Meyer Lemon Pudding Cake is a light self-saucing dessert with a soft airy cake on top and a bright lemon curd pudding beneath. Serve it family style or make it in individual ramekins for a more elegant presentation.

We love the unique flavor of this cake that stands out from the crowd. Other favorite cake recipes like it are Sticky Toffee Pudding Cake with Toffee Sauce and Authentic Irish Apple Cake.

an aerial view of Meyer Lemon Pudding Cake with blueberries on top


When it comes to desserts, I tend to prefer fruit and nut flavors over chocolate. I like chocolate too, of course. I mean, I'm not a monster. But something fruity is almost always going to draw me in first.

And citrusy desserts like key lime pie or a sour cream lemon pie always get my attention. So when I first heard of the idea of a lemon pudding cake, which is sort of like a chocolate lava cake in terms of texture but with lemon instead of chocolate, I knew I had to try it.

Meyer lemon pudding cake is fabulous dusted with powdered sugar and eaten just as it is. But it's just gorgeous served with fresh berries. Strawberries, raspberries, or blackberries would be fantastic with this dessert, but I especially like the combo of blueberries and lemon so that's what we most often go with.

If you love lemon desserts, you are going to flip over this meyer lemon pudding cake. 

An image of a meyer lemon pudding cake topped with blueberries, with a big scoop taken out of the middle.

What is a pudding cake?

A pudding cake is not just a cake with a packet of instant pudding added to the mix. It is actually a type of dessert where the top layer bakes into a wonderfully soft sponge while the bottom part stays molten and creates a custard.

A pudding cake is created by separating eggs and beating egg whites until stiff. The egg whites get folded into the batter, which creates the lighter-than-air texture as the cake bakes.

You can't really slice and serve a pudding cake, so be sure to serve this cake with a large spoon for dishing or make it in individual ramekins for guests.

What are meyer lemons? 

A Meyer lemon is like a cross between a regular lemon and a mandarin. They are sweeter and more mild than a Eureka or Lisbon lemon, which are the other lemon varieties that most of us are familiar with. But Meyer lemons are still too tart to just peel and eat like an orange or even a grapefruit.

But you can substitute Meyer lemons for regular lemons in any recipe without making any other adjustments!

As far as appearance goes, Meyer lemons look similar to regular lemons, but their rind is thinner and smoother, with a deeper yellow, almost golden orange color to it than the bright, sunny yellow of other lemons.

Ingredients for Meyer Lemon Pudding Cake

All that you need to make a Meyer lemon pudding cake are:

  • sugar
  • flour
  • salt
  • butter
  • milk
  • Meyer lemons
  • eggs
An image of butter, Meyer lemons, eggs, flour, sugar, and milk for baking a lemon cake.

There is no leavening agent for the cake like baking powder or baking soda, so don't worry that an ingredient might be missing from the list. The cake gets its lift and lightness from the stiffly beaten egg whites.

How to Make Meyer Lemon Pudding Cake

  1. Start by whisking the flour, sugar, and salt together in one bowl and the egg yolks, melted butter, lemon juice, and lemon zest in another, larger bowl.
  2. Alternately add the flour mixture with the milk to the egg yolks, stirring well between each addition.
  3. Beat the egg whites in another bowl using an electric mixer until stiff peaks form, then gently fold them into the batter using a rubber spatula. You don't want them to deflate by stirring too hard. The batter should be light and foamy.
  4. Pour the batter into a 3-½ quart baking dish or divide evenly between 6-8 individual ramekins.
  5. Set the baking dish or ramekins into a larger pan and carefully fill the pan with hot water to create a water bath. The water should cup about ⅓ of the way up the outside of the baking dish or ramekins.
  6. Carefully transfer the pan to a preheated 350 degree F oven and bake for 40-45 minutes for a large cake or 22-28 minutes for individual ramekins. The top of the cake should be a light golden brown but other than that, there is no test for doneness since the bottom of the cake will always be wet from the pudding layer.
  7. Carefully remove the pan from the oven and take the cake out of the water bath. Let it cool for 10 to 15 minutes before dusting with powdered sugar and serving with fresh berries if desired.
An image of flour, sugar, and salt being whisked together in a bowl.
An image of Meyer lemon zest and lemons being juiced.
An image of lemon cake batter ingredients being whisked together in a bowl.
An image of stiff egg whites being folded into a meyer lemon pudding cake batter.
An image of a Meyer lemon pudding cake in a pan set inside a larger pan filled with water for a water bath.
An image of a Meyer lemon pudding cake right out of the oven with Meyer lemons and blueberries next to it.
An image of a homemade lemon pudding cake topped with fresh blueberries and powdered sugar.

More Lemon Desserts You Will Want to Try

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Meyer Lemon Pudding Cake

5 from 1 vote
Amy Nash
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 40 minutes
Total Time 50 minutes
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Servings 6 people
Meyer Lemon Pudding Cake is a light self-saucing dessert with a soft airy cake on top and a bright lemon curd pudding beneath.  Serve it family style or make it in individual ramekins for a more elegant presentation.

Ingredients
  

  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • cup all-purpose flour
  • ½ teaspoon kosher salt
  • 4 eggs separated
  • 2 Tablespoons butter melted and cooled
  • 1 Tablespoon Meyer lemon zest
  • cup Meyer lemon juice from about 3 lemons
  • 1 ¼ cups whole milk
  • Berries for topping

Instructions
 

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  
  • Whisk flour, sugar, and salt together in a medium bowl.  Whisk the egg yolks, melted butter, lemon juice, and lemon zest in another, larger bowl.
  • Add the flour mixture alternately with the milk to the egg yolk mixture, stirring well between each addition.
  • Beat the egg whites in another bowl using an electric mixer until stiff peaks form.  Gently fold the egg whites into the batter using a rubber spatula, ⅓ at a time.
  • Pour the batter into a 3-½ quart baking dish or divide evenly between 6-8 individual ramekins.
  • Set the baking dish or ramekins into a larger pan and carefully fill with hot water to create a bath around the baking dish. The water should cup about ⅓ of the way up the outside of the baking dish or ramekins.
  • Carefully transfer to the oven and bake for 40-45 minutes for a large cake or 22-28 minutes for individual ramekins, until a light golden brown.
  • Carefully remove the pan from the oven and take the cake out of the water bath. Let it cool for 10 to 15 minutes before dusting with powdered sugar and serving with fresh berries, if desired.

Notes

Adapted from Oprah.

Nutrition

Calories: 264kcal | Carbohydrates: 42g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 8g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 124mg | Sodium: 291mg | Potassium: 132mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 36g | Vitamin A: 359IU | Vitamin C: 7mg | Calcium: 79mg | Iron: 1mg
Tried this recipe? Show me on Instagram!Mention @HouseOfNashEats or tag #houseofnasheats!

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About the author

Hi, I'm Amy

I enjoy exploring the world through food, culture, and travel and sharing the adventure with mostly from-scratch, family friendly recipes that I think of as modern comfort cooking.

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Reader questions and reviews

  1. This looks amazing - perfect for a spring treat! I'm going to have to try this soon.