Lemon pudding cake with a twist as this one bakes up with a crispy and flaky pie crust-like topping that you need to smash through to get to the light cake and lemon pudding.
If you’ve ever enjoyed a lemon pudding cake, you’ll recognize the base of this recipe. What makes this one special is the crispy topping, which bakes up crispy and flaky like a pie crust. You’ll need to smash through it with a spoon to get at the light lemon cake and pudding underneath.
Ingredients and substitutions
A few notes about the key ingredients …
Cake flour – Also known as cake and pastry flour, cake flour is a low-protein (soft) flour that is often used for pie crust and some cakes. I recommend using cake flour if at all possible, as it will produce the nicest topping. If you don’t have cake flour, you can use all-purpose flour. There will be a slight change in the texture of the topping with this substitution. It will still be crispy, but it will be thinner and less flaky.
Fresh lemon – You will only need one large fresh average-sized lemon for this lemon dessert, or a couple of smaller ones. Don’t skimp on the zest. Be sure to pack the measuring spoon well so you get a nice balance of lemon to sweet in the finished dessert.
Milk – Using higher-fat milk will make for a creamier pudding layer, so I suggest whole milk (3-3.5% b.f.) if possible. 2% milk will work if that is all that is available.
How to make lemon pudding cake pie
This is a summary of the steps to make lemon pudding cake pie. Always refer to the Recipe Card below for the ingredient list and complete instructions.
- Start by whisking together the dry ingredients, then adding the milk.
- Add the egg yolks to the bowl as well.
- Whisk together well.
- Add the lemon juice and lemon zest to the batter and whisk in.
- In a small clean bowl, add the egg whites.
- Use an electric beater to beat the egg whites until stiff. This could also be done by hand with a whisk, though it’s a bit of a workout :)
- Add the egg whites to the batter.
- Use a spatula to gently fold the egg whites into the batter.
- Divide the batter between the ramekins and top with the lemon/sugar topping. Place the ramekins in a baking pan and fill halfway up the sides of the ramekins with boiling water before baking.
Recipe tips!
- My ramekins shown here hold 1 cup of water, so you can use that to see if your ramekins are a similar size. At this size, you will get 4 lemon puddings.
- While you can substitute all-purpose flour for the specified cake flour, it really is worth it to use cake flour if you can. It surprisingly makes a difference despite the small quantity used!
- Be sure to pack the measuring spoons well when measuring out the lemon zest. You’ll want the most lemon flavour to balance out the sweet.
- I whisk up the egg whites with an electric beater, but you can also whisk them by hand (and a bit of a workout!). Test for stiff peaks by removing the whisk to see that the peaks are stiff at the end of the whisk (see Step 6 photo above for an example).
- You can enjoy these lemon puddings warm, at room temperature or cold from the fridge. I actually prefer them cold from the fridge myself. I find they have a better balance of sweet and tart when they are cold.
Making ahead and storing
You can bake these ahead and let them stand at room temperature for a couple of hours. Any more than that and I like to loosely cover them with foil and pop them in the refrigerator.
These lemon puddings will keep in the refrigerator for about 2 days. The topping tends to soften as it sits any longer.
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Get the Recipe: Lemon Pudding Cake Pie
Ingredients
- 2 large eggs, separated
- 1 cup (200 g) white granulated sugar
- 3 Tablespoons cake flour, *see Note 1 below
- 1/8 teaspoon fine table salt
- 1 cup (250 ml) milk, whole milk recommended *see Note 2 below
- 2 teaspoons lemon zest, well-packed
- 3 Tablespoons lemon juice
For topping before baking:
- 2 Tablespoons white granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest, well-packed
Equipment
- Four 1-cup ramekins
Instructions
- Place four 1-cup ramekins in a baking pan (an 8 or 9-inch square cake pan works well). Spray with cooking spray or rub with a little butter. Set aside.
- Preheat the oven to 325F (non-convection/not fan-assisted). Start boiling some water now for adding to the pan in Step 11 below.
- Start by separating the eggs. Place the egg whites in a small bowl and set aside. Keep the egg yolks handy for the next step.
- Take a moment now to zest the lemon. You will need 2 well-packed teaspoons of lemon zest for the puddings. Measure that out and set aside in a small bowl. You will need another 1 well-packed teaspoon of lemon zest for the topping. Measure that out and set it aside in another small bowl. Once you have all the zest, juice the lemon and measure out 3 Tablespoons of lemon juice for the puddings. Set that aside in a small bowl.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the sugar, flour and salt. Add the milk and egg yolks and whisk together well. Add the 3 Tablespoons of lemon juice and the 2 teaspoons of lemon zest and whisk in well. Set this bowl aside for now.
- Using an electric beater (or a whisk by hand) beat the egg whites in the small bowl until stiff. You can test they are stiff by stopping the beater, dipping it in the whipped whites and checking that the peaks are stiff at the end of the beaters (see Step 6 in the step-by-step photos above this Recipe Card).
- Add the stiff egg whites to the bowl with medium bowl with the batter. Use a rubber spatula to gently fold the egg whites into the batter. Use a gentle motion to slice through the batter with the spatula like a knifer, then rotate the blade of the spatula to scoop from the bottom of the bowl and gently lay it over the top. Rotate the bowl and repeat until the mixture is well combined, but not over-mixed. A few small lumps of egg whites are ok.
- Use a ladle to spoon the batter into the prepared ramekins, dividing the batter equally between the 4 ramekins.
- Make the topping by combining the 2 Tablespoons of white sugar and the 1 teaspoon of lemon zest together in a small bowl. Use a spoon to mix and rub the lemon zest into the sugar well.
- Sprinkle the lemon/sugar topping overtop of the puddings, dividing it equally between the 4 ramekins.
- Use a large measuring cup to carefully pour some boiling water into the pan, being careful to avoid splashing onto the puddings, adding water until it rises halfway up the sides of the ramekins.
- Carefully transfer the baking pan with the ramekins and boiling water into the preheated oven.
- Bake the puddings until the tops are nicely and evenly golden-coloured, about 35-40 minutes.
- Remove from the oven. Use oven mitts to transfer the ramekins to a cooling rack to cool completely (or almost completely if you want to enjoy them warm). The puddings need to rest for at least 15-20 minutes after baking to allow the top crust and the pudding to set up nicely.
- If making ahead, once completely cooled, loosely cover with aluminum foil and refrigerate. You can enjoy these puddings cold from the fridge, at room temperature or slightly warm. I enjoy these puddings cold from the fridge myself, as they seem to be the most well-balanced between sweet and tart when eaten cold.
- The puddings will keep well in the fridge for 24-36 hours, after which the topping tends to soften up quite a bit.
Notes
Adapted from the Heirloom Baking cookbook
More lemon pudding recipes to love!
Hi! I’m Jennifer, a home cook schooled by trial and error and almost 40 years of getting dinner on the table! I love to share my favourite recipes, both old and new, together with lots of tips and tricks to hopefully help make your home cooking enjoyable, stress free, rewarding and of course, delicious!
Question for what I did wrong. My pudding was very runny and it did form the hard crust but really no cake. I baked for correct time and it was brown. Can you help?
Hi Deidree, it sounds like you might have had an issue with either the whipping of the egg whites or with the process of folding the egg whites into the batter. Were the egg whites whipped until stiff? Did you gently fold them into the batter or is it possible they were maybe deflated when folding in? That could certainly cause the issue of the layers not forming properly.
This was excellent! Amazing how it forms distinct layers on its own – seems much more complex than it really is. Highly recommend for a unique and delicious dessert.
So glad you enjoyed it, Bethany. Thanks so much!
Delicious! NEED LOTS OF LEMON ZEST!
dessert tasted fresh with many layers of texture.
A good refreshing finish to dinner.
So glad you enjoyed it, Margaret :) Thanks so much!
I plan to make this, but have one question – do I need to prepare the ramekins in any way? Buttered or floured or similar? Thanks! We don’t typically do sweets here, neither of us have a sweet tooth, but we do occasionally crave a lemony treat, and this sounds perfect!
Good question and yes, sprayed or buttered. Sorry, I forgot to add that in the instructions so thanks for the heads up. Have added it now.