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!
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. 🙂
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.
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.
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.
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.
Unsalted butter – Fridge cold, cut up into cubes to help it melt evenly.
Vanilla extract – This is optional, for a touch of extra flavour.
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!
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.
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.
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).
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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!
Ingredients
- 60g / 4 tbsp unsalted butter , cut into ~1cm / 0.4" cubes
- 1 cup caster sugar / superfine sugar , or regular / granulated sugar
- 1 tbsp lemon zest
- 1/2 cup lemon juice (2 large lemons)
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract , optional
- Pinch of salt
- 3 large eggs , separated (fridge cold is fine)
- 1 1/2 cups milk , full fat is best but low fat ok (fridge cold is fine)
- 1/3 cup plain flour / all-purpose flour
Serving
- Whipped cream (use 3/4 cup cream) or creme fraiche
- Decorate – icing sugar (recommended), small lemon slices, raspberries, mint sprigs
Instructions
ABBREVIATED RECIPE
- 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
- Preheat oven to 180°C/350°F (160°C fan-forced).
- 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.
- 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)
- 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!
- 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!
- 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.
- 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.
- 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).
- 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:
Nutrition Information:
More cosy puddings and desserts
Life of Jaffle
And just like that, my sweet little puppy enters his wild child era ……
Current status:
4 months and 6 days old
20 kg (40 lb) – putting on 1 kg every week
Food consumption – 800g / 1.6lb daily plus undetermined quantity of treats 😇
Energy levels – unlimited
Personal space awareness – none
Recall success rate (with treats) – varies significantly depending on nearby distractions (dogs, birds, sticks)
Current life philosophy – if it moves, chase it. If it doesn’t move, see if it will.
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. 😂
Absolute winner, the right amount of sweetener versus tartness
Have made it today. Live in Greece just had loads of lemons which I love so decided to make it. I guess I need to warm it up as made it 7 hours ago.
So will put in individual dishes and warm up for three minutes.
Do love your new puppy. He’s already grown so much. Yes don’t think you will be holding him again the way he’s growing.
This turned out fantastic! I didn’t have lemons, only oranges and it was absolutely everything i needed!
Very delicious! I made it with gluten free flour and it worked perfectly
Served with lunch for a friend who loves lemon but doesn’t cook much. Am I the star!! Oh yes I am! We all loved it. Leftovers tomorrow 😋
Hi Nagi, can this be reheated in the oven if I do in ramekins? Reheating 15 ramekins for guests in the microwave would take a while to be able to serve them up together
Hi Sarah! I would take them out of the fridge about an hour prior to remove fridge chill. Then I would pop them into large roasting pans with a bit of boiling water, cover with foil then reheat at 180C/350F (160C fan-forced) for about, hmmm… I am guessing 10 minutes, the boiling water will help warm them through nice and quick. The water and foil will prevent them drying out. I have some in the fridge, I’ll give it a go tomorrow and update this comment! – N x
Hello,
Does this freeze? Thinking to thaw in the fridge…
– S
You have to cook this!!!!! Soooo much delicious lemon curd Nagi you are a such a star. Best winter dessert ever with a dollop of cold vanilla Peters I also added extra zest it can never be too lemony😊
I love hearing this Di! So glad you enjoyed it!! And yes to ice cream, I will add that as a suggestion! – N x
Lemon curd is my favourite preserve/topping/guilty spoon snack. So saw this recipe this morning and HAD to make it. Oh Wow! I used 2 Tablespoons of zest because the more lemon the better, right? Baked in a glass rectangle dish. Didn’t even zhuzh it up. Doesn’t need it! Well done, Nagi!
Yes to more zest, always!! 🙂 I’m so happy to hear you enjoyed this Joyce, thank you for taking the time to let me know! – N xx
Well, the postal genie failed – just realized this Saturday afternoon I should have heard from you – Mr Google agreed and brought me over – shall have to resubscribe after all these years methinks !!! Lemon Delicious pudding I actually do eat . . . this looks very doable and desirable . . . will be filed and passed on! And, beautiful lady – that gorgeous ‘brat’ of yours no longer fits in your lap! Period! Full stop!
Oh wow Nagi! Look at the paws on that boy! I think he is going to be way bigger than Dozer. I miss Dozer So much! God made us all unique, his children and his creatures! I can’t wait to see how jaffle grows!
I was only just looking for a Lemon Delicious recipe on this site last week. Was surprised there wasn’t one and now so glad there is.
Haven’t had a chance to cook yet?
How would this go with gluten free flour? I am not but have friends who are.
Hi Nagi, just wondering if this can be cooked in an air fryer 🤔 can wait to make this recipe as I have lots of lemons in my tree at the moment. Thankyou
You had me at extra sauce! Can’ wait to make this, perfect dessert to follow a Sunday roast.
Thanks also for your persistence in testing recipes again and again and again for us all before you present them. x
It’s sooo nice to see that your smile and playfulness have returned since your new fur baby has entered into your life! Just love all your smiles!
The recipe looks divine. Can’t wait to try it.
This pudding tops all puddings. I have made self-saucing lemon pudding before, but it pales in comparison. I used gluten-free flour. I used ramekins and found that it needed to be baked for about 8 minutes longer.
Woah!! High praise Ann. Thank you so much for your feedback! Especially sharing you GF flour experience, others have asked so I shall let them know. So glad you enjoyed it! – N xx
Will certainly try this recipe. I love anything lemon. Love your fur baby and still miss Dozer
Me too Sue, so much. Not a day goes by when I don’t shed a tear over him. He was my first. – N x
He is a beautiful boy Nagi. Growing so fast and sure looks like a lot of fun! I really look forward to all your recipes as they are always delicious!!
Jaffle has a big job to do after Dozer — and he’s adorable. I still love looking at Dozer’s journal and will look for him on your website, too.
The lemon dessert looks luscious! Will try it!