Experience the magic of Lemon Delicious! Also known as Self-Saucing Lemon Pudding or Lemon Pudding Cake, one batter separates into a light soufflé-like sponge with silky lemon custard sauce underneath. Not just a wimpy amount. This has plenty of sauce!
Bonus: It’s a dinner party dessert dream because it reheats brilliantly. Especially in ramekins!
Lemon Delicious Pudding
Lemon Delicious Pudding is a cosy dessert that’s literally the perfect way to finish a hearty meal during cold winter days. The lemon custard sauce looks rich and creamy, but it’s actually bright and tangy, and the sponge layer is incredibly light, almost like a soufflé.
It’s a nostalgic Australian favourite that’s also well loved in the UK and New Zealand, while the American version, known as Lemon Pudding Cake, is similar but has a layer of thicker custard under the cake rather than a drizzle-able sauce.
While Chocolate and Butterscotch Self Saucing Puddings have existed on here for many years, truthfully, the lemon version never excited me in the past because I always found the sauce part …… underwhelming. Just a token thin layer, most of which soaked into the cake, whereas I wanted a good amount of sauce I could scoop up and spoon over every bite. Like this:
Little did I know that my grievances were widely shared until readers requested it in droves after a call-out for winter recipes on Instagram! This sparked an obsession to create the Lemon Delicious I’d always wanted. And there really is no other word than obsession to describe how I went about tackling this. It’s just how I’m wired – I get fixated on perfecting a recipe for something I really want to eat, and I make it over and over and over again until I get there!
And here’s the maddening part about creating this recipe – you can’t tell if it worked just by looking at it. Every Lemon Delicious looked like a success coming out of the oven. It’s only when I dug through the cake layer that I knew if the sauce worked or not!
But I did get there, and even JB was mighty impressed with the final version. Or perhaps astonished is the better word, given how different it was to my first attempt. I have to laugh remembering how restrained and polite he was about that one, which somehow managed to be dry, crumbly, way too sweet AND eye-wateringly sour all at once.
It takes skill to make a pudding like that! 😂
And while I remember, YES, you can make this in individual ramekins too! (So many exclamation marks already, and I haven’t even started talking about the recipe 😂)
Ingredients in Lemon Delicious
Here’s what you need to make Lemon Delicious. All pantry basics – except lemons, unless you’re lucky enough to have a tree in the backyard you can pluck one from!
I also have a deep appreciation for any recipe where dairy ingredients can go in straight from the fridge – eggs, milk and butter. No need to plan ahead and bring anything to room temperature!
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Lemons – You’ll need 2 large lemons to get 1 tablespoon of zest and 1/2 cup of juice for this recipe. Fun fact: it’s the zest that provides most of the lemon flavour, while the juice mainly adds tartness rather than lemon flavour. 🙂
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Sugar – I use caster sugar / superfine sugar as my default for baking recipes, but regular sugar (granulated sugar) will work fine too.
The recipe calls for 1 cup (200g) of white sugar. I know that sounds like a lot, but it’s needed to balance the lemon juice – otherwise the pudding is far too sour. I know because one of my early versions used half the sugar, and it was so tart it was inedible.
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Milk – Use full fat milk if you can, as the lemon custard sauce comes out nicer. Just a better mouthfeel, like using full fat versus low-fat cream.
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Flour – Just plain flour (all-purpose flour), and not very much at all – just 1/3 cup (50g) which is why the sponge layer comes out more like a delicate soufflé rather than a cake.
It cannot be substituted with self-raising flour. In fact, this pudding doesn’t use baking powder or baking soda at all – it gets its rise entirely from whipped egg whites.
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Eggs – Use large eggs, which are eggs from cartons labelled “large eggs”, ~50 – 55g/2oz each (in shell). Fridge cold is fine, it doesn’t need to be brought to room temperature.
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Unsalted butter – Fridge cold, cut up into cubes to help it melt evenly.
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Vanilla extract – This is optional, for a touch of extra flavour.
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Salt – A pinch, to bring out the flavours in this dessert.
The Magic of Lemon Delicious: How It Works
The word “magic” really is what comes to mind when you think about how one batter can make such a lovely delicate sponge cake and so much silky lemon custard sauce! But here’s how it actually works – the thin batter has whipped egg whites folded through it which is what makes the cake rise. When you stop stirring, you’ll see it start separating almost immediately, with a foamy part (from the egg whites) rising to the top while a darker coloured lemon mixture settles underneath.
It then bakes just like that – the egg white layer becomes the light sponge, while the lemon mixture transforms into that glorious silky custard sauce.
How to make Lemon Delicious
Most Lemon Delicious recipes start by creaming softened butter with an electric beater, then you have to wash it before whipping egg whites to fold into the batter. I use melted butter instead so everything can be mixed with just a hand held whisk and the (clean!) electric beater reserved for the egg whites. Plus, no need to remember to soften the butter first!
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Melt the butter in a heatproof bowl in the microwave until almost melted, then whisk by hand to finish melting it. This way, the butter isn’t too hot so we don’t need to wait for it to cool a bit.
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Thin batter – Whisk the sugar in first (it will be thick like wet sand) using a handheld whisk. Then add the egg yolks, lemon juice, vanilla and salt and whisk until combined. Add the flour and whisk until lump free, then whisk in the milk. It will be a very thin, runny batter.
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Beat egg whites to stiff peaks using an electric mixer or stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. By stiff peaks, I mean upright pointy Santa hats, not floppy elf hats (that’s softly whipped).
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Fold through – Fold a big scoop of the fluffed egg whites into the batter first (this lightens the batter and makes the rest easier to fold through), then fold through the rest of the egg whites. By “fold”, I mean use a rubber spatula to gently stir with big scooping motions, rather than vigorous stirring, to avoid knocking the air out of the egg whites.
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One baking dish – Gently pour the mixture into a 5 to 6 cup ceramic baking dish (1.25 – 1.5 litres / quarts). I prefer using a smaller dish with taller sides rather than a flatter one as you get a thicker sponge layer, but it will work whatever the shape.
I don’t recommend using a metal pan, it conducts heat faster and more directly so the custard sauce cooks more and it’s thicker. Still nice, but ends up more like a thick dollop custard rather than a sauce.
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Individual ramekins – You can also use ramekins to make individual portions. Six 200ml / 7 oz ramekins is the perfect size, else you can use whatever size baking dishes you want to divide 5 cups of batter (12.5 litres / quarts). The pudding barely rises as it bakes so you can fill it to 1 cm / 0.2″ from the top.
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Water bath – Place the baking dish or ramekins into a large pan and fill halfway up the sides with boiling water. Baking in a water bath makes the pudding cook evenly and gently so the cake part is beautifully light and moist and the custard sauce underneath doesn’t dry out.
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Bake – Bake for 35 minutes if making a large single one, or 30 minutes if making individual ones, or until the top is light golden. It will still feel jiggly if you poke it because of the sauce underneath.
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Rest for 5 minutes to give the sponge a chance to stabilise (it is very delicate hot out of the oven). Give it a dusting of icing sugar (makes everything prettier), then serve, taking big scoops out of the dish, being sure to scoop up plenty of sauce too! A dollop of whipped cream or creme fraiche is highly recommended as it really compliments the tangy lemon flavour.
Garnish options – A little slice of lemon, raspberry and mint sprig are little garnishes you can add for a touch of colour, and gives it a little “dinner party” vibe. 🙂
Making Lemon Delicious ahead
Speaking of dinner parties – I made an accidental discovery while reheating leftover Lemon Delicious for breakfast one day (don’t judge me, there were a lot of leftovers during testing!). It reheats almost perfectly! On a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being fresh-from-the-oven perfection, I give it a 9.
And I do not hand out 9’s lightly!!
Just refrigerate until required, then reheat in the microwave. The sponge fluffs back up beautifully and the lemon custard becomes a warm pouring sauce again. And you can do it for either a single large pudding or individual – though ramekins reheat better because they’re easier to heat evenly.
Honestly, if your guests don’t catch you using the microwave, I’d bet they’d never guess they weren’t freshly baked!! – Nagi x
Lemon Delicious FAQ
Yes, you can make this with orange or lime. Start using the same juice and zest quantity per the recipe. Then when you’ve mixed the batter, before folding in the fluffed egg whites, have a taste and if you want more flavour, add up to an extra 2 tablespoons of juice and as much zest as you want.
It will keep in the fridge for 3 to 4 days after making it. The longer it is kept, the more the custard sauce will soak the cake part. But honestly, it was still very enjoyable on day 4!
If you’re planning to make ahead then reheat to serve, try to make it closer to serving time as it reheats better if you make it on the day-of compared to the day before.
Unfortunately not, the sauce gets watery and kind of splits, and you can’t exactly stir it when it’s buried under cake! 🙂
Unfortunately I haven’t tried this with gluten-free flour but I feel like this has a good chance of working because it’s leavened with egg whites rather than baking powder.
I looked at a lot of recipes before coming up with my own. Flour, butter and milk ratios vary widely, with Australian and UK recipes using far more flour than American ones (as low as 3 tablespoons vs 125g / 1/2 cup for Australian recipes), leading to more cake-like sponge layers, whereas the Americans ones were so light, they were more like a soufflé (a bit too wet for my taste, to be honest).
American recipes also tended to use more egg (usually 4 compared to 3 eggs for Australian / British recipes), resulting in the sauce layer ending up more like a baked custard (ie very thick) rather than a sauce.
The good news is that all the recipes I tried – even early version of my own – separated into a cake and sauce / custard layer. It’s good news because it showed that the self-saucing magic of the recipe is actually pretty foolproof. The question of how good each of those elements were was another matter. 🙂
Where my recipe differs from typical recipes is that it uses 50% more milk which is how I get so much more sauce. While 1/2 cup extra of milk might not sound like much, it thins the batter substantially and results in more than 1/2 cup extra of lemon cream sauce.
No need to make a separate sauce: I also tried making a sauce separately and pouring that onto a thick cake batter, expecting it to settle and thicken under the cake, much like Chocolate Self Saucing Pudding. It worked, but actually, it’s an unnecessary extra step because this is essentially what happens when you mix up the batter – when you stop stirring, you’ll see it separates almost immediately with the airy egg whites rising to the top half while the thinner lemon mixture settles on the base and this is what becomes the sauce.
Watch how to make it
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Lemon Delicious Pudding – extra saucy!
Dessert
British, English, Western
Servings5
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Instructions
ABBREVIATED RECIPE
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Melt butter, whisk in sugar, vanilla and zest. Whisk in yolks and lemon juice. Whisk in flour, then milk. Beat whites to stiff peaks, fold into batter. Bake in 5- 6 cup dish in water bath at 180°C/350°F (160°C fan) for 35 min (ramekins 30 min).
FULL RECIPE
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Preheat oven to 180°C/350°F (160°C fan-forced).
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Baking vessels (Note 1) – You will need a 5 to 6 cup ceramic or glass baking dish (1.25 – 1.5 litres / quarts), or 6 x 200 ml / 7oz ramekins. No need to grease it.
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Barely melt butter – Put the butter cubes in a heatproof bowl and microwave in 20 second increments until almost melted. Then whisk by hand to finish melting using the residual heat – it will look milky rather than a yellow oil. (Note 2)
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Make batter – Add the sugar, vanilla and lemon zest into the butter. Whisk to combine. Add lemon juice and egg yolks, whisk to combine. Add flour and whisk until lump free. Add milk and whisk. The batter will be very thin!
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Beat whites – In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites until stiff using a handheld beater or stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. You want upright rather than floppy Santa hats!
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Fold through a big scoop of the fluffed egg whites into the batter using a rubber spatula. Then add the remaining egg whites in and fold through, don’t stir vigorously (Note 3 for what I mean by this). Little lumps of egg whites is fine.
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Fill – Gently pour the batter into the baking dish and put it in a larger roasting pan. Ramekins: Use a ladle, and make sure to scoop from the bottom so every ramekin gets even amounts of foamy batter (which sits on the surface), this turns into the cake. Fill to 1 cm / 0.2″ from the rim. Transfer to a pan for water bath.
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Bake in water bath – Fill pan with boiling water until it comes halfway up the side of the baking dish. Bake 35 minutes for a single dish or 30 minutes for ramekins, until the surface is golden (it will feel jiggly if you prod it because of the sauce underneath).
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Rest for 5 minutes, then dusting with icing sugar. Scoop out to serve, ensuring everyone gets their share of the lemon custard sauce! Top with a dollop of whipped cream or creme fraiche, and decorate with little lemon slices, raspberry and mint sprig if desired.
Recipe Notes:
Ramekins – 6 x 200 – 250ml / 7 – 8 oz ramekins are the ideal size. Or you can use larger or smaller, just calculate how many you’ll need based on the volume of batter.
Metal pans will work too (20 – 23cm/8 – 9″ round, 5cm/2″ tall) but ceramic dishes makes a softer cake and looser sauce, and also present nicer too.
2. Barely melting butter – This prevents the melted butter from getting too hot so it doesn’t melt ingredients added into it. But if you fully melt the butter and it’s quite hot, that’s fine – just set it aside for a few minutes to cool down before proceeding with the recipe.
3. Folding through egg whites – Adding a bit of whipped egg whites into the batter first lightens the batter and makes the rest easier to fold through. Use a rubber spatula to gently stir with big scooping motions, rather than vigorous stirring, to avoid knocking the air out of the egg whites.
Leftovers will keep for 3 – 4 days in the fridge. Reheat gently in the microwave.
Make-ahead – Reheats amazingly well, so terrific for dinner parties! Make the pudding per recipe and fully cool uncovered. Refrigerate, then reheat in the microwave until the centre is warm. The lemon custard sauce will loosen and the sponge will spring back!
Time guide – one ramekin takes me 40 seconds on high. Do 30 second increments, reducing time of bursts as it gets warmer.
Ramekins reheat better (smaller = more even reheating), and the closer you can make it to serving time, the more perfect it will be when reheated.
Nutrition per serving, assuming 5 servings.
Nutrition Information:
Calories: 350cal (18%)Carbohydrates: 52g (17%)Protein: 7g (14%)Fat: 14g (22%)Saturated Fat: 8g (50%)Polyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 4gTrans Fat: 0.5gCholesterol: 130mg (43%)Sodium: 73mg (3%)Potassium: 174mg (5%)Fiber: 0.3g (1%)Sugar: 44g (49%)Vitamin A: 516IU (10%)Vitamin C: 10mg (12%)Calcium: 106mg (11%)Iron: 1mg (6%)
More cosy puddings and desserts
Life of Jaffle
And just like that, my sweet little puppy enters his wild child era ……
Current status:
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4 months and 6 days old
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20 kg (40 lb) – putting on 1 kg every week
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Food consumption – 800g / 1.6lb daily plus undetermined quantity of treats 😇
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Energy levels – unlimited
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Personal space awareness – none
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Recall success rate (with treats) – varies significantly depending on nearby distractions (dogs, birds, sticks)
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Current life philosophy – if it moves, chase it. If it doesn’t move, see if it will.
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Favourite household item – skirting boards and anything mum is wearing.
Point down with a camera at any time and there’s a high probability of capturing this exact shot 😂:
Ahhh, but for all the naughtiness, this not-so-little-anymore fur ball has totally stolen my heart.
And that’s probably the last photo you’ll see of me holding him. 😂
Nagi
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