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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Hello, is there an option to remove sugar/substitute it with something else ? thanks!
Hi J, I don’t have any experience with sugar substitutes so I can’t say how it would impact the recipe – sorry!
Jenn..Just made your lemon pudding cakes. They were absolutely awesomely DELICIOUS! Followed recipe to a tea but for 1 Tablespoon lime juice with 5 Tablespoons lemon juice only because we ran out of lemons. OMG! So fantastic! Thanks for a wonderful recipe!
I’m finally writing to express how much we love your recipes! I made these lemon cakes, along with your asparagus with creamy Dijon dressing, and potatoes au gratin for Easter and it was all a hit. One of my favorite things is that I can make your recipes for the first time for guests and feel confident that they’re going to turn out well – you really have tested and perfected them. I recently had the thought that if my home was burning I would grab your cookbook and all the recipes I’ve printed from your site. My 2nd wedding anniversary is Tuesday and my husband and I both agree that thanks to you we’ve had many tasty meals together because of you, thank you Jenn!! I tell everyone about you!
Last thing, curious if you could help me nail down a good rhubarb dessert recipe? I always wish your site had one!
I do happen to have one! You can find it here. Hope you enjoy if you make it!
Thanks for your very kind words, Arijaan (and happy second anniversary)! ❤️
Made the strawberry rhubarb crisp tonight – loved it! If you ever have the urge to test and perfect more rhubarb recipes know that I would make them. 😊
😊 👍
Could you use a sugar substitute ( Splenda or ?..) to cut down the amount of sugar grams?
Hi Kathy, I don’t have any experience with sugar substitutes so I can’t say how it would impact the recipe – I’m sorry!
Made these with Monksfruit granulated super substitute and they were delicious.
Hi Jen! Love, love, love you! Question…could I use can of low fat evaporated milk? Thx😃
Love you back! 🙂 I wouldn’t recommend it, Kathy — sorry!
Hello Jenn,
I don’t have any lemons, but I do have lemon extract, will that work and if so what are the measurements you suggest? Thanks in advance!
I wouldn’t recommend it, Flor — sorry!
Hi
Just a quick question. As I want to try these.
On what temperature should the oven be on before you put them in”?
Thank you
Hi Rhianne, the oven temp should be 350°F/175°C. Hope you enjoy!
The difficult time has changed many things for our home…one of the changes has been cooking A LOT more! A good thing and it has become even better thanks to your wonderful assortment of recipes. I have made 7 of your recipes in the last month. Tonight we made the lemon pudding cakes. Delicious! Highly recommend adding the blueberries as well. Such a treat! Hardest part for me was piecing together enough ramekins. I will be purchasing some for sure because we will definitely make this again.
These turned out absolutely excellent. I accidentally didn’t melt the butter, but they still turned out amazing. Thankyou
Jenn, I almost never do reviews, but I wanted to let you know how much I’ve appreciated your recipes. They are consistently good. My family loves these and they just got added to our Easter at home menu. Thanks again.
Hi, would cutting back on the sugar change the texture of the recipe?
Hi Rose, You can cut the sugar back by up to 1/4 cup without impacting the texture. Hope you enjoy! 🙂
Hi Jenn,
I am trying not to go to the store right now. I don’t have milk, but have Half and Half. Can I somehow dilute that to use?
Thanks!
Sure, Colleen. That should work.