sorry, but they won’t freeze well.
I love all your recipes! Thank you! I am making the warm lemon pudding cakes, for a dinner party. Can they be refrigerated after they have cooled and then warmed up in the microwave just before serving tomorrow?
Hi Debbie, Yes, the cakes can be baked a day ahead and stored at room temperature, covered in plastic wrap. Before serving, preheat the oven to 350°F and set a rack in the middle position. Remove the plastic wrap and put the ramekins on a baking sheet. Heat for 10-15 minutes, until warmed through.
Dear Jenn, I made these for friends to celebrate some July birthdays and they were a hit!! They all want the recipe. I was reading Dorie Greenspan’s Paris Sweets cookbook and saw her recipe for a lemon or orange cake. She said to take your fingers and rub/mix the moist zest with your fingers into the sugar to help intensify the lemon flavor before mixing into the batter. I used this technique with your recipe and I thought it was a great addition to the recipe. Love your website. I am an avid recipe collector, cook and baker and love to try new recipes out on my friends which they also enjoy!!
Hi Jenn. If I want to make for 8 what changes do I make to the recipe for 6.
Thanks ! Can’t wait to impress my dinner guests. What a perfect summer dessert.
Teri
Hi Teri, I’d multiply all the ingredients by 1.5 and make 9 — it’s a little tricky because of the eggs but it should work.
Hi Jenn – thanks for a great recipe! This was a hit. But they didn’t rise nearly as high as your photos. The whites never got to soft peaks – more of a stiff foam. Did I underbeat? Also, it was difficult to incorporate the beaten whites to get it smooth as the recipe states. After 10 mins of folding I still had quarter size lumps so I had to resort to the whisk to get it smooth. Did I deflate the whites? How do you get the batter smooth and get those lumps out? Need your help for my next attempt! Thank you.
Hi Kay, Glad they tasted good, even if a little flat :). It actually sounds like you over-beat the whites to me. They’ll be much easier to incorporate if they’re not as stiff (think soft foam). Hope that helps!
I made these exactly as specified and they turned out perfectly. However way too sweet for my taste, will reduce sugar by 25% next time.
Hi Jenn. I’ve made these twice before and that are heavenly! Wondering if I can just put the full amount in a smaller baking tray and serve it from one dish instead of ramekins? Thank you for your incredible recipes!!
So glad you like them! You can bake it in an 8-inch or 2-quart baking dish.
Excellent. Delicious flavor and love the pudding on the bottom of the ramekin.
My husband loves anything lemon and couldn’t get enough of these. Definitely will make again.
Oh my goodness! These were incredible! Easy to make and came out perfectly. By the way, they are just as delicious the next day straight out of the refrigerator with no reheating. Thank you!