Individual lemon buttermilk pudding cakes with whipped cream is a graceful endnote to a seasonal meal. “I’ve been making these since I was 16,” says chef Cindy Pawlcyn.–Cindy Pawlcyn with Pablo Jacinto and Erasto Jacinto
How else can I serve this?
As suggested here, you can bake it in an eight-inch square glass baking dish. However, for individual servings, eight 4-ounce ramekins also work magnificently.
Lemon-Buttermilk Pudding Cake
Ingredients
For the cake
- 2/3 cup plus 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons finely grated lemon zest
- 1 1/2 cups buttermilk, (either low-fat or full-fat)
- 4 tablespoons (2 oz) butter, melted
- 3 large eggs, separated
For the chantilly cream
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons powdered sugar, plus more for dusting
- 2 pints fresh raspberries or blueberries, mashed (optional)
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 3 tablespoons Cointreau or other liqueur, (optional)
Instructions
Make the cake
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C).
- In a large bowl, whisk together 2/3 cup of the granulated sugar and the flour. Add the lemon juice, zest, and buttermilk and whisk until smooth.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the butter and the egg yolks. Stir the egg yolk mixture into the buttermilk mixture.
- Using the whisk attachment of a mixer, whip the egg whites until frothy. Sprinkle in the remaining 1/4 cup granulated sugar and whip until soft peaks form, about 1 minute. Fold the egg whites into the egg yolk and buttermilk mixture. The batter should be smooth and thick.
- Pour the batter into an 8-inch square baking dish (or see note above if you prefer individual ramekins) and place the dish in a water bath with the water halfway up the sides of the dish. Bake 23 to 30 minutes, until slightly brown and beginning to crack but still jiggly. The smaller the baking dish, the less time will be needed to reach this stage. Cool to room temperature.
Make the chantilly cream
- Whip together the cream, vanilla, and the 2 tablespoons of powdered sugar in a bowl until fluffy. Keep chilled until needed.
To serve
- Turn the cake out onto a platter. (Individual ramekins can be left intact or overturned onto low, rimmed soup dishes.) If desired, spoon on the mashed berries, sprinkle with powdered sugar, and drizzle with Cointreau. Finish with a dollop of cream and, if desired, another dusting of powdered sugar. Originally published June 22, 2006.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Recipe Testers’ Reviews
If you love lemon desserts, you must give this a try. The dessert is part mousse, part soufflé, part angel food cake. It came together very easily and would be wonderful during the summer.
This is a great dessert, as it is impressive but light on the palate and quite easy to make. You could whip it up prior to dinner, then just pop in the pan some time during dinner. The lemon flavor is just tart enough and meshes well with the cream and berries.
An added bonus is that I had leftover buttermilk for some Sunday morning pancakes the next morning. Add this to your collection and you should only need to buy the buttermilk to make it, since all the other ingredients are standard pantry items.
I found this recipe to be easy and quite good. The directions were easy to follow. I liken the flavor to a lemon bar without the crust. I just loved the tartness of the lemon flavor. I am on the fence about the berries and think it would be just as good or better without them.
Kathleen, so glad you enjoyed the recipe.
I just tried making these in individual ramekins. The bottom of the cakes turned out glossy and somewhat loose like lemon curd. Is this supposed to be this way or is the whole cake supposed to be souffle-like ? I just want to be sure that they weren’t underdone and unsafe to eat.
Hi Megan, they should be soft on the bottom (er, top). If they were runny, then it was undercooked.
I just taste-tested this and it is lovely. I got 9 4-ounce ramekins, and it is light, smooth and quite tart! Delicious, and very lemony, and you can actually taste the buttermilk too.
Mary, so glad you liked it.