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Welcome back. I know everyone is hooked on all the fun fall baking flavors, but this week I have been missing my mom and what better way to honor her than with her favorite dessert. This week’s recipe was one of my mom’s favorites. Olive Garden used to have this amazing lemon cake, but they took it off their menu quite some time ago. This recipe is known as a dupe of the Olive Garden lemon cake, but I think it is better and easy to make, which is always a plus.
I have made this recipe in a couple different forms – cupcakes and as a round cake. My favorite has become the cupcake version, but who doesn’t love a round cake every now and again? I am just drawn to cupcakes because they are so convenient. Your own little individual cake, just for you!
I think lemon is considered a summer flavor, but I love lemon all year long. This recipe is light and fluffy and full of flavor. There is no shame in elevating a boxed cake mix. If you have been following along, you know I love baking short cuts and boxed cake mix can be turned into an elevated, tastes like its from a bakery, cake. You can also put your own twist into it as well. I recommend adding a little powdered sugar to the crumble after it’s mixed. To add some additional flavor, you can include some fresh fruit, like blueberries or raspberries or even add a fruit compote in the middle. Lemon is such a great combo with other fruit flavors. My mom was a big fan of lemon and that is probably why I love lemon so much.
Lemon is so diverse in baking. You can use it in a breakfast muffin, like lemon blueberry. It can be used in cakes, tarts, and cookies. My lemon sugar cookie recipe is what that has been requested the most. I once made a gluten free lemon tart that even I was impressed with.
I hope you try it out and let me know what you think on social media @emilygetstobaking. This recipe, for me, is the definition of “baked with love”.
Links to some things I used to make this recipe:
Boxed Cake Hack – Lemon Cream Cake
Equipment
- 9" Round cake pan
Ingredients
Cake
- 1 pkg White Cake Mix, plus ingredients listed on box for preparation
- 1/2 cup Sour cream
- 2 tsp Vanilla extract
Frosting
- 1 cup Whipping cream
- 8 oz Mascarpone cheese
- 1 cup Powdered sugar
- 1/3 cup Lemon zest
Crumb Topping
- 4 tbsp Butter, melted
- 1 1/2- 2 cups Lemon Cake Mix
- Left over cake (if any)
Instructions
To make the cake:
- Prepare the boxed white cake as instructed on the box. Add in the sour cream and vanilla extract.
- Pour batter into a 9" nonstick pan and bake according to the times recommended on the box – typically 20-25 minutes. Use a cake tester (or toothpick) to ensure the cake is done.
- Once done, set aside to let cool completely.
Lemon Mascarpone Frosting
- Mix the mascarpone cheese, powdered sugar, lemon juice, lemon zest and whipping cream. Mix until smooth and all ingredients are incorporated. You could add more lemon juice or zest for more of a lemon flavor.
Lemon Crumb Topping
- In a microwave safe bowl, melt the 4 tbsp of butter.
- Add the lemon cake mix and stir until it becomes crumbly and chunky. Sometimes this can take a while. I recommend using a fork to stir this together and help form the chunks. If it's too wet and not becoming crumbly, add additional lemon cake mix, just a little at a time until you get a crumble-like texture.
Assembly
- Cut your completely cool cake in half.
- Set the bottom of the cake on your stand and fill the first layer with half of the lemon frosting.
- Place the top cake layer on top of the lemon frosted bottom layer.
- Frost the top and sides of your cake. I like a more naked look so I typically do a lighter layer of frosting, but you can do as much as you like here.
- Sprinkle your lemon crumb on top and sides of your cake.
6 responses to “Baked with Love – An Amazing Lemon Cream Cake”
Lemon cake is my favorite, thanks for sharing your recipe. I’ll need to make this next time I bake.
Cream cakes are my absolute favorite. This lemon cake looks truly delish. Got to try it for sure!
I love lemon cake! This would be perfect for a church potluck.
This looks delicious, and I looove lemon. Thanks for sharing!
This looks so good! And you’re right – Lemon is a great “all year” flavor!
Yum thank you for sharing this recipe 😋