Old Fashioned Small Batch Lemon Pudding Cake Dessert Cups

Looking to whip up a ridiculously easy and impressive dessert? Look no further than these delightful Old Fashioned Small Batch Lemon Pudding Cake baked in dessert cups! Perfect for those cooking for smaller households or just craving a sweet treat without the fuss, these little wonders are pure magic in the oven.

During the early days of spring when it is too cold outside to plant flowers or wash away the winter grime on my windows, I like to sit with a warm cup of lemon tea with cookbooks spread around me like a warm blanket. 

Speaking of lemon, this lemon pudding cake recipe is in one of my church cookbooks (it’s the one passed down to me from my mother-in-law, Annie) caught my eye. 

Off to the kitchen I go to scale down this large gathering cake and scale it down to make 2 or 3 servings! My trick is making individual dessert cups!  But how exactly do you split an egg when the large cake recipe calls for 3?  Read on to find out….

Pam's Best Tips

Picture this: a single batter goes in, but what comes out is a two-fer delight (two elements from one batter – a two-fer).  In this case, our twofer is an airy, soufflé-like cake that sits atop a luscious, silky lemon pudding. How's that for a little culinary magic?

The secret to their bold citrus flavor? We will steep a generous 2 tablespoons of lemon zest in the milk and cream (most likely inspired sipping on my lemon tea).

Forget about worrying over curdled pudding on the bottom of the dessert cup. Baking these pint-sized dessert cups in a cold-water bath ensures a perfectly smooth pudding layer every time.

So, cozy up to these lemony wonders and get ready for a dessert experience that's ridiculously easy and nothing short of sublime!

What you'll need

What’s not to like about a pint-sized dessert?  Especially since we only need to make one batter to create a soufflé-like cake sitting atop a luscious, silky lemon pudding. 

Here’s what you’ll need for old fashioned small batch lemon pudding cake dessert cups:

Ingredients when baking for two

• Dairy – milk and heavy cream
• Lemon – For a citrusy flavor punch we will steep a generous amount of zest in the milk and cream.  After we strain the zest we will add fresh lemon juice for a bold citrus flavor.
• Dry ingredients include - Sugar, baking powder, flour and salt
• Eggs – remember when I said we need to split an egg to make a small batch of lemon pudding cakes?  Well, separating 1 large egg plus using one the whites of one more  egg is what we will do to scale down the recipe to make 3 dessert cups.
• Vanilla Extract
• Confectioners’ sugar is a nice addition to sprinkle over the top of the cakes.

See recipe card for quantities.

Small batch baking equipment

Baking the lemon pudding cakes in ramekins, means everyone has their own individual dessert cup -- no messy cutting or serving, involved.  Now, let’s talk kitchen tools to make small batch of lemon pudding cakes.

• Whisk – we will need to whisk together the dry ingredients
• Fine-mesh strainer – After we steep lemon zest in the cream and milk we will want to strain the milk mixture.
• Small saucepan – I like using my heavy bottomed all clad sauce pan to steep the lemon juice in the cream and milk.
• Hand mixer, hand blender or stand mixer
• Ramekins – 6 ounce or even one large 18 ounce ramekin can be used for this dish.  The large ramekin makes this a fun shareable dessert – two spoons please!
• Instant read thermometer – we will use this to make sure our pudding layer is cooked through.

For more small batch baking equipment, pots and pans and other small household kitchen essentials, read one of these articles:

How to make

Now, that we have talked about ingredients and kitchen tools for small batch baking, let's get started making these old-fashioned small batch lemon pudding cake dessert cups.

1. Steep lemon zest in milk and cream. For a citrusy flavor punch we will first steep a generous 2 tablespoons of zest in the milk and cream for 15 minutes.

2. Strain milk mixture through a fine mesh strainer into bowl with sugar mixture, pressing on the lemon zest to extract all the liquid (and citrus flavor).

3. Prepare baking dish. By folding a dish towel in half and place in baking pan. We will use a cold-water bath instead of a hot bath to ensure the pudding layer will not curdle.

4. Whisk together dry ingredients.  Whisk sugar, flour, baking powder and salt ingredients in a medium sized bowl until combined.

5. Whisk whites.  Using a hand mixer or stand mixer, whip egg whites until white, billowy mounds.  Add remaining sugar and whip until the soft peaks are glossy.

6. Whisk whites into batter.   Start with one-quarter of the whites, and whisk into the batter until smooth.  Gently whisk in remaining whites until no clumps or streams are visible.

7. Ladle batter into ramekins.

8. Bake at 325 degrees F for 35 minutes. 

Pour enough cold water into pan to come one-third of way up sides of ramekins.  Bake until cake is set and pale golden brown, and pudding layer registers 172 to 175 degrees at center.

To take the temperature of the pudding layer, touch the probe tip to the bottom of the ramekin and then pull it up ¼ - inch. 

Remove the pan from the oven and let ramekins stand in the water bath for 10 minutes.  Transfer ramekins to a wire rack.

Finishing Touches

I like this dessert served at room temperature, but it can also be served chilled.  You will find that the texture will be firmer after being stored in the refrigerator.

Sprinkle with confectioners’ sugar and get ready to dive in.

Love this recipe? Please leave a star rating and review in the comments below! And don't forget to subscribe to Our Table 4 2 for even more cooking for two recipes and tips.

Make Ahead and Storage

You can make lemon pudding cake ahead of time.  If serving the same day, you can let the cake sit at room temperature.

Otherwise, to store lemon pudding cake dessert cups, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate.  They will keep in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.

Related

Looking for other small batch dessert recipes like this? Try these:

Pairing

These are my favorite dishes to serve with old fashioned small batch lemon pudding cake dessert cups: