This is one for lemon lovers! An intensely flavoured self saucing lemon pudding (AKA lemon delicious!) that magically separates into two layers – one fluffy sponge, one tangy lemon sauce. Quick and super easy to make with only 5 main ingredients – no eggs needed!
I love lemon season here in Western Australia. We have a young lemon tree in our garden, but while we wait for it to (hopefully) start producing fruit there are often lemons left in front of houses with a note on – ‘Free Lemons!’.
So what do you make when it’s lemon season (whether you have them growing locally or not)? Personally, either this Greek lemon chicken and potatoes (an incredibly delicious and easy midweek meal), or my famous lemon pudding are two of my go-to lemon recipes!
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What’s a self saucing lemon pudding?
You might not be too surprised to learn that, as if by magic, a self saucing lemon pudding makes its own sauce while it’s cooking.
To make it, you mix together a few simple lemon sponge cake ingredients and pour them into a pudding dish. Then you pour over 3 ingredients – just lots of lemon juice, sugar and boiling water.
Somehow, while baking, the pudding ‘magically’ separates into a light and fluffy sponge cake layer with a delicious, tangy lemon sauce layer below.
When you put it in the oven covered in liquid, it’s hard to believe it’ll actually work, but I promise it does. It’s SO ridiculously simple!
Love lemon desserts? More Scrummy Lane faves include lemon mascarpone layer cake (great for birthdays and afternoon tea!), lemon bakewell slices, 6-ingredient ricotta lemon loaf cake or lemon posset.
Why you’ll love it
Here in Australia, this is a classic dessert, sometimes known as lemon delicious or lemon surprise pudding. It’s a perfect quick (and, if lemons are in season, economical!) dessert for your family or for guests.
Recipes can differ slightly from one another, so what’s different about this lemon pudding recipe?
- It contains just 5 simple ingredients (I wanted to keep it super simple).
- SO easy to make with only 10 minutes’ hands-on prep time (the oven does the rest!). No mixer required. Just mix wet ingredients into dry with a wooden spoon, pour over the sauce ingredients and bake.
- It’s made WITHOUT EGGS (perfect for when you don’t have any, or someone has an egg allergy). No complicated whisking and folding of egg whites like in some other lemon pudding recipes!
- The lemon sauce is super zingy. I love the contrast of the light, sweet cake and tart citrus sauce. And there’s a lot of it!
- The sponge is light, fluffy and crisp on top. It might not be the prettiest, but it sure is delicious!
- This version isn’t overly sweet. That’s just the way I usually like to do desserts around here.
5***** Review
“We made this once, and then told everyone we knew about it – it was that good!”
Janiika
About the ingredients
Yes, just 5 main ingredients! Here’s what you need to know:
The cake batter
Self-raising flour: It’s important that you use self-raising flour, and not plain flour or self rising flour (US). If you don’t have any, simply make your own by mixing 2 teaspoons of baking powder into a cup of all-purpose flour.
Sugar: Just regular white sugar or caster sugar (fine sugar).
Lemon zest: Add the zest of one lemon to the sponge cake batter. Nothing gets wasted because the juice will go into the sauce!
Milk: You’ll need half a cup of warm milk. Any kind of milk works.
Melted butter: You’ll melt the butter into the warmed milk. Both unsalted and salted butter are fine.
The sauce
Sugar: Just a quarter cup, since you want a tangy sauce to contrast with the sweeter sponge. Ordinary white sugar or caster sugar (fine sugar) are both fine. Don’t reduce the amount of sugar in the sauce – the recipe needs this amount for the consistency.
Lemon juice: You’ll need the juice of 2-3 lemons or around half a cup.
Boiling water
How to make it
The step-by-step guide below should help you make the recipe perfectly first time. Scroll down to the end for the full recipe including ingredient amounts.
You really won’t believe how easy it is to make this lemon self saucing pudding!
Here’s what to do.
Step 1: Prepare a souffle or pudding dish by rubbing with a little butter or spraying with oil. Also pre-heat the oven.
Step 2: Mix together the dry ingredients for the cake batter – so flour, sugar and lemon zest.
Step 3: Warm the milk in a jug in the microwave. Then melt the butter into it.
Step 4: Pour the wet milk/butter mixture into the dry flour/sugar/zest mixture and stir until you have a smooth batter.
Step 5: Scrape the batter into your prepared dish.
Step 6: Mix together the sauce ingredients. Then carefully pour over the batter in the dish.
Step 7: Bake for around 35 minutes or until the pudding has risen, the top is golden brown and the luscious lemon sauce is bubbling up around the sides.
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.
Helen’s top tips
I’m going to be honest here. This recipe mostly gets rave reviews, but it can also divide a room. I have not experienced this myself, but occasionally a reader reports it ‘not working’, with liquid still on top of the cake.
Bear in mind that this pudding may not win any beauty contests! But it’s always delicious!
Here are my top tips for success.
- Make sure the oven is heated up properly before baking.
- Make sure you use self raising flour and not all-purpose or self-rising flour (NOT the same thing).
- Let the pudding rest for 10 to 15 minutes before eating to let the sauce cool and thicken a little. The sauce will still be quite thin, but that’s how it’s supposed to be!
- Then enjoy immediately. It still tastes lovely reheated the next day, but some of the sauce does soak into the pudding and the sauce will be thicker – more like lemon curd. Yum!
How to serve
This one’s very simple. If you like, sprinkle a little icing sugar (powdered sugar) over the top of your pudding. Then serve your magic lemon pudding into bowls, add a scoop of vanilla ice cream and eat!
Some readers have also served with whipped cream and even Greek yogurt and enjoyed it. In particular the cooling Greek yogurt pairs well with the tangy lemon.
If you want to create even more of an old fashioned lemon sponge pudding vibe, feel free to serve with custard instead!
Also, one last reminder that it’s important to let the pudding ‘rest’ for a while before eating to let the sauce settle, cool and thicken a little. 😉
Variations
This is a beautiful quick pudding, perfect as it is, but there a few changes you can make to vary it if you like:
- Double the ingredients to serve a small crowd. Of course you’ll have to use a larger baking dish. It will also take longer to bake – roughly around 10 to 15 minutes longer or until the top is risen and lightly golden.
- If you like, you can make this with a different citrus juice, or a mixture. Try orange and lemon or lime. Just replace the lemon juice in a ratio of 1:1 and the result will be the same.
- Try mixing a few blueberries or raspberries into the sponge batter.
- Feel free to use gluten free flour to make this a gluten free dessert. The texture of the cake may be slightly different and also may soak up the sauce faster, but the pudding will still be delicious.
- Yes, you can make this a vegan pudding by replacing the dairy milk with a non dairy alternative such as soy milk or almond milk. You can use melted coconut oil instead of butter.
- Try making it in 4 individual ramekins instead of 1 larger one. The cooking time will be a little less (roughly 20-25 minutes). Keep an eye on the puddings in the oven. They’re ready when well risen, browned and bubbling.
Recipe FAQ
You should use a souffle dish or high sided round baking dish that’s between 6 and 8 inches in diameter. Alternatively, a similar sized square or rectangular ovenproof dish will work.
Nope. Although there are versions of this lemon pudding that are made with eggs, this recipe is egg-free. The texture of the cake is light, fluffy and delicious without using any eggs.
Occasionally, a reader reports this issue. I have made this many times and usually when the pudding first comes out of the oven the sauce is still quite runny. That’s OK. Just leave it for 10 to 15 minutes and as it cools it will thicken slightly. Some of the sauce will even soak into the sponge, making it even more delicious.
Nope. This pudding might not win any beauty contests. As long as it’s lightly browned and risen and bubbling, it’ll be delicious. If not browned, feel free to leave in the oven for a few more minutes. If the appearance still bothers you, perhaps it’s one for just serving to the family rather than to guests!
Chocolate self saucing pudding
I worked on the ‘little sister’ of my lemon pudding AKA a 6-ingredient chocolate self saucing pudding, also with no eggs, for a long time before publishing it.
I wanted to get it ‘just right’. I hope you agree it was worth the wait! There are plenty similar puddings out there already, but what sets this one apart is that:
- it’s surprisingly low in sugar
- it’s egg free, just like the lemon pudding, in case you can’t get any or you can’t eat eggs
- it too has got plenty of sauce (mmmm… )
Find out more about the chocolate self saucing pudding.
More super easy desserts
One of the things I love about this lemon ‘surprise’ pudding is that as long as you have 2 or 3 lemons, you probably already have everything else you need.
Here are some more super easy ‘I need it now!’ kinda desserts!
- Chocolate lover too? Try this 6-ingredient Swedish chocolate cake, this 10-minute no-bake chocolate truffle cake, or these 5-minute chocolate pots.
- In the mood for ice cream? Try this 5-minute chocolate banana ice cream (healthy nice cream!
- Peanut butter lover? This 2-minute peanut butter mug cake (It’s healthy!) also gets rave reviews. Need dessert for a party or BBQ? Try these easy peanut butter Cheerio bars.
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Easy ‘Magic’ Lemon Pudding (5 ingredients, No Eggs)
Equipment (affiliate links)
Ingredients (UK/Australia? Click below for grams/ml)
for the cake batter
- 1 cup self-raising flour (NOT self-rising flour: If you don't have self-raising flour mix 2 teaspoons baking powder into 1 cup plain/all-purpose 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 boiling water
- ½ cup lemon juice (2 to 3 lemons)
to serve (optional)
- icing / confectioners’ sugar for sprinkling
- vanilla ice cream, whipped cream or custard
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.1 cup self-raising flour, ½ cup sugar, 1 lemon
- Pour the milk / butter mixture into the dry ingredients and stir until well combined.½ cup milk, 2 tablespoons butter
- 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.¼ cup sugar, 1 cup boiling water, ½ cup lemon juice
- 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).icing / confectioners’ sugar for sprinkling, vanilla ice cream, whipped cream or custard
Karen Beck-Treloar says
I had some lemons to use up so decided on a lemon dessert. It has to be egg free because of my son’s allergies. It needed longer in the oven to get golden brown.
So delicious, got the thumbs up from my family and I licked my bowl. Will definitely make again!
Helen says
Hello Karen! What a compliment to get bowl-licking! Thank you so much for the feedback. I’m really happy you liked it, and that it suited your family’s need for a no-egg dessert 🙂
Ngaere Farquhar says
Thank you for the recipe I love receiving them. I am just wondering if I can make with sugar substitute successfully as I am borderline for diabetics and usually make my treats with Stevia type products. I am 81 and have not long had above problem and still trying to work out subsitutes. I love self saucing puddings..
Helen says
Hello Ngaere! Lovely to hear from you again and I’m so happy you’re still enjoying receiving the recipes! You know, in this case I probably wouldn’t recommend substituting the sugar. As there are only a few ingredients I think the sauce depends on it for the consistency. Having said that, if you scroll through the other comments, I think a few people have successfully tried alternative sweeteners. Alternatively, the chocolate self saucing pudding is a bit lower in sugar than the lemon one so maybe that would be more suitable? 🙂
Ngaere Farquhar says
Helen thank you for replying to my comment. When at supermarket this morning bought Lemons and made dessert with Truvia instead of sugar it was very nice but when making it again will definitely use the sugar as per recipe for sauce as very strong lemon flavour and think it needed the normal sugar to make it a bit sweeter.
Helen says
Hi again, Ngaere! The lemony taste in this recipe is definitely quite punchy, but as you say different sweeteners will not taste and behave exactly the same. You could experiment and add a little more of the truvia or try a different sweetener. Thank you so much for trying the recipe and letting me know how you got on – it’s really helpful!
Christine glasgow says
Loved by my grandchildren 7 & 9 and family. Love the lemon, but had to eat it with yoghurt or ice cream. Took longer 20 mins to cook
Helen says
Glad they enjoyed it so much, Christine! Thank you so much for the feedback. I often eat it with ice cream but think it would go well with plain yogurt too. 🙂
Kathryn says
I had started making this recipe to take for an informal dinner – when I went to get lemons from the fruit bowl realised I had zero lemons and a ton of oranges! Mentally knew I had citrus, cognitively didn’t click which citrus – ha ha! I followed exactly as per the recipe but added some cinnamon, ground ginger and nutmeg to compliment the oranges in the sauce – and a cheeky tot of whisky. It worked beautifully and I could see the sauce at the bottom – but – we only ate it about 4 hours after making it and it had been reheated in the oven so the lovely sauce had been absorbed into the cake – still tasted amazing. And served with whipped coconut cream. Wanted to say I made this with Gluten free self raising flour and it worked a treat – the cake part was actually one of the best textured cakes I have ever made ironically 😉
Helen says
Hi kathryn! That sounds like us yesterday when we wanted to make sugar lemon pancakes and realised what we thought were lemons in the fruit bowl were actually limes. The pancakes were still delicious though! I’m so happy you enjoyed this cake even though you made it with oranges and the sauce sank in. Actually I can imagine that was still very delicious, especially with the coconut cream on top and the sneaky drizzle of whisky and other flavors. Yum! Thanks so much for the feedback and I hope you try this again – maybe with lemons next time and perhaps a drizzle of limoncello? 😉
Carol says
Just made this today for friends who are coming to play cards this evening. As others have mentioned it looks a bit pale but I gave it extra time so I am sure it is cooked.
The ‘proof in the pudding’ will show when it is served.
Helen says
Hello Carol! I hope you and your friends enjoyed it. That’s fine to give it a little extra time until it browns slightly. Around 35 minutes usually works best for me in my current oven. 🙂
Daphne says
I love this recipe, but the little slider for changing the number of servings is awful! Good thing I’m good at mental math 😜
Helen says
Thanks, Daphne, and I’ll take a look at the slider! I think you have to tap on it rather than slide 🙂
Jean says
Lovely easy lemon pudding
Was even ok the next day , reheated
Helen says
Yay! So pleased you liked it! I sometimes reheat it the next day, too. I find it’s different but still tasty 🙂
Alice Harrold says
Hi Helen! Alice here. Made your glorious magic lemon pudding for Easter dessert and was delighted with it. As you know there are a lot of lemons in Greece too! I found out at last minute I had run out of sugar but used fructose in cake and demerera in sauce. It was just great! I also tried your five ingredients choc orange truffles and thought they were wow!
Helen says
Alice! Hello! So glad you liked it! I’m interested in the swaps you made. It’s helpful to hear that they turned out OK. And ooh yes, those truffles are pretty good, aren’t they? Your brain is kind of tricked into thinking it’s eating real chocolate. Thanks so much for the lovely feedback! 🙂
Rachel says
Wow thanks for the gorgeous lemon magic recipe. Worked perfectly. Extra lemony zing. My hubby had his with vanilla ice cream and loved it, i prefer zingy so had it plain and it was lovely and tangy. Will be trying the chocolate magic next!
Helen says
So happy this worked out well for you, Rachel. I hope you enjoy the chocolate one as much! 🙂
Barbara Iverson says
This sounds delicious and easy, too. I’d love to make it, but what size exactly should the souffle dish be? The affiliate link leads to a 2.5 liter, which equals 10 cups and seems too large. Thank you.
Helen says
Hi Barbara, I’ve actually made this pudding in several different dishes. All have worked, but my favourite and most trusty is a classic souffle dish – so the same as the one I’ve linked to. Basically somewhere between 6 to 8 inches in diameter will be fine. You can even make it in a different shaped baking dish – I’d just go for a small to medium sized one with sides that aren’t too shallow. I hope you enjoy it!
Lorna Hodkinson says
So, having made this recipe numerous times over the past 2 years, I had the opportunity to try cooking it in an Airfryer (prompted by curiosity and impatience as hubby had the oven full doing our New Years Day Roast Beef) I used a square glass pyrex dish in the basket of the Ninja AirFryer, 35 minutes on Bake mode and it was PERFECT!!!!!!! Maybe even better than my oven attempts! Also, to the people who’s sauce stays a little thin, we serve ours with pouring cream which thickens up nicely with the lemon sauce, delicious.
Helen says
This info is GOLD! Thank you, Lorna! I’ll try it for myself, but really appreciate the tips 🙂
Janet Young says
Really easy. Was worried when it came out of the oven as it was so runny but I left it for 15- 20 mins while we had our first course, then decorated with icing sugar and everyone said how good it was. the sauce underneath does go really gooey if you let it all settled , while the sponge on top stays firm.
Yummy!
Helen says
Great to hear this, Janet. This is the feedback this recipe most often gets. Looks suspicious when it first comes out of the oven, but it all comes good in the end 😉 So happy you enjoyed it!
Rosemary Turner says
Once more , a very easy, sensible recipe. The modifications suggested are all good too. A cook’s cook! Great to return to this after many years. It is now in demand!
Helen says
Hello Rosemary! I’m so glad this was a hit. This recipe has been a labour of love over the years. Some love it, others not so much, but lately it seems to get mostly great reviews. Thanks for leaving your feedback! 🙂
john clark says
yeah – tried making this. Have ususally used my mums one with egg whites etc which is very light.
sorry to say this recipe does NOT cut the mustard. the cake is very heavy and the sauce never became a sauce – just a weak liquid.
i followed the instructions – the only difference being i used coconut sugar.
sadly i would not make this again.
Helen says
Hi John! I’m sorry you didn’t enjoy it! I usually don’t recommend making any substitutions although some people have successfully. It’s best to stick to ordinary sugar. The cake isn’t usually described as heavy so I’d encourage you to try it again but without the sugar change, although I understand if you’d prefer to go back to your old faithful recipe 🙂
Maggie Everett says
as JOhn says VERY VERY runny, so very annoyed and disappointed as made to take to parents.. won’t be making again
Helen says
Sorry this wasn’t for you, Maggie. I’m not sure what to suggest as I always find the sauce thickens up as it sits. 🙁
JT says
Easy recipe and a yummy lemon pudding😁 I will make it again thanks for sharing 😎
Helen says
Thanks for the feedback, Jeannie! I’m so glad you liked it enough to make it again! 🙂
Pam says
Does it travel well? We are travelling away with friends and I would like to make it before I go. (Not sure what the oven is like where we are going)
Helen says
Hello Pam! I have to be honest… while I’ve definitely reheated and enjoyed this the next day, it’s best eaten almost immediately after cooking. You’ll find that if you make it ahead the sauce will sink into the cake and the cake won’t be as light and fresh tasting as when first made. As an alternative, I’d suggest either these lemon bakewell slices (if you want to keep with the lemony theme!) or this 6-ingredient Swedish chocolate cake if you want to make something that’s super super easy. If you were looking for something egg free, may I also suggest this 10-minute no bake chocolate truffle cake? This would travel well as long as you can keep it fairly cool! Good luck!
Brittany says
I loved this recipe overall. It was delicious and I agree, the cakey part didn’t need an egg. I did make 1 alteration with the sauce, after reading the reviews I decided to add 1.5 tsp cornflour to the sugar that goes on top. I am glad I did because the sauce was still a little thin (but delicious). I was careful to use self raising flour as suggested, I also preheated the oven. I did double the recipe and was careful to use a long 3L oven dish. 100% will make again.
Helen says
Really appreciate this feedback, Brittany – thank you! I’m glad it turned out just the way you wanted it to, and it’s helpful to know it still worked well doubling the recipe. 🙂
Waveney says
Amazing recipe and tasted great’ only thing was the sauce was too runny when it came out but this was possibly because I eyeballed the lemon juice and like it tangy.
Just poured the sauce into a saucepan and boiled for 5 mins to thicken!
Such a good sweet treat for those watching their sugar intake 🙂
Helen says
Hello Waveney! So glad you enjoyed it! The recipe is pretty lemony anyway but it’s good to hear you enjoyed it even more lemony! 🙂
Rochelle White says
Hi Helen,
I would count this as perhaps the best lemon pudding recipe I have ever made. I have tried many lemon pudding type recipes over the past 10 years. I have always preferred a sponge pudding with a lot of lemon sauce. This recipe ticks everththing. And, on top of this, it is the easiest recipe I’ve ever made and it has no eggs! Thank you. This recipe is a keeper!
Rochelle
Helen says
Hi Rochelle! Aw, I’m so pleased!! I published this recipe quite a long time ago but it’s still really popular. It was a bit of a surprise hit, but I agree with you – it’s super easy, great for people who can’t eat eggs or don’t have any, and there’s tons of really lemony sauce. I also have a chocolate version with no eggs – just in case you’d like to try that one too 😉 Thank you so much for the feedback!
SoupandSalad says
This was fantastic. I was craving a lemony dessert on a weeknight that wouldn’t take forever to make. I thought I followed the recipe exactly and after putting it in the oven, I read the note about self rising flour! I’m in the USA and used Washington self-rising flour. Anyway all I can say is that it took an extra five minutes in the oven to get golden brown on top (but that may be my oven and not the flour.) It was more of a cake-y consistency than what is pictured and I did let the sauce congeal after baking which it did nicely. I also used an ungreased silicone baking pan (9×9) and though it didn’t look very pretty on top, I think if I make it for guests, I’ll flip it onto a serving plate with high edges because the bottom was nicely golden browned (I love these silicone baking dishes -such easy clean up!) or the ramekin idea as you did. I dusted with powder sugar and served with a little whipped cream and am enjoying it very much right now! My husband said “mmm that’s good” as opposed to “that’s interesting” which is his tell for “not so great”. So make it! Thanks for the recipe! I’m now hooked and excited to try more of your recipes.
Helen says
Hello! Thank you so much for the detailed feedback. Your husband sounds like mine hahaha. He’s a bit hard to please sometimes so when he says something is good it’s a real complement 🙂 I hope you enjoy this many times more, and have a great weekend!
Kate says
Delicious! I had some oranges to use up, so I did half orange and half lemon juice for the sauce and the result was great – nice and tangy. I also cooked it in 4 small ramikins instead of 1 large and this made the cooking time a little less. Will definitely make again. Thanks for the recipe!
Helen says
Hello Kate. Thanks so much for the feedback. It’s so helpful to hear that you made it successfully adding some oranges into the mix, and also in smaller ramekins. I have a chocolate version of this too which is getting good reviews 😉