Also known as lemon surprise pudding or lemon sponge pudding, Self Saucing Lemon Pudding is an absolute favourite. Made from scratch with fresh lemons and regular cake ingredients, it’s insanely simple to make.
This lemon pudding gets it’s name from the light and fluffy sponge cake which sits on top of a silky smooth, tangy lemon sauce that it somehow magically creates during baking. The sauce is light and tangy, not very thick and perfect for being drizzld over the sponge when you serve.
I grew up on desserts like sponge pudding – often a berry or lemon flavour but, ever so rarely, a chocolate version. I must admit, I was always a sucker for lemon or berry flavoured desserts though, and we’d smother these, warm out of the oven with hot runny custard. Yum.
Self Saucing Lemon Pudding vs Lemon Delicious
When you search for a lemon pudding recipe, you’ll come across 2 very common versions. Although they look almost identical, lemon sponge pudding and lemon delicious have one main difference – eggs.
Self Saucing lemon pudding (aka lemon surprise pudding or lemon sponge pudding) is literally a light, fluffy sponge on top of a smooth, fluid sauce. Lemon Delicious also tends to have a little sauce but the texture is more souffle-like which comes from a larger number of eggs, of which the whites are beaten separately, then folded into the mix.
Personally, the sponge texture wins hands down and it’s also easier to make. Win, win!
Ingredients for Lemon Sponge Pudding
You’ll find all your regular cake ingredients in the batter – flour, baking powder, sugar, butter, egg and milk – plus a good dose of lemon zest and juice.
The sauce is nothing more that lemon juice, water, sugar and a touch of cornflour (cornstarch) to help it thicken.
How to make Self Saucing Lemon Pudding
- Start by mixing together flour, baking powder and salt and set it aside.
- Mix together melted butter and sugar, then add an egg and beat it until it becomes a lovely pastel yellow colour.
- Use a spatula to stir in lemon zest and juice.
- Now stir in the flour and milk, alternating between one third of the flour, half the milk and repeat until all gone.
- Tip this batter into a greased casserole or pie dish.
- To make the sauce, combine the cornflour with lemon juice, then add 1 cup of boiling water.
- Sprinkle some sugar over the top of the cake batter, then drizzle the sauce over the back of a spoon all over the top.
Both the cake and the sauce cook together in one dish but create two distinct layers – a fluffy lemon sponge on top, with a smooth, glossy (almost lemon curd like) lemon sauce below.
The sauce ingredients melt and binds together and seeps through the cake as it cooks until it hits the bottom where it turns into a luscious lemon sauce.
As the sponge cake bakes, the baking powder and beaten egg give it lift, making it lighter than the sauce so it rises through, while the sauce is sinking. Magic right?!!
Some of the sugar will leave a crispy coating that you’ll see on top when it finishes baking.
Important notes & tips
- This recipe uses 2 – 3 medium lemons or 2 large ones should do it. Zest them first, then juice them right at the start. Any leftover zest or juice can be frozen.
- Don’t skip the zest – the zest gives great lemon flavour so don’t skip it. Invest in a microplane if you don’t have one to get finely grated zest without the pith.
- Use an electric beater to step 2 if you like (I actually find this better than a stand mixer) or beat by hand if you have the upper body strength that I don’t.
- Use any oven safe casserole dish that has a 6-8 cup capacity (1-1.5L). It can be round square, ceramic, glass even metal but nothing with a removable base.
- Make sure no cornflour (cornstarch) is left behind when pouring the sauce onto the batter as you need it all for the sauce to thicken up. If there is any left in the jug, just add a little of the hot water back to it, give it a swirl so you can pour it onto the pudding.
- Test the cake is ready by inserting a toothpick into the middle, only about 1 cm. It should not have any wet batter left, but maybe a sticky crumb or two. Don’t push the toothpick too far or you’ll just hit the sauce. The top should be a little cracked and starting to turn golden.
- Let the pudding sit for 10 minutes after taking it out of the oven for 2 reasons. First, this will allow the sauce to cool slightly so you don’t burn your tongue and secondly the sauce will thicken a little more in this time.
Serving and storing lemon pudding
- How to serve: This lemon sponge pudding is absolutely bursting with lemon flavour, so it’s wonderful served warm with hot custard, ice cream or thick dollop cream. Be mindful that ice cream and custard will both add more sweetness though.
- Storage: Store this pudding in the fridge, covered with plastic wrap for 3-4 days. The day after making you’ll still have some sauce but the longer it sits, the more sauce will soak into the sponge. It will still taste amazing though. It can be frozen too.
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If you’re a lemon lover or know a lemon lover then this lemon surprise pudding recipe is for you. All at once, comforting and uplifting you’ll be amazed how flavour packed this incredibly simple dessert is. If a fluffy, self saucing sponge pudding doesn’t grab you, I don’t know what will.
More lemon recipes
- Homemade Lemon Curd
- Fluffy Lemon Vanilla Butter Cake
- Lemon Crumble Slice
- Lemon Vanilla Custard Slice
- Lemon Curd Cookies
- Mini Lemon Meringue Pies
- Fluffy Lemon Cupcakes
- Lemon Simple Syrup
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Ingredients
FOR THE CAKE BATTER
- 165 g plain (all purp) flour (1 ¼ cup / 5.8oz)
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup white granulated sugar (100g / 3.5oz)
- 57 g unsalted butter, melted (¼ cup / ½ stick)
- 1 large egg
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice (notes)
- 1 tablespoon lemon zest (notes)
- ½ cup milk (125ml)
FOR THE LEMON SAUCE
- ⅓ cup lemon juice (80ml)
- 3 teaspoons cornflour (cornstarch)
- 1 cup 250ml boiling water
- ⅓ cup white granulated sugar (66g / 2.3oz)
TO SERVE
- Icing (powdered) sugar for dusting
- Thick dollop cream or ice cream
For best results, always weigh ingredients where a weight is provided
Instructions
FOR THE CAKE BATTER
- Preheat your oven to 180C / 350F / 160C fan. Grease 6-8 cup capacity casserole or pie dish with butter.
- Get some water boiling in the kettle.
- Zest the lemons, then juice them and set aside.
- In a bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
- In a separate bowl using an electric beater or by hand, beat together the melted butter and sugar until well combined.
- Add the egg and beat well, scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary until it’s a pastel yellow colour.
- Using a spatula now, stir through the tablespoon of lemon juice and zest.
- Gently stir in one third of the flour mixture, until just combined.
- Add half of the milk, Mix gently again. Continue – flour, milk, flour – stirring each time until only just combined. Don’t overmix or the cake may turn out dense.
- Pour the batter into your prepared pie dish
FOR THE LEMON SAUCE
- In a small jug mix the ⅓ cup of lemon juice and cornflour until fully combined. Add the boiling water and stir. Set aside.
- Sprinkle the ⅓ cup of sugar in an even layer over the top of the cake batter.
- With an upturned dessert or soup spoon in one hand, slowly dribble the boiling water & lemon juice over it, moving it around so the water is dribbled evenly over the whole cake (see notes)
- Bake the pudding for 32-35 minutes. The top should look dry, cracked and starting to turn golden and a toothpick inserted (just into the cake portion) should come out with just a sticky crumb or two attached.
- Let the pudding sit for 10 minutes before serving. Dust with icing (powdered) sugar and serve with warm custard, cream, dollop cream or ice cream.
Notes
- I use a standard Australian 20ml tablespoon (equal to 4 teaspoons worldwide)
- For best results you should always weigh ingredients like flour and sugar. Kitchen scales are relatively cheap but if you can’t weigh the ingredients, use the spoon and level method (don’t scoop).
- Pouring the boiling water / lemon mixture over the back of a spoon very slowly will allow it to sit on top of the cake batter and not create holes in your cake batter.
- Leftover zest or lemon juice can be frozen.
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43 Comments on “Self Saucing Lemon Pudding”
I’ve made this recipe twice. The 1st time I discovered I didn’t have any cornflour so I substituted custard powder. HUGE hit with family. Next time I followed recipe exactly and again a HUGE hit. Thank you!
I’m so happy to hear this, Nana and I LOVE the fact you substituted custard powder and it worked. Briliant hack!
I followed recipe exactly. Have been cooking for 45 years. Thought I would try a different recipe. Not enough flavour at all and I used beautiful Meyer lemons. The cake was rubbery and dense. It was not over mixed. Would not recommend this recipe!
Sorry you didn’t like it, Diane but something has gone wrong when making it. I make this exact recipe regularly and it’s a soft sponge. Rubbery would suggest overmixing though I know you say you definitely didn’t. You definitely won’t get as strong a flavour from meyer lemons as you do from regular lemons either so try swapping to Eureka or another regular lemon variety as they have a stronger lemon flavour.
Delicious! So lemon-y and easy to make. I made it a second time with limes instead of lemon. Also thinking grapefruit would be good
So happy you love it, Kat. Thanks so much for dropping back to leave a review.
I cannot lie, some of these reviews caused me to abandon this recipe before my visitors arrived and I made standard brownies for dessert instead.
But the following day, with the visitor pressure off, I had a go. It was great…even when I made the rookie error of putting the sugar in the cornflour mixture instead of sprinkling it on the batter (so I put additional sugar on the batter). I will definitely make it again, and maybe even incorporate my error as the sauce was particularly delicious!
So happy you love it, Anne. Thanks so much for leaving a review.
I made this for the first time, and everyone loved it! I followed the instructions carefully and also weighed the flour. I think the consistency of the batter has to be right (its a bit stiff) to take the boiling water poured on top so more or less flour could change that. Scattering the sugar on top gave a slightly crunchy texture which we really liked. The taste is very lemony and slightly tart and though the sauce looked runny it was perfect to spoon over the cake when served and still warm. My oven is convection (fan) and it did need 35 minutes at 350 F. Thanks for sharing your family recipe; it will be a go-to for us too.
I’m so happy you all love it, Mae. Thanks so much for trying my recipe.
What is the best way to reheat this if made ahead?
I wouldn’t make this ahead, Bryan. The sauce will soak up into the cake and you won’t have a nice pool of sauce in the bottom. You can always prep the ingredients ahead of time and keep them stored then put it together at the last minute. It’s definitely best served fresh.
Delicious & very easy to make.
So happy to hear this, Ines. Thanks for trying my recipe.
Hi Marie – I have just made this and it came out perfectly as described. Having read the comments below where folks implied the lemon sauce “didn’t work”, I think that with a few possible exceptions, the reason behind this was some people found it a surprise rather than a mistake. The lemon sauce is definitely more a sauce than a custard. It is also sharp, not sweet. When I think about this, I can see why. It is just cornflour, water and lemon juice. It does pass through the layer of sugar on its way to the bottom but a significant amount of the sugar remains undissolved on the top to help form the light crust. The sponge itself bakes as one complete layer with the top two thirds being a nice pudding sponge and the lower third tending to the softer, looser crumb. After about half an hour of cooling the sauce does begin to absorb, as described. All in all, a lovely light pudding sponge with a tart lemon sauce. Thank you!
Hello Daniel. So happy you love it and yes, you’re right. There are some different versions of lemon pudding around the world – this is the one I grew up with while many know it as quite a custardy sauce on the bottom.
I work in a retirement home in Devon, UK, I stumbled across this recipe and gave it a go. Followed the instructions step by step, which is easy to follow. The result was absolutely superb, and an empty dish, the residents loved it, unfortunately no seconds were left! Will defiantly keep this recipe in my cooking folder, would highly recommend, as you will not be dissappointed.
Over the moon that you love this one, Helen. It’ definitely one of my favourites. Thanks so much for trying my recipe.
Was a bit dubious to make this lemon pudding due to unfavourable comments. Have made it and was delicious and will make it again. Instead of corn flour I substituted with custard powder which gave a nice lemon colour.
So happy you love it, Dawn. I make it often for my family.
Yum! I just made this and it was delicious. Not sure why everyone else is having issues but mine turned out perfectly 🙂
Thanks Laura, so happy you love it 🙂
I’m writing this too edit my previous review, but can’t figure out how to do that. I wrote my previous review in a huff because it took longer than I expected when I had last minute guests. It didn’t look like the pudding I was expecting. However, we just finished it and it was absolutely delicious.
So happy you loved the end result Laila
I followed the recipe to a T, exact measurements, etc.
The sponge was very dense, the sauce like water, and it was SOUR.
I might try it again, but will have to add probably double sugar.
I made this recipe again 3 days ago and it was perfectly fluffy. I would say either you’re overmixing the batter or adding too much flour. Did you weigh or use cups for measuring? The sourness will depend on how sour your lemons are. Just give the juice a taste test first to see how tart it is, then add sugar to taste. Make sure to let it sit for 5-10 minutes after removing it from the oven and the sauce will thicken up.
Unfortunately it didnt seem to work for us. The sponge didnt come to the top and the sauce was above a thick and dense sponge. We all ate it though! But it was just a stodgy mistake!
Sorry you had issues Kate. Did you weigh the ingredients? Were you careful not up overmuch? It may have needed a little more baking.
How many lemons do I need?
Recipe doesn’t say.
Thanks
It will depend on how juicy the lemons are but 2-3 lemons should be fine.
Made this today. We didn’t have any cornflour so used instant thickening granules instead. Also, we used the juice and zest of 2 whole lemons. I liked it’s tangy saucy taste. We had castor sugar and used 70g instead of 100g in sponge mix. We loved the light sponge texture and would had perfered a bit more of a sponge topping, so next time we’ll double the quanty for sponge mix. Would definitely recommend this recipe. Yummy!
So happy you loved it Katy 🙂
Does this have to be eaten right away or will it be good hours later?
It’s best eaten fresh but will still be ok warmed up later. As it cools, the sauce can begin to soak into the sponge cake.
Lovely lemon pudding which was really easy to make.Llight sponge with lovely fresh lemon taste and thick lemon sauce underneath. Not too sweet. I made it last night for the first time and it went down a treat. It was actually ready a bit too early but I left it in a warm oven while we finished our main course and it was fine. I would definitely make again.
Thanks so much Caroline, so happy you loved it 🙂
This did not turn out well for me. Tasted like watery cake in lemon water. I’m not sure what went wrong.
Hi Virginia, without a little more info, I can’t really troubleshoot. Did you measure out your ingredients? I’ve made this countless times and it always produces a light sponge with a lemon sauce. Feel free to send me some pics or let me know what you mean by watery cake so I can help you work out what went wrong.
Hi Helen, it’s possible the cornflour wasn’t mixed in properly but I’m happy you loved it. The sauce should be saucy, not like a thick custard.
This recipe is so interesting to me. I’ve never heard of self-saucing pudding before, it looks delicious! And the lemon is just perfect right now, something happy and refreshing, we could all use a little bit of that 🙂
You definitely need to try it. It’s super simple to make and totally delicious.
I’m all about tart, luscious, and refreshing desserts, and this one has my name written all over it – looks and sounds absolutely gorgeous! Where’s my large spoon? 😉
Thanks so much Ben. This ones a beauty if you love a good lemon tang