Lemon Pudding Cake Recipe (2024)

Next time you bake this recipe place the pan containing the batter for the pudding cake in the water bath pan first and then fill the water bath pan with hot water from the tea kettle. Then place in the oven.

I've been making this since the 1960s. I think the recipe came from Fannie Farmer. I use almost twice as much zest and extra lemon juice, less sugar (3/4 cup) and plain yogurt thinned with water instead of milk. It has a slightly cheese cake-y or maybe cheese danish taste which I like very much.

Due to lactose intolerance, I subbed the whole milk for a can of coconut milk. I slightly warmed it so it was blended and creamy. worked perfectly.

I've made this a number of times when I've wanted a lemony dish but didn't feel like the trouble of, say, a lemon meringue pie. I made them in individual servings, using 1/2 cup ramekins. They whip up easily and quickly.

I've been making this for 40 years from a recipe in "The Joy of Cooking". As there recommended, I cook in ramekins and the invert them on the plate, allowing custard to drip down over sponge. I often garnish with a few ripe raspberries on top. I think my version is called Lemon Sponge Custard. A great light desert for a dinner party as it makes an impressive display with little effort and always tastes great.

In Australia, we know this as Lemon Delicious. It is one of those stand-by recipes mothers teach daughters (or in my case, aunts teach the next generation!). I make it gluten-free using cornflour.

Oh. My. Word. This is amazing. I used 3/4 cup sugar and it was plenty sweet enough. Don't worry about the batter being super liquid when you pour it into your dish - it sets perfectly. Test it with a skewer after 40 minutes, and give it another five minutes if there's a lot of liquid covering the tip of the skewer. The top started browning quite soon, so I covered it with foil for the rest of the cooking time. Seriously superb. Make it right now.

Here's something novel: I followed the recipe and it turned out beautifully!

Made this on Friday for our Anniversary, fabulous! To make it gluten free I subbed 4-6T of corn starch for flour. I also used all the zest from a large lemon and used buttermilk in place of milk. I put a rack in the roasting pan to make removal easier. I also made a mixed berry topping to go with the cake (2C's frozen berries with 1/4 C Sugar 1 &1/2 t corn starch mixed with 1T lemon juice & 1 T water and a little less than 1 T grand marnier). Not a crumb or smidge of pudding left.

This was a hit at a dinner party with friends. I upped the lemon -- used zest and juice from two -- and substituted buttermilk for the milk. It came out great. Easiest way for me to get it in the oven was to place it in the roasting pan, put it on the rack, then pour boiling water into the pan once it's on the oven rack. Go easy folding in the egg whites, too -- this can take some practice. Also, watch the time -- mine set in just under 40 minutes.

This looks great, and very much like a recipe I've made several times. It is also called a lemon pudding cake, but uses buttermilk instead of whole milk. Adds to a bit more tanginess to the lemon.

This is an easy, forgiving recipe. Some comments:
- Buttermilk works fine in lieu of milk (1:1 sub);
- I used 1/3 cup of sugar instead of 1 cup, and it was sweet enough. I think 1/2 cup would be plenty sweet.
- Like others, I poured the water into the pan only after placing the dish inside it. Just give it a couple extra minutes in the oven.
- I was concerned the lower layer might come out soupy as others have reported, so I baked it for 1 hr at 300 degrees and it turned out nice and custardy.

Is the buttermilk an exact swap for the milk?

I quartered this recipe just to test it. I doubled the lemon zest and used 3 tablespoons of lemon juice instead of just 1 1/3 tablespoons. I adjusted nothing else. It was really good. Very lemony, but not too sour. I should note that I love lemon desserts, hence the increase in lemon ingredients. Making for valentines dinner in heart shaped ramekins. :)

Can this be made one or two days in advance?

I baked this a day ahead and brought it as a dish to a small dinner gathering. It seemed to go over really well! I would say it probably would have been best right out of the oven, because the pudding on the bottom set up a bit and I think it would have been great nice and warm. But the lemon flavor was perfect- not too strong or bitter. And the cake topping is so light and fluffy! I served with lightly sweetened whipped cream and a raspberry sauce. Very delicious!

For health reasons, I’m attempting to limit sugar and saturated fat in my diet (and it’s hard because those are my two favorite food groups!) … so I substituted buttermilk for the whole milk and reduced the sugar to ½ cup plus 2 Tbsp. And guess what? The result was light, fluffy, tart and delicious! Yay!

can you use buttermilk instead of whole milk? thanks

So, so very good, fabulous and easy. Used zest and juice of one lemon. Baked in 6 ramekins about 37 min. Served room temperature with whipped cream and fresh raspberries. Rave reviews from guest. Excellent, even the next day. Definitely will make again.

This was easy to make and looks pretty and tastes good. It’s fun to mix up one batter and end up with two layers in the end. However, considering the high rating, my family wasn’t that wowed by it. Everyone ate it but no one was clamoring for more.

Made this just as directed. Absolutely delicious! Perfect for company.

Agree with cutting sugar to 3/4 cup. This is divine, a fluffy lemon cloud.

I found the cake part to be quite like a soft meringue. Certainly fluffy, but I’m wondering if there’s a way to make it more like a sponge cake. Any thoughts?

I made the mistake of using a ceramic baking dish. That turned the bake time into 2 times as long. Use metal!

I made this yesterday, and it's going into regular rotation. What a wonderful, easy cake to make. I swapped in King Arthur's gluten-free flour, 1:1, for a guest with celiac, and to my surprise the cake came out beautifully light. I won't be going back to regular flour.Next time I'll probably infuse the milk with lavender seeds before mixing it in. Lemon and lavender is a favorite combo in my kitchen.Served it with fresh raspberries, but next time I'll make a coulis.

This is like the old Grape-Nuts cereal pudding that my family has been making since the early 1960s. The cereal gives it more texture and a boost in flavor.

I did a less sweet version, 3/4 c sugar and it was perfect, more lime and lime zest and served it with a blueberry compote on the side and some classic cream cheese frosting on top.

Didn't like that I couldn't tell if the "pudding" was there or not until serving to guests, so had to make a second diff backup (just in case it was a fail). It was okay but textures were not complementary-- soft cake partnered with pudding is not my ideal.

Like Rebecca Love's & Jilian's comments, I also add extra lemon zest and juice, and less sugar, easy dessert for a dinner party Fresh raspberries is a lovely touch