Lemon Pudding Cakes 8 Easy Ingredients

With sunshine, warmer days, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, Memorial Day, and summertime on the horizon, these fresh and delicious lemon cakes are a dessert favorite.

Tell Me About These Lemon Pudding Cakes

Part lemon cake, part lemon pudding (made from just 1 cake batter) Fluffy, creamy, and rich all in one Sweet, tangy, and refreshing Simple, yet totally fancy 8 easy ingredients like butter, eggs, and lemons

The Best Part of All: Bake these lemon cakes in individual ramekins. Similar to chocolate lava cakes in both presentation and texture, the lemon pudding cakes are perfectly packaged in their own pre-portioned cup. It’s how we serve upside down key lime pies, too. I love that! This is such a fun and unique recipe that has always been a baking bucket list recipe for me.

Here’s Why You Need These Ingredients

Let me walk you through each ingredient so you understand its importance. Substitutions are not ideal and the full written recipe is below.

Eggs: Since we’re essentially making pudding AND cake in one, we need eggs. (Eggs are a main ingredient in both classic desserts, providing most of the structure and texture.) Separate your eggs before beginning. We’ll use both the yolks and whites in this recipe, which is wonderfully convenient. Use the egg yolks in the base of the cake batter and whip the egg whites separately. Whipped egg whites help the cakes rise. As you know from making Swiss Meringue Buttercream, even a drip of egg yolk will prevent your whites from whipping. For this reason, I strongly recommend a handy egg separator (affiliate link—I love it!). Milk: Milk is the liquid in this cake batter. I recommend whole milk for the richest taste and texture, but lower fat or nondairy milk can be used in a pinch. Butter: 2 Tablespoons of melted butter add flavor. Lemons: Use fresh lemons for optimal flavor. You need lemon zest and juice. Vanilla Extract: More flavor. All-Purpose Flour: If you’re low on flour right now, great news—this recipe only needs 1/3 cup of it. Do not use cake flour or bread flour. I haven’t tested this recipe with gluten free alternatives, but let me know if you do. Salt: Provides flavor balance. Granulated Sugar: Sweetens, but also helps whip the egg whites into stiff peaks.

Overview: How to Make Lemon Pudding Cakes

Step-by-Step Photos I usually prepare the egg yolk mixture first, but for picture organization, I’m showing you the egg whites first. Below on the left are the foamy egg whites. Below on the right are the stiff peaks, after we add the sugar. Here we have the egg yolk mixture. Carefully begin adding the fluffy egg whites. After gently folding in the egg whites, the cake batter has nearly tripled in volume. It should be foamy, creamy, and smooth: Divide the batter between the ramekins and bake in a water bath. The lemon pudding cakes will puff up in the oven, but slightly deflate as they cool.