Prep Work: Preheat your oven to 350 degrees, and then butter your ramekin dishes and place them in a roasting pan. Then start a large pot of water to simmer on the stove while you make the batter. Then measure a cup of sugar and measure 2 tablespoons of that and set it to the side. Next wash and zest 1/2 a lemon so you have a tablespoon of zest, and then juice enough lemons for 1/2 cup of juice. So that was about 3 lemons for me.

 

The Batter: In a large bowl, mix together the softened butter and sugar (minus the 2 tablespoons) with a handheld or stand mixer, so the mixture is light and fluffy but it’s still grainy. Then add the egg yolks one at a time and mix them in. Next mix in the lemon zest. Then add the flour and salt to the bowl, and combine with your batter. Finally add the milk, lemon juice, and vanilla to the bowl and combine the batter. Note that the batter is super runny, so I ended up whisking by hand at the end, so I didn’t have liquid all over my counters and me.

 

The Egg Whites: In a clean and dry mixing bowl, add the egg whites and then mix on high until they form soft peaks. Then add the reserved 2 tablespoons of sugar to the whites and continue to whisk until stiff peaks form.

 

Combined Pudding: Then add the egg whites to the batter, and gently take a few minutes to fold them into the batter. Be careful not to whisk but use a spatula so that the batter becomes really light and airy. Now ladle or pour the mixture into your prepared ramekins, and I got about a 1/2 cup per ramekin.

 

Bake: Gently pour the warm water into the bottom of your roasting pan so that it goes halfway up the side of the ramekins. Then carefully transfer the pan to the oven (on the center rack) and bake for 30-45 minutes, depending on the size of the dish(es) you’re using. Mine took about 34 minutes until they here slightly firm to the touch and just starting to get some color on top.

 

Finish Up: Remove the finished pudding from the oven, and carefully transfer the ramekins to a wire cooling rack. I place some waxed paper under my cooling rack to catch the powdered sugar, because 10 minutes after cooling you’ll dust the Baked Dairy Free Lemon Pudding lightly with the sugar. This helps from making a huge mess on your counters, so that’s a fun tip! Serve while they’re still warm and then enjoy!