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
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 this recipe! Made it one rainy day because I happened to have the ingredients on hand. Have made several times since. Delicious and perfect every time.
I made this twice with my daughter in a 9″ round ceramic dish and it came out beautifully (even when I almost forgot to put the sugar in.)
My youngest is requesting for her birthday dessert.
Hi, is it possible to cook these in one large dish? And if so, what is the best way to do this?
Thanks
Yes, Tiffany, I’d use an 8-inch or 2-qt baking dish. Hope you enjoy!
So fresh and delicious! Making them again this weekend for company.
These are really perfect! The warm creamy pudding with just the right amount of cake is really lovely. I’m using this recipe for my student cooking class!
Just wondering, if made before and reheated, do I need to cover with foil or similar to stop them drying out?? Thank you
Hi Sue, no need to cover them with foil. Hope you enjoy!
I made this the other night, and it was out of this world. I loved the lightness of the cake and the clean lemon taste. This is the perfect way to end the meal. The best dessert by far. Thank you so much for sharing this.
My lemon tree was making a crazy amount of lemons after all the rain we’ve had here in California. I was wonder what to do with all the lemons when I came upon this recipe. These are luscious! Even my friend, who is a gifted baker had to know how I made these. I have made them 3 times now for 3 different gatherings and everyone was wowed. I added an extra teaspoon of lemon zest because I am a super lemon fan. Thanks Jen for another recipe I’ll visit again and again.
Made this for a group of friends last night and everyone loved it. I too reduced the sugar by one-third and it was perfect. I baked it in a 8 x 8 pan inside a larger casserole, with the water in the larger pan for 35 minutes at 350 degrees. Probably would have been done at 30 minutes.
One hint: strain the lemon juice for seeds before you put it in the batter. Much harder to fish them out of the batter!
Thanks for a classic recipe! I will definitely make this again.
I made this last night for the first time-exactly to recipe except I ended up with more lemon zest than 2 teaspoons so I threw it all in! I used two oval ramekins that held 12 Oz each so that was all my batter-cooked for about 45 minutes-they were perfect! A huge hit! I served with either raspberry sorbet or pistachio ice cream. Yum!
If I double the recipe & use 8×13 dish,do I need a water bath too? I don’t have anything bigger to put it in. Will it bake ok on its own ,without the water bath situation?
Thanks,
Rena
Hi Rena, I think it will be okay without the water bath.