Get the Recipe: Lemon Pudding Cake Pie
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.
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
Note 1: Using cake flour (aka cake and pastry flour) is highly recommended to get the "crust" on top as shown here. If cake flour is unavailable, you can use all-purpose flour but the topping will be thinner and crisp, but not crusty.
Note 2: Whole milk is 3-3.5% b.f. and will produce the nicest pudding layer, as the lemon juice will react with the extra fats in the milk to thicken up nicely. You can use 2% milk in a pinch, though the pudding layer will be a little less creamy.
Be sure to read the notes above this Recipe Card for more tips on making this recipe. You'll also find step-by-step photos there, that you might find helpful.
Serving: 1serving, Calories: 299kcal, Carbohydrates: 64g, Protein: 6g, Fat: 3g, Saturated Fat: 1g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g, Monounsaturated Fat: 1g, Trans Fat: 0.01g, Cholesterol: 96mg, Sodium: 132mg, Potassium: 149mg, Fiber: 0.3g, Sugar: 59g, Vitamin A: 252IU, Vitamin C: 6mg, Calcium: 92mg, Iron: 1mg
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