The Best Lemon Pudding Cake for Two (2024)

January 9, 2023 by Debby | Leave a Comment

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Classic Lemon Pudding Cake is a “magical” recipe. This dessert is a combination of a lemon custard-pudding and an airy and light cake layer on top. While the cake bakes the recipe divides itself into two layers. It’s like magic! This dessert is what lemon lovers dream of.

I have often mentioned, on my blog, that “Lemon is my chocolate”. I’ve shared that my favorite pie is Lemon Meringue. I can’t resist a slice of Lemon Cake, nor a scoop of Lemon Ice Cream.

The best way I can describe this dessert is that the bottom layer is a lemon custard texture with a top layer of a soufflé texture cake. Cooking for two has become more of a focus lately. America’s Test Kitchen Cooking for Two cookbook is getting a lot of use in our kitchen, lately. Hence, this recipe has been perfectly adjusted to make 4 small, or two large servings.

Here’s how to make Lemon Pudding Cake.

Ingredients: Eggs, separated. Sugar, whole milk, flour, cornstarch, lemon zest, lemon juice and butter. You’ll need a 3-cup baking dish, a clean dish towel and a metal 9×13 pan. Last, but not least, a hand mixer.

Once you have all of your ingredients measured out, start by mixing flour and corn starch. Set aside. Whip the egg whites with sugar until glossy. Set aside.

In a separate bowl, mix the butter and sugar. Add the zest, flour mixture eggs and then the milk and lemon juice.

Stir one third of the egg whites into the batter.

Gently fold the remaining egg whites into the cake batter, until there are no more white streaks.

Pour the batter into the prepared baking dish, and set on top of the dish towel in the metal pan. Preheat the oven to 325F on the lowest rack.

Set the pan onto the oven rack, and carefully pour (boiling) hot water into the pan, until it reaches halfway up the pan. NOTE: Don’t make my mistake! I poured the hot water into the pan, on my counter, then tried to place the pan in the oven. Ouch! I burned my thumbs a bit!

The Best Lemon Pudding Cake for Two (10)

The recipe said to bake for an hour. I’m glad I set a second timer for 50 minutes, as insurance that my cakes don’t over bake. Good call! The cake was definitely done, because it didn’t jiggle in the middle. Set the cake onto a cooling rack for at least 30 minutes.

The Best Lemon Pudding Cake for Two (11)

So, here’s the cake. There’s a custard-like pudding, and a very light cake layer. The proof is in the pudding.

The Best Lemon Pudding Cake for Two (12)

TASTING NOTES: There’s definitely a delicious lemon punch to the pudding! The cake is so light and airy. The cake was slightly warm in a very good way. This is lemon heaven, for sure. Can you make this in ramekins. Absolutely! I’ve made this recipe that way. There are four servings and that’s perfect for us. You might wonder if you should refrigerate any uneaten cake. Yes, of course! I would briefly microwave the cake for 20-30 seconds. Though, with this scaled down recipe, in our home, there were no leftovers!

Print Recipe

Lemon Pudding Cake For Two

Classic Lemon Pudding Cake is a "magical" recipe. This dessert is a combination of a lemon custard-pudding and an airy and light cake layer on top. All of the ingredients are blended together, and while it bakes the recipe divides itself into two layers. It's magic! This dessert is what lemon lovers dream of.

Prep Time15 minutes mins

Cook Time50 minutes mins

Equipment

1 3-cup measuring dish 7¼ x 5 ¼ measurement recommendation
1 9×13 metal pan glass might crack when adding boiling water
clean dish towel for the metal pan
kettle or pot for boiling water

Ingredients

2 large eggs separated; room temperature
½ cup granulated sugar 3½ ounces; divided
4 tsp all-purpose flour
½ tsp cornstarch
2 Tbsp unsalted butter room temperature and softened
2 tsp lemon zest grated
¼ cup fresh lemon juice I used Meyer lemon for the added sweetness
½ cup whole milk room temperature

Instructions

Adjust the oven rack to the lowest position and heat the oven to 325°F
Place a dish towel in the bottom of a 13×9-inch baking pan. Great the small baking dish. NOTE: I used Bakers Joy non-stick spray. Set the small baking dish in the pan.
Start a kettle of water to boil.

Egg whites:

Using a hand-held mixer set at medium-low speed, beat egg whites in a large bowl until foamy, about 1 minutes. Increase the speed to medium-high and beat whites to soft, billowy mounds, about 1 minutes.
Gradually add 6 tablespoons sugar and beat until glossy, stiff peaks form, 2 to 6 minutes. Set aside.

Batter:

Whisk flour and cornstarch together in a small bowl. Using a hand-held mixer set at medium-high speed, beat butter, lemon zest, and remaining sugar in medium bowl until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Scrape down sides of the bowl, as needed.
Add the egg yolks and beat until combined, about 30 seconds.
Reduce speed to low and slowly add flour mixture until combined, about 30 seconds.
Add milk and lemon juice and beat until just combined.
Using a rubber spatula, stir one-third of the beaten egg whites into the batter, then add the remaining whites. Gently fold the whites into the batter until no white streaks remain.

Bake the Lemon Pudding Cake:

Scrape the batter into the prepared dish and smooth the top.
Set the pan on oven rack. Taking care not to splash water into the dish, pour enough boiling water into the pan to reach halfway up the sides of the dish.
Bake the cake until surface is golden brown and edges are set (the center should jiggle slightly when gently shaken. About one hour. NOTE: I checked on my cake at 50 minutes. While the cake wasn't very brown, the center was firmly set. End result: The cake was good!

Notes

Recipe source: America’s Test Kitchen Cooking for Two