Lemon Pudding Cakes
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A dessert that bakes into two dreamy layers—fluffy cake on top, silky lemon pudding underneath. One spoonful of these lemon pudding cakes, and you’ll be hooked!
As someone who cooks for a living, I’m always mindful of dessert portion sizes—but I make an exception for these irresistible lemon pudding cakes. They’re refreshingly light and practically guilt-free, with a built-in surprise: during baking, the batter magically separates into a fluffy cake layer on top and a luscious lemon pudding beneath.
If you don’t have ramekins on hand, no worries! An 8-inch square pan or a 2-quart baking dish works just as well, with about the same baking time.
Love citrusy desserts? You might also enjoy my lemon bars or lemon pound cake—both bright, tangy, and perfect for lemon lovers.
“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 make the batter by whisking the egg yolks, milk, lemon zest, lemon juice, melted butter, salt, and flour in a large bowl.
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 inside a 9-by-13-inch baking dish. Ladle the batter evenly into the 6-ounce ramekins, filling them almost to the top. Then, using a teapot or pitcher, carefully pour room-temperature water into the baking dish until it reaches halfway up the sides of the ramekins. This water bath (or bain-marie) helps the cakes bake gently, ensuring the custard-like pudding layer forms perfectly.
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 lemon pudding cakes 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 totally normal.) Dust the cakes with powdered sugar and serve with berries, if you like. Enjoy!
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Lemon Pudding Cakes
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 (175°C) and set a rack in the middle position. Spray six (6-oz/177-ml) 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 x 13-in (23 x 33-cm) 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.
Notes
Nutrition Information
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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…Soooo good. Made this with my daughter. So far you are 2 for 2 for recipes. The directions are easy to follow and I love that the ingredients are readily available. Keep up the great work!
Glad you enjoyed! 🙂
Lemony Deliciousness!
Excellent tasting and super easy to make. My family loved it!
Hi, Jenn. If I make these in an 8-inch glass baking dish instead of ramekins, do I still need to put the dish in a water bath? Thank you and take care!
Yes, I’d still use it. Hope you enjoy!
I need to work on beating the egg whites right, but despite my novice skills, we all enjoyed these. Thank you!
Its winter season here in Australia and my lemon tree is blossoming with fruits so i was trying to google recipes to use up my lemons. This sure did the lemon justice 🙂 🙂
Having kids in the house when they should be in school and working from home I find myself baking every night as a way to de-stress. I made your French apple cake Wednesday night. It was so light, delicious and perfect. It was gone in two hours. I took requests from the peanut gallery last night and the consensus was for a “light and citrusy” dessert. This did not disappoint. I made it in a round cake pan since I could only find two ramekins in the house. Perfect, perfect, perfect! Thanks so much for your awesome site and the fantastic recipes. Chocolate is on the menu tonight. 🙂
They look delish, but we are just two, so could I freeze the other 4.
Thanks
Hi Sue, you can make these a day ahead and refrigerate them, but unfortunately, I don’t think they’d freeze well – sorry! If you’d like to make them ahead, scroll down to the bottom of the recipe to see detailed instructions.
I’ve made this a couple times now and it has turned out to-die-for both times! This time I made a wild blueberry compote to put on top and it was INCREDIBLE! It’s heavenly with or without a topping but if you like lemon with blueberry together you will love this cake with the compote! One thing I especially love about this particular recipe is the tender softness of the cake without it being airy and dry. I doubled the recipe and poured it into one bigger sized dish rather than ramekins and it took the same amount of baking time, which surprised me. It seriously is amazing!
Just made this last night! They turned out perfectly. I got a little nervous because I misread how to make them ahead of the time and kept mine in the fridge. But when I heated them up it was the perfect mix of light cake and creamy pudding. I’m not sure if ramekins come in different sizes, but the recipe only made enough for four of my ramekins, they did, however, come out perfectly so I’m not complaining. Will add this to my recipe box!
This tasted really good but I didn’t get the lemony custard sauce at the bottom, instead I got the cake/sponge on top but the bottom was like a ‘curdled’ layer. Is this how it should be? Or am I doing something wrong?
Hi Emma, It really shouldn’t look curdled. Is there any chance you overbaked them?
Very good. Don’t forget the blueberries!
Fabulous! Easy to make and turns out just as described. Blueberries a great add.
This recipe is easy and delicious!! I think I may have overcooked them though. Mine were a darker brown and there wasn’t any gooey yumminess inside. They were still delicious and I would make them again!