Magic lemon pudding – lower sugar version

This magic lemon pudding has 40% less sugar than most recipes, but tastes great! Sometimes called self-saucing lemon pudding, the batter magically creates a zesty sponge and luscious sauce as it bakes.

DH is an insulin-dependent diabetic. He needs to know exactly how much carbohydrate is in whatever he eats, so that he can inject a suitable amount of insulin to metabolise it.

However, because there’s a maximum amount of insulin he can have at any one time, there’s also a maximum amount of carbohydrate he can eat at a single meal. All of which means that sweet desserts don’t go over so well in our house. By the time DH has eaten his main course, there just isn’t enough insulin left for dessert. Especially if it’s super sugary, like a cake or pudding.

Infrequent desserts

As a result I don’t make desserts very often. Either he eats none at all, which makes us both sad. Or else he ends up with a teaspoonful, which is basically torture! The pud is inevitably delicious and he can’t have any more.

Plus, since he can’t eat hardly any, I end up eating virtually a whole pudding single-handed. I do get some help from our daughter Kipper, but either way it isn’t the healthiest option any of us.

Dessert cravings

But, I really really fancied a pudding. Something hot, gooey and satisfying… I wondered about magic lemon pudding – one of my Mum’s classics – because the whipped egg whites give a lot of volume without adding any carbs. I thought that perhaps DH might finally be able to eat a decent sized portion.

Alas no. The flour, sugar and milk between them added up to over 30g carbs per portion! For reference, that’s about the same as a pizza or a medium jacket potato. Back to the drawing board.

What’s so magic about magic lemon pudding anyway?

If you’ve never come across magic lemon pudding before, you might be wondering what’s ‘magic’ about it.

Here’s the answer! You whip up one lot of delicious lemony batter, and pour it into your baking dish. Once in the oven, the batter separates during cooking so you get a light, lemony sponge on top, with a luscious custardy sauce underneath. It’s sometimes also called self-saucing lemon pudding for this reason. Whatever you call it, it’s magic to me!

Magic lemon pudding – with fewer carbs

Having set my heart on a magic lemon pudding, I tried to figure out a way to make it DH-friendly.

I played around with a few ideas, but the easiest way to reduce the carbs, ultimately, was just to slash the amount of sugar in the recipe. I cut the sugar in my Mum’s self-saucing lemon pudding recipe by about 40%. Then I mixed up the batter, crossed my fingers and hoped for the best.

Ingredients for lower sugar magic lemon pudding

If you’d like to make a light, tangy and delicious magic lemon pudding like this one for your family, then you will need six simple ingredients – that’s all! They are:

• Lemons – can’t make a lemon pudding without!
• Sugar – but less than you might think
• Eggs – for a light and fluffy sponge layer and rich lemon custard
• Flour – to help hold everything together
• Milk – or you can use a non-dairy alternative (I like oat)
• Butter or non-dairy spread

The proof of the pudding…

I’m sure you’re wondering what was the end result of my kitchen experimentation. Well…..

It was a perfect magic lemon pudding! The texture wasn’t noticeably affected by having less sugar. And the lemon flavour was great – it didn’t taste ‘unsweet’ at all, and had a delightful freshness.

Best of all, DH was able to have a reasonable portion. Hooray!

NB: You can dust the surface with icing sugar, as in the photos above, and it does look nice, but obviously if you want to reduce sugar then just leave it out. Here’s the pudding without the dusting – still looks pretty good eh?

Want deliciously easy, family-friendly recipes like this one delivered straight to your inbox? Click here to sign up. (Of course, I’ll never pass on your email address to anyone.)

📖 Recipe

Magic lemon pudding – lower sugar version

Cook ModePrevent your screen from going dark

This magic lemon pudding has 40% less sugar than most recipes, but tastes great! The batter magically creates a zesty sponge and luscious sauce as it bakes.

4.63 from 8 votes

Print Recipe Pin Recipe Save Saved!

Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Cook Time 45 minutes mins

Total Time 1 hour hr

Course Dessert

Cuisine British

Servings 4

Calories 243 kcal

Ingredients

 

US CustomaryMetric

 

1x2x3x

• 55 g butter or non-dairy spread (plus extra to grease the dish)
• 50 g golden caster sugar (or use white) (superfine sugar)
• 2 eggs
• Rind and juice of a lemon
• 35 g plain (all purpose) flour
• 165 ml milk or non-dairy alternative
• A little icing sugar to dust the top (optional)

Instructions

 

• Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F).
• Liberally grease the base and sides of a baking dish with capacity of at least 1 litre (4¼ cups).
• 55 g (¼ cup) butter or non-dairy spread, 50 g (¼ cup) golden caster sugar (or use white), 2 eggs, Rind and juice of a lemon, 35 g (¼ cup) plain (all purpose) flour
  Cream the butter/margarine and sugar till fluffy. Separate the eggs and slowly add the yolks to the creamed mixture. Stir in the lemon rind and juice, and the flour, and mix well.
• 165 ml (5/7 cup) milk or non-dairy alternative
  Gradually add the milk, and whisk well to produce a batter. Set aside.
• Whisk the egg whites until stiff peaks form. Fold into the batter and pour into the greased dish. Stand the dish in a baking tin and pour cold water around it. Put into the preheated oven and bake for 45 minutes (Reduce the heat to 170°C (340°F) after 15 minutes if the pudding is browning too quickly.)
• A little icing sugar to dust the top (optional)
  Leave to stand for a few minutes before serving. The pudding should naturally form a sponge on top with lemon sauce below. Dust the top of the pudding with a little icing sugar to decorate if you feel the urge.

Nutrition

Nutrition Facts

Magic lemon pudding – lower sugar version

Amount per Serving

Calories

243

% Daily Value*

Fat

 

15

g

23

%

Saturated Fat

 

9

g

56

%

Trans Fat

 

1

g

Polyunsaturated Fat

 

1

g

Monounsaturated Fat

 

4

g

Cholesterol

 

116

mg

39

%

Sodium

 

148

mg

6

%

Potassium

 

135

mg

4

%

Carbohydrates

 

24

g

8

%

Fiber

 

1

g

4

%

Sugar

 

15

g

17

%

Protein

 

5

g

10

%

Vitamin A

 

535

IU

11

%

Vitamin C

 

14

mg

17

%

Calcium

 

71

mg

7

%

Iron

 

1

mg

6

%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Keyword egg, lemon

Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

More delicious pudding recipes

If you’re after more delicious puds, take a look at scrumptious Nutella bread pudding, delicious and traditional lokshen pudding with apple, or fabulous apple and blackberry crumble with walnuts – perfect with custard!