Sugar-free lemony goodness! These Keto Lemon Pudding Cakes are a study in contrasts, with a light, airy texture that is still warm and gooey at the same time.
Warm lemon pudding cakes…doesn’t that sound simply divine? Like an inviting pool of lemony goodness that you just want to dive right into. Jump on in, friends, the water’s warm!
Lemon is such a classic spring flavor and the possibilities are endless. I have so many wonderful lemon dessert recipe that readers love, like Keto Lemon Poppyseed Cake and Keto Lemon Cream Pie. And my sugar-free lemon curd is always a fave!
But while spring is on its way, it’s still a little chilly here in the Pacific Northwest. So my cravings lean toward warm and comforting.
Warm Lemon Pudding Cake to the rescue! Delightfully lemony but with that comfort food feeling you can only get with something warm out of the oven. A little sprinkling of powdered sweetener and maybe a few fresh berries are all the accompaniment it needs.
Why you will love this recipe
- Light but rich: The texture of these little lemon cakes is wonderful. They have an airy quality, but also a bit of a gooeyness to them.
- Bright citrus flavor: I love using lemon zest, in addition to juice, to bring out that lemony zing.
- Small batch: I have so many keto dessert recipes that serve 12 to 16. But sometimes just don’t need a lot of dessert hanging around.
- Low carb: Each serving has only 3.5g total carbs.
Reader’s Thoughts
“This was a home run. It came out EXACTLY like the one I used to make pre-keto. I couldn’t be happier and I got rave reviews – I made this for mother’s day and my mom said “THIS IS EXTRAORDINARY!”. THANK YOU for all of your amazing recipes. It’s so lovely to be able to carry on the traditions that I’ve created through my cooking.” — Linda
Ingredient Notes
- Sweetener: You want a granular sweetener to help whip air bubbles into the butter. See Tips for Success for more information.
- Butter: You can use salted or unsalted butter, just be sure it is super soft prior to mixing.
- Eggs: Separate the eggs into whites and yolks before starting.
- Almond flour: Just a little almond flour gives these cakes a bit more structure. I have not tried this recipe with coconut flour.
- Lemon: This recipe uses freshly grated lemon zest and lemon juice.
- Heavy cream: This is helps achieved a pudding-like texture.
- Cream of tartar: Cream of tartar is a useful baking ingredient that helps stabilize beaten egg whites. It’s inexpensive and it lasts quite a long time!
Step by Step Directions
- Combine the first 8 ingredients: Beat the sweetener and butter together until well combined. Beat in the egg yolks one at a time, then beat in the almond flour, lemon zest, and salt. Stir in the lemon juice and cream. Set this mixture aside.
- Beat the egg whites: In another large bowl, using clean beaters, beat the egg whites with the cream of tartar until they hold very stiff peaks.
- Fold together: Gently fold the two mixtures together, taking care not to deflate the egg whites.
- Prepare the ramekins: Lightly grease 4 (four) 8-ounce ramekins. Set the ramekins in a larger baking dish. Divide the batter between the prepared ramekins and fill the baking dish with hot water until it reaches about halfway up the ramekins.
- Bake. Bake until the cakes are puffed up and light golden brown but still have a little bit of jiggle in the center. Remove the ramekins from the baking dish immediately and let cool 15 minutes, then dust with powdered sweetener and enjoy warm.
Tips for Success
Soften your butter more than usual. This lemon pudding cake recipe has a high sweetener to butter ratio, which makes it hard to beat together. Your butter needs to be softer than room temperature, but not melted.
Use a bain marie. This is simply the fancy baking term for a water bath. Cooking soft cakes and custards in a bain marie allows them to heat up more slowly and cook more gently.
Separate your eggs. The light and fluffy quality of these Lemon Pudding Cakes relies on beaten egg whites so be sure to beat your whites until they hold stiff peaks.
Gently fold the egg whites and lemon mixture. “Folding” refers to the process of carefully mixing something fluffy, like egg whites or whipped cream, into something heavier. Mixing vigorously will deflated your egg whites so use a rubber spatula to gently lift from the bottom and turn, until you see no streaks of egg white remaining.
Sweetener Options: I recommend an erythritol based sweetener, as allulose will cause the cakes to darken a lot more during baking. That said, allulose should work fine other than that, if you prefer to use it.
Frequently Asked Questions
These little individual keto desserts are not really pudding and they aren’t really cake either. They are more along the lines of a soufflé that’s taken out early and allowed to fall. What you end up with is a light, airy concoction that is still a soft and slightly liquid inside. The top is slightly crusty and browned but as you dip your spoon in, you meet soft pudding-like perfection.
This keto lemon pudding cake recipe has 3.5g of carbs and 0.7g of fiber per serving. That comes to 2.8g net carbs per cake.
You can store any leftover cakes in the fridge, tightly covered, for up to 4 days. Re-heat them gently in the oven or the microwave.
Other recipes you may enjoy
Warm Lemon Pudding Cakes
Servings: 4 servings
Sugar-free lemony goodness! These Keto Lemon Pudding Cakes are a study in contrasts, with a light, airy texture that is still warm and gooey at the same time.
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Preheat the oven to 350ºF and lightly grease 4 (four) 8-ounce ramekins. Set the ramekins in a larger baking dish.
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In a large bowl, beat the sweetener and butter together until well combined. Beat in the egg yolks one at a time, then beat in the almond flour, lemon zest, and salt.
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Stir in the lemon juice and cream. Set this mixture aside.
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In another large bowl, using clean beaters, beat the egg whites with the cream of tartar until they hold very stiff peaks.
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Gently fold the two mixtures together, taking care not to deflate the egg whites. Divide between the prepared ramekins and fill the baking dish with hot water until it reaches about halfway up the ramekins.
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Bake 35 to 40 minutes, until the cakes are puffed up and light golden brown but still have a little bit of jiggle in the center.
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Remove the ramekins from the baking dish immediately and let cool 15 minutes, then dust with powdered sweetener and enjoy warm.
Storage Information: You can store any leftover cakes in the fridge, tightly covered, for up to 4 days. Re-heat them gently in the oven or the microwave.
Serving: 1serving | Calories: 195kcal | Carbohydrates: 3.5g | Protein: 4.88g | Fat: -10.88g | Fiber: 0.7g
Nutritional Disclaimer
Please note that I am not a medical or nutritional professional. I am simply recounting and sharing my own experiences on this blog. Nothing I express here should be taken as medical advice and you should consult with your doctor before starting any diet or exercise program. I provide nutritional information for my recipes simply as a courtesy to my readers. It is calculated using MacGourmet software and I remove erythritol from the final carb count and net carb count, as it does not affect my own blood glucose levels. I do my best to be as accurate as possible but you should independently calculate nutritional information on your own before relying on them. I expressly disclaim any and all liability of any kind with respect to any act or omission wholly or in part in reliance on anything contained in this website.
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