Baked Lemon Pudding
Updated March 11, 2026
- Total Time
- 1 hour
- Prep Time
- 10 minutes
- Cook Time
- 1 hour
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
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Ingredients
- 1tablespoon/15 grams unsalted butter, softened
- 1cup plus 2 tablespoons/225 grams granulated sugar
- 3large eggs, yolks and whites separated
- 3tablespoons/30 grams all-purpose flour
- 2large lemons, grated and juiced (about 2 tablespoons zest and 6 tablespoons juice)
- 1cup/250 milliliters whole milk
- Confectioners’ sugar, for dusting
- Softly whipped cream, for serving
Nutritional analysis per serving (6 servings)
408 calories; 8 grams fat; 4 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 2 grams monounsaturated fat; 1 gram polyunsaturated fat; 83 grams carbohydrates; 1 gram dietary fiber; 76 grams sugars; 6 grams protein; 57 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
- Step 1
Heat oven to 350 degrees and set a rack in the middle of the oven.
- Step 2
Place butter in a medium mixing bowl. Gradually add sugar as you mash the mixture with a wooden spoon until it looks like damp sand.
- Step 3
Mix egg yolks into sugar mixture, then beat in the flour. Add lemon zest and juice, then whisk in the milk.
- Step 4
In a separate clean large bowl, beat egg whites to stiff peaks. Fold whites by hand gently into batter.
- Step 5
Pour mixture into a 5-cup ceramic or glass baking dish (or Pyrex pie plate). Bake in the middle of the oven for about 40 minutes, or until mixture is just set and top is golden brown. (Alternatively, bake in individual ramekins or custard cups for about 20 minutes.)
- Step 6
Serve warm, dusted with confectioners’ sugar, with softly whipped cream alongside.
Private Notes
Comments
There is also a Turkish Yogurt Cake, made with 2 cups of Greek yogurt, juice and zest of 1 lemon, 3 tablespoons of flour, 4 separated eggs, egg whites whipped to soft peaks, no butter, and a half cup of sugar. Bake in a grease pan, 40 minutes. Just delicious.
Yes, this is very similar to the Joy of Cooking recipe, which is one of my all-time favorite desserts. I only make gluten free desserts and this turns out very well with either almond flour or a gluten-free flour. The recipe is also forgiving as to lemon-sugar ratios. I usually cut down on sugar in all my baking, by at least a third, so I often use Meyers lemons when they are in season, as they are less acidic. Whipped cream unnecessary, as the pudding has its own sauce.
This is very similar to The Joy of Cooking lemon sponge custard, one of my favorite all time desserts. I think you’d get a better separation of the pudding and cake if this was cooked in a water bath.
I let our teen guests decide between this or banana cream pie to polish off a spring feast and I doubled the recipe, added an extra lemon because my lemons were smaller, cooked it in a ceramic coated cast iron for 45 minutes and it was beautiful and everyone loved it! However, it was not very lemony. I usually roll my eyes at the comments about cutting sugar but if I make this again I’ll probably decrease the sugar a tiny bit and add more lemon zest, maybe some pulp. I think I’d add raspberries to the whip cream too to bring out the zing. It was good! People loved it! But I think it could have been a showstopper with some mods.
This was delicious and I even forgot the milk! Was so distracted, left out the milk so no pudding layer. The final result was like a delicious lemon bar, however, with great lemon flavor. Used almond flour instead of regular flour but otherwise followed recipe (except for forgetting the milk). Will make again correctly (with milk) but even so it was great! Everyone enjoyed and it disappeared fast! Highly recommend!
Texture was kind of strange and didn't love the slight eggy vibe to it. Not my cup of tea but can see why some folks love the texture. Wouldn't make again but fun to experiment with it!