When life gives you lemons make this lemon cream cake! It’s bright, creamy, and just the right balance of tart and sweet. Summer is fast approaching and it makes me want all things lemon. This single layer cake is perfect for Mother’s Day, 4th of July, Labor Day, or any random Tuesday when you feel like something sweet. Fun fact, I make this for my grandma every year on her birthday! And the best part is it’s SO easy to make.

Typically recipes like this use boxed lemon cake, but you’ll never use that again when you see just how easy it is to make from scratch! And I could eat the cream layer with a spoon on its own, it’s that good. So run don’t walk to get some lemons and make this cake!

Lemon Cream Cake

Prep Time: 20 minutes | Bake Time: 40 minutes | Total Time: 60 minutes

Ingredients

Lemon Cake Ingredients

1 Stick Butter Melted
3/4 Cup Granulated Sugar
1 Egg, Room Temperature
1.5tsp Vanilla
Zest of 2 Large Lemons
3tbsp Fresh Lemon Juice
1 1/4 Cup Flour
1tsp Baking Powder
1 Pinch Kosher Salt

Lemon Cream Ingredients

8oz Cream Cheese Softened
3 Cups Powdered Sugar, Sifted Plus 2tbsp For Dusting
1 Egg, Room Temperature
Zest of 1 Lemon
2tsp Fresh Lemon Juice

Instructions

Lemon Cake

Preheat oven to 350 and line a 9 inch springform pan with parchment paper.
Whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt and set aside.
In a stand mixer or using a hand mixer whisk together butter and sugar. Then add in egg, vanilla, lemon zest, and lemon juice.
Add in flour mixture and stir until smooth.
Pour batter into prepared pan and smooth evenly.

Lemon Cream

In a stand mixer or using a hand mixer stir cream cheese until smooth.
Stir in powdered sugar one cup at a time until mixture becomes runny.
Mix in egg, vanilla, lemon zest, and lemon juice.
Pour cream into pan on top of cake batter and spread evenly to the edges.
Bake for 40 minutes or until top becomes golden and crackled.
Allow to cool on a rack for 30-40 minutes and then transfer to the fridge for at least 2 hours.
Once completely cool dust top of cake with remaining powdered sugar.
Run a butter knife around the inside of the pan before releasing the spring.
Enjoy!

Tips and Tricks

Lemon- I like a lot of lemon flavor paired with all the powdered sugar, but if you prefer sweet over tart you can adjust the lemon juice and lemon zest measurements accordingly.
Lemon Cream- Make sure to sift the powdered sugar before adding to the cream cheese to avoid lumps. You want the cream to be extra smooth.
Baking- 40 minutes is usually perfect, but I find sometimes I need to add an extra minute or 2 of bake time to get the perfect golden color on top. The crackled top makes the texture perfect so make sure not to under bake it.
Setting- Make sure the cake has completely cooled before cutting into it so it doesn’t fall apart. You also don’t want to add powdered sugar on top while it’s still hot or it will melt.

Lemon Cream Cake

Lemon Cream Cake

No Churn Ice Cream