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An intensely flavoured self saucing lemon pudding that magically separates into two delicious layers – one cake, one sauce. Make it with only 5 main ingredients – no eggs needed!
Amazing lemons!
It’s not uncommon here in Australia to see bags of lemons sitting on driveways with a sign in front: ‘Free lemons’. Which I love!
But if you’re going to take those lemons, you really need to think of something to make with them. And relatively fast before they turn into green powder in your fruit bowl.
I love how versatile lemons are. I have some favourite savoury recipes that include lemons, like this incredible and easy Greek lemon chicken and potatoes.
I also have other go-to lemon dessert recipes, like this lemon mascarpone cake, and these lemon bakewell bars.
How to make a self-saucing lemon pudding
You might have seen something like this magic lemon pudding called self-saucing lemon pudding, or even lemon delicious pudding (here in Australia!).
You mix together:
- flour
- sugar
- lemon zest
- milk
- and butter
then you pour over lemon juice, sugar and water and bake. While in the oven, the dish ‘magically’ separates into a cake layer and a lemon sauce layer.
Add ice cream and eat. Hopefully you’ve fooled guests into thinking you’ve slaved away over this magic lemon pudding, when really it only took you 5 minutes to throw together. Massive win.
In the past, I haven’t had much success making anything that has ‘magic’ in its name. A chocolate self-saucing pudding ended up with hardly any sauce and a magic apple cake tasted divine but didn’t have the 3 clearly defined magic layers it was supposed to.
Love this recipe? Or hate it?
This recipe tends to divide a room. We have made it many times and love it, but it does receive mixed reviews.
Pro tip: The key to success is to leave the lemon pudding to cool slightly for ten to fifteen minutes after it comes out of the oven. The sauce might look a bit runny at first but if you let it stand it thickens up nicely.
This is what people say about this recipe:
Caro said: “ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh this is a lemon lovers dream! Tangy, warm, soft, not too sweet, I loved loved loved it.”
Juanita said: “Loved this! So easy and so yummy. We made it two days in a row!”
But CA Cook said: “I tried to make this and it was a disaster. The liquid stood on top of the cake and after 45 minutes there were still several inches of liquid. It didn’t taste lemony at all. The texture of the cake was really weird. I looked up other recipes for this kind of pudding and they call for eggs. Maybe this needs eggs.“
Nope. The recipe doesn’t ‘need’ eggs. I have tried to figure out why some people don’t like this recipe but can’t.
All I can suggest is to:
- make sure the oven is properly heated before putting the pudding in.
- Make sure you use self raising/rising flour and not plain flour.
- Leave the pudding for 10 to 15 minutes before eating to let the sauce thicken and cool a little.
- Then eat it immediately. We find it tastes lovely the next day, but some of the sauce soaks into the pudding.
The only other advice I have is to try it for yourself… and make your own decision about whether you’re a quick and easy lemon pudding without eggs lover or hater!
I hope you enjoy this. It perhaps won’t ever win any beauty contests, but we think it’s a delicious ‘got-to-have-dessert-right-now’ recipe!
This is the kind of baking dish I use for this pudding:
Update: The original magic lemon pudding recipe I adapted had very mixed reviews, and so does this one! If you give this a go and like it, would you consider popping back and leaving a review? Thank you!
More really easy desserts
- 5-minute chocolate banana ice cream (healthy nice cream!)
- 6-ingredient gooey Swedish chocolate cake (you’ve got to try this!)
- Addictive peanut butter Cheerio bars
- No bowl chocolate pecan bars (magic bars!)
- 5-minute chocolate pots (only 4 ingredients!)
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Easy lemon magic pudding (5 ingredients)
Equipment (affiliate links)
Ingredients
for the cake batter
- 1 cup self-raising flour
- ½ cup sugar
- 1 lemon zest only (use the juice in the sauce)
- ½ cup milk warmed
- 2 tablespoons butter (melted and mixed in with the warm milk)
for the sauce
- ¼ cup sugar
- 1 cup water boiling
- ½ cup lemon juice (2 to 3 lemons)
to serve (optional)
- icing / confectioners’ sugar for sprinkling
- vanilla ice cream
Instructions
- Pre-heat the oven to 355F / 180C and grease a medium sized high-sided baking dish with butter.
- Mix together the flour, sugar and lemon zest in a medium bowl.
- Pour the milk / butter mixture into the dry ingredients and stir until well combined.
- Empty the batter into the baking dish.
- Mix the sauce ingredients together, then carefully pour over the batter in the baking dish. Bake for about 35 minutes or until the top is golden brown and the sauce starting to bubble around the sides.
- Take out of the oven, then leave for 10 to 15 minutes to allow the sauce to thicken slightly before serving.
- Sprinkle with icing sugar and serve immediately with vanilla ice cream (if you like).
Barbara says
I liked the look of this recipe because it didn’t use any eggs. Your instructions and comments were very helpful as the results were exactly as predicted. I added baking powder and baking soda to my Canadian all-purpose flour, which worked perfectly. The lemon sauce was not thick but not too runny either, and was nicely lemony. As recommended, I let it stand for 15 minutes after taking it out of the oven which seemed to help thicken it sufficiently. Both my husband and I enjoyed it very much and I will definitely make it again.
Helen says
Hello Barbara, and thank you so much for your encouraging review! Over the years (yes, this recipe is quite old!) I’ve figured out little tips and tricks to make sure it works for as many people as possible, so it’s really good to hear that it turned out exactly as it’s supposed to for you! I’m so glad you’ll make it again! P.S. Look out for the chocolate version of this – coming within the next few weeks, and also egg free! 😉
katrina treloggen says
Just a question what is 0.5 etc of a cup 2/3rds or 3/4? thanks
Helen says
Hi Katrina! 0.5 of a cup is half a cup. 2/3 is two thirds. 3/4 is three quarters. Sorry I’ll go back to the recipe and make sure it’s clearer. Good luck!
Carole French says
Hi my husband doesn’t like lemon so was just wondering if you can use an orange instead ?
Helen says
Hi Carole! Well, I haven’t tried it but I would imagine that it would work in the same way. You’d end up with a kind of ‘orange curd’ sauce. I just wonder whether it would have enough flavour? Could you mix some raspberries in with the batter? Also, does he like chocolate desserts? I’ll be publishing a chocolate version of the lemon pudding within a few weeks!
Annie says
Sauce was good, lovely lemon flavor but pudding part was like a chewy gel. Not one i will try again.
Helen says
Hi Annie! I win some I lose some with this recipe, but thanks for your review anyway. Are you in the USA? Did you use ‘self rising flour’? I’ve recently learned that self raising flour in the UK and Australia and self rising flour in the USA are different. It might be best to use plain flour and add 2 teaspoons of baking powder and 1/4 teaspoon salt for every cup. Wasn’t the lovely lemon flavour of the sauce worth more than 1 star though? Only kidding, that’s fine.
Anne says
I made this tonight, it was quick and easy. The pudding part was quite dense like a steamed pudding. There wasn’t a great amount of sauce but it was delicious, nice and tangy. I cooked for about 50 minutes as it just wasn’t browning on the top because there was a layer of sauce, like lemon curd covering it. Perhaps some of the sauce evaporated from the extra cooking time! I’ll definitely make again and cook for the set time as it doesn’t need to be browned on top. The lashings of cashew cream I made to go with it covered it anyway haha. Thanks for this recipe Helen, it reminded me of the chocolate version I used to make years ago 😍
Helen says
Hi Anne, I always appreciate feedback on this recipe so thank you so much for your detailed review. It’s interesting that you thought it was like a steamed pudding – I can see that too! This definitely isn’t one of my best looking recipes so yes it’s fine if the pudding hasn’t browned all that much. I’ll add a note to the recipe notes section – thanks!
As for the chocolate version, I’m working on it, so keep an eye out for a new recipe within the next few weeks 😉
Anne says
Hi Helen,
no worries, it’s always good to get feedback! I’m going to tinker with this recipe (because that’s how I roll) and try and make it gluten free. I usually try and eat gluten free but I had some SR flour in the pantry hence the reason for making this one 😀. Will be looking forward to the chocolate version 🤤.
Helen says
I think you’ll be fine making it gluten free, Anne! Hope you have a good weekend! 🙂
Leah says
As I put in oven I was convinced it would be a disaster, looks so strange! I was wrong. It was Epic. Just what you need on lockdown when you can’t get hold of any eggs. I served with hot custard, the kids thought it was the best thing they ever had in their lives 😂. Thanks for the easy fun delicious recipe.
Helen says
Hello Leah, this is one of those comments that makes my day, so thank you so much for that! I love that your kids loved it so much 🙂 I usually eat this with ice cream, but now you’ve got me craving it with custard! If you enjoyed this, may I also suggest the 6-ingredient gooey Swedish chocolate cake. It’s a bit sugary, but gets rave reviews (and you can always reduce the sugar content a bit!!)
Dawn Rogers (Jomada-Dawn) says
I wanted something simple and not too time-consuming to use up a lemon or two, so I searched for lemon sponge pudding – delighted to have found this recipe. I’m not much of a cook, but this went down a treat! I halved the ingredients, as there were only two of us, and I found that it worked very nicely – and with just 5 ingredients, nothing I wouldn’t normally have in. It came together so easily – no need for a food mixer, the batter mixed smoothly with a spoon. Next time, I’d probably try mixing the batter right in the souffle dish (or would that not work?) – save on washing up!!
A very easy to follow recipe and a very pleasing result – thank you! Bookmarked, and I’ll be checking out your other recipes
Helen says
Hello Dawn, and thank you so much for your kind review. Sounds to me like you are a cook after all because you seem to have some good ideas! I don’t see why you couldn’t mix the sponge mixture right in the dish – why not? Just smooth it down a bit and make it roughly even and I think you’ll be fine! 🙂
Laura says
I made this tonight using gluten free flour and almond milk due to allergies, and limes because our tree is absolutely full of fruit at the moment. Although the gluten free flour produced a different (chewy/spongy) texture than I remember of regular self saucing puddings from my childhood, it was still delicious! The sauce thickened beautifully after resting, I’ll definitely make this again!
Helen says
Hello Laura! Thank you so much for your feedback! I love that you made this gluten free – thank you so much for testing it for me! It’s good to hear that it worked, albeit creating a slightly different texture. Personally I love almond flour and the slight chewiness it can create. The sauce is amazing, isn’t it? I love that it’s like lemon curd on the second day!
Lorna Hodkinson says
So I fancied making a “magic lemon pudding” like the one my mum used to make. I searched the web but I could only find the ones with eggs that you mixed in one and they separate when cooked. I knew they weren’t right as I remember watching my mum pour a watery liquid over the cake mix and her telling me it would magically appear at the bottom as a lemon sauce. AND THEN I FOUND SCRUMMY LANE!!!!!!!!! It looked something like what I remembered, I had all the ingredients so I made one straight away. I was a little sceptical when I took it out of the oven, there was a LOT of sauce, but duly left it (actually for about 40 minutes) then dished some up for me and hubby. He ate in silence, finished, put down his spoon and said “that was frikkin awesome!” OMG I am so grateful to you for posting this recipe! Exactly how I remember it. The sauce was a little thin so I may try a little less water in my next one, but , rest assured, there WILL be a next one. Thank you, thank you, thank you xxxxx
Helen says
Hi Lorna! What a lovely comment to wake up to! You’re right that this is a pretty traditional recipe in Australia. You’re in Australia, right? I do get a few people saying this recipe doesn’t work for them, but I just can’t figure out why. I’ve never managed to make it ‘not’ work! If there are any leftovers, the pudding is pretty tasty the next day too. The sponge soaks the sauce up a bit. I also find it goes thicker – almost like lemon curd.
Do you like chocolate, too? I’m thinking of posting a chocolate version of this soon! In the meantime, I have another very popular and easy recipe on the blog – my 6-ingredient gooey Swedish chocolate cake. It’s also ridiculously easy and yummy!
Thanks again for the review – I really appreciate it! Have a lovely day! 🙂
Lorna says
Hi Helen, I am actually in the UK, it’s probably been 20 years since I last had it but I knew with the first spoonful that this was the right recipe. I use the metric measurements rather than cups, don’t know if it makes much difference, I am also bemused as to how some people have struggled with this. Inthink a chocolate one would be great, especially with some salted caramel ice cream!! Now I’ve found you I’ll be a regular visitor 🥰🥰
Helen says
I tried a chocolate version for the first time yesterday, Lorna. Wasn’t bad! Needs some tweaking but I’ll keep working on it for you 😉
Tamara Oates says
Absolutely amazing
Easy, tasty and turned out exactly as you described
Thank you!
Helen says
Hi Tamara! Thank you so much for the feedback. So glad you agree this is amazing!
Emily says
I made this today and it is really nice! Far easier and looks and tastes just as good as other lemon layer recipes I’ve tried, but less complicated and the sauce was even more lemony. I’m definitely making this again!
Helen says
Hi Emily! Thank you so much for your positive review. I’m so glad you enjoyed it! I made this again at the weekend for the first time in a while and was reminded how deliciously lemony it is, too. I’m so happy you’re going to make it again! Have you tried my 6-ingredient gooey Swedish chocolate cake, too? That’s another super easy and delicious dessert – just for when you’re more in the mood for something chocolaty! Have a lovely day!
RR says
Yum! This was delicious! I added the baking soda and baking powder to the regular flour as I’ve never seen self rising flour in Thailand where I currently live.
Despite the strangeness of how it looked going in and the numerous warnings I gave my husband that it might not be great (just to manage his ecpectations) we really loved it. It’s so tart and sweet and lemony. Yum.
Helen says
Hi! I was so happy to see this comment today because I had JUST made (and eaten!) this recipe again – like literally just put my spoon down when your comment came through. You described it perfectly. I’m so glad you enjoyed it. Happy Easter!
Ellé says
Really sorry to rate it so low but I followed the instructions to a tea and it just didn’t work……. I used self raising flour and I made sure the oven was hot…… No good :/ gutted.
Helen says
Hi Elle! No worries – thanks for your honest review! I’m so sorry this didn’t work out for you 🙁 I’m planning to revisit this post over the next month or two, so I’ll try to work out why it doesn’t work for a few people. Maybe check back here in a while and give it another go – I’d love that! 🙂
P.S. Just out of interest – are you in the US? Just wondering about differences in flour/cup measurements etc….
Staci says
I haven’t tried this yet, but I plan to. After reading some of the comments, I have a question. I also have some information that might be useful.
Question: Do your tablespoons measure 20 ml, or 15 ml?
Information re: measurements
One cup in the US = 240 mL. I’m told that the metric cup is used in Australia , so that 1 cup=250 mL. The difference is small enough not to matter in most instances.
In the UK, the metric cup is standard; however, someone using an older measuring cup (pre-1970) might be using Imperial measurements (1 cup=284.13 mL).
In the U.S. (& the U.K.), 1 tablespoon = 15 ml, or 3 teaspoons. I’m told that in Australia, 1 tablespoon = 20 ml, or 4 teaspoons. The difference is enough to matter. As an American, I’ve found that if a recipe posted by someone in Australia doesn’t work, it’s often because I needed to add an extra teaspoon per tablespoon to anything measured in tablespoons.
Successful lemon surprise depends on both the chemistry and the physics of the combined ingredients – the sauce’s density has to be in pretty exact proportion to that of the cake batter. In this recipe, using the wrong amount of butter will change the density of the batter, changing how long it takes the cake to set, affecting whether or not the sauce has time to mix and fall through before the pudding comes out of the oven.
The flour substitution given could affect both volume and flavor for anyone in the US. Self-rising flour and self-raising flour are NOT the same thing. In the US, self-rising flour contains salt and baking powder, but not baking soda. The soda could result in a really tall cake (or one that rises too fast and doesn’t set before it falls back and ends up flat) and could also neutralize some of the acidic lemon flavor. The salt might counter that, or it might just make the whole thing taste salty. In place of self-raising flour, I use:
1 cup self-raising=1 cup AP flour+1.25 teaspoon baking powder (sift together before adding).
Sorry for the long post, but I hope that the info is helpful. Please let me know about the tablespoons – I’m looking forward to giving this a try.
Helen says
Hi Staci, and thank you SO MUCH for the extremely comprehensive comment. It’s incredibly helpful both to me and no doubt to other readers. In fact it’s so helpful that you have shamed me into thinking that I have to schedule a revamp of this post some time soon. It’s a recipe that I posted soonish after starting my blog (on a whim!) and I never expected it to be as popular – and contentious!
So… I do think the confusion warrants me taking some time to try to figure out why this recipe hasn’t always worked for everyone.
In the meantime, I think the safest bet for you is to stick to Australian/UK measurements, and self raising flour with the ratios you’ve already worked out. In answer to your original question, although I’ve been primarily in either the UK or Australia since I started this site, my tablespoon measurements are 15ml, so I’d recommend sticking to that amount for the butter. Good luck and do let me know how you get on! 🙂
Janet Hammond says
Great pud everything turned out just as stated and my husband liked it very much too. Thanks for the recipe 😊
Helen says
You’re welcome, Janet! Thank you so much for the positive feedback. I’m so happy you both enjoyed it! If you like chocolate, my 6-ingredient Swedish chocolate cake might be another winner 😉
catherine baynes says
I followed this recipe to the letter and was really impressed with the results. The sauce thickened with standing as the recipe said. It is now a family favorite – thanks so much for sharing 🙂
Helen says
Thank you so much for taking the time to let me know, Catherine. I’m so glad it turned out well for you and it’s a real compliment to hear you say it’s a family favourite!
g says
I made this a few days ago and everyone loved it! I baked it 45 minutes to get top golden , Surprisingly i had two different colors of cake……tan and white. Do not know how this happened i think it was the extra 10 minutes. it tasted great and looked beautiful plated. I am baking another one in a few minutes. thanks for this eggless recipe. I cant wait to see if I have a white cake or two toned . I am adding to my recipe box as Lemon Pudding Surprise if i get anther two toned cake 🙂
Helen says
So good to hear – thank you for letting me know! It’s interesting that you get the 2 different colours! Very funny, but I’m glad it doesn’t seem to affect how tasty it is. Lemon pudding surprise – love it!
col says
Hmm, not sure why it didn’t have eggs in the recipe. (First time I tried this recipe so I followed it exactly apart from a longer bake because i wanted the top to brown). To me it tasted gluey. The sauce was also quite watery so I’ll add less water next time.
I think with a traditional sponge recipe it’ll be great.
Thanks very much.
Helen says
Hi Col, that’s OK – thanks for leaving your feedback anyway. I think there are similar versions to this online that include eggs, so maybe one of those will suit you better. This is one of my older recipes. It’s still very popular in general, but it’s definitely a love it or hate it kind of recipe! Hope you find something you like better!
Karin Bringezu says
Can’t believe so many people had disasters – if there’s a disaster to be had then I’m your girl! But no disaster here! I cooked it about 45 mins because it refused to brown for reasons known only to itself but it tasted delicious 🙂 Plus it was so easy to make – even for disastrous me! I managed to whip it together while simultaneously cooking lemon chicken, lemon & garlic pak choy (sensing a theme here?!) plus pasta – usually attempting to do more than one thing at a time spells doom for all of them but not this time 🙂 Plenty of sauce, nice fluffy pudding – YAY!
Will definitely be making this again & again (til I run out of lemons!) Thank you!
Helen says
Hi Karin! Thank you so much for your beautiful review! Its’ so great to know that even someone who’s prone to disasters didn’t have a disaster with this! Also, the description of the rest of your meal made me drool. We have a glut of lemons at the moment too – I must follow your lead and make a lovely lemony meal like this! 😉
Kev says
I’m afraid all the liquid stayed on top of mine even after 50 min left in for over an hour and it did start to brown but the pudding was flat and chewy. The sauce was delicious so I will try it again perhaps in the UK measurements are different?
Helen says
Hi Kev! Sorry to hear that! Are you in the UK? I will have to do a bit more experimenting with US vs UK cups to see if that makes a difference. I usually use UK/Australian cups but I like to check that the recipe still works if using US cups instead. It really is a mystery why this recipe seems to work out great for some and not so good for others. Try again using the ‘metric’ measurements just to be sure it isn’t anything to do with the measurements. Other than that make sure the oven is properly heated before starting to bake.
Caro says
ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh this is a lemon lovers dream! Tangy, warm, soft, not too sweet, I loved loved loved it, Ive this week become a sexagenarian- yes and people think aging is boring! I celebrated by making this to have with friends. I put blueberries in the batter, just cos lemon and blueberry work better than most marriages I know. SO YUM Thank you for this awesome recipe,
Helen says
Hi Caro! Sooo glad you enjoyed it! I LOVE your idea of adding blueberries and am going to try it next time. Thank you!
Rebecca says
Can’t wait to try this! Loads of lemons that will only end up turning into “green powder ” in fruit bowl, lol 😂 I am mostly dairy free however (can manage a little butter) will this work with coconut milk? Guessing canned variety will be too heavy and too intensely flavoured but refrigerated variety could work?? Or perhaps almond milk?
Helen says
Hi Rebecca! I think this recipe will work just fine with non dairy milk! I often sub dairy for non dairy myself these days and never have problems. Do let me know how you get on! Good luck!
Linda says
It’s amazingly good and so easy to make!! It browned nicely and sauce thickened up very nicely. The pudding itself was nice and surprisingly spongy. Will definitely make this again and it’s absolutely not ugly. Thank you for the recipe!!
Helen says
So good to hear this, Linda! THANK YOU for letting me know you enjoyed it. Let’s say it’s ‘rustic’ and not ugly… lol!
Amanda Mandzij says
This was amazing! A deliciously tangy desert. Such a quick easy recipe too. My husband & I reeeally enjoyed it. Thanks Helen!!
Helen says
So glad this was such a hit, Amanda! Thank you so much for leaving a review! You’re making me crave it for breakfast now… 😉
Gail says
I was dubious before I put this dessert into the oven. It didn’t work for me. The bottom of it was a strange looking pale and thin liquid, while the top browned up nicely after I left it in for longer than the required time. I had doubled everything in the recipe as I had people staying, but that shouldn’t make things any different.
I left it for the sauce to thicken, but wanted to serve it warm. The sauce still hadn’t thickened at that time, and the texture of the cake was strange. I’ll use eggs and a more traditional recipe next time. But was worth a try!
Helen says
Disappointed to hear this, Gail, but thanks for leaving your honest feedback. Unfortunately this recipe isn’t everyone’s cup of tea!