This Lemon Cream Butter Cake is the love child of a buttery lemon cake and a lemon cheesecake. A perfect marriage of the two textures and flavours.
Why I love this lemon cream cheese butter cake!
If you are a lover of lemon, you will be over the moon with this delicious cake, that brings together lemon cake and lemon cheesecake in one pan.
The buttery lemon cake forms a layer around the bottom and outside, while a creamy lemon cream cheese filling cooks up in the middle. It’s full of lemon flavour and a wonderful combination of textures. Enjoy this one chilled with a dusting of icing sugar on top.
Ingredients and Substitutions
Lemon – you will need fresh lemons, as the recipe specifies both lemon juice and lemon zest.
Cream cheese – full fat cream cheese is required to ensure the cream cheese layer bakes up properly.
Butter – Unsalted butter is recommended for this cake, but if you only have salted butter, be sure to adjust the amount as noted in the Recipe Card.
Cook’s Notes
- Be sure to place your springform pan on a baking sheet as a small amount of butter may leak out as the cake bakes. Alternately, you could wrap the bottom and sides of your springform pan with foil.
- Speaking of wrapping in foil, I have long struggled with my springform pan over-cooking the sides of my baked goods and I suspect it is because it is a dark pan. I’m always hesitant to reduce the oven temperature, but I’m thinking I will start wrapping the outside of the pan in foil to try to temper that tendency in future. I’ll let you know how that works out. (Or I guess I could just buy light pans :)
- Keep a close eye on the cake as it nears the 30 minute mark and watch closely. It will be best if you can get it out of the oven when it is just cooked, which means the outside cake part looks lightly golden and the centre of the cake looks set.
- Finally, if you want to fancy up your cake, place a paper doily on top of the cake and dust your icing sugar over it. Carefully remove to reveal a pretty pattern.
Top Tip!
Full fat cream cheese is required to make sure the cream cheese part is thick enough not to run off the top of the cake. And speaking of which, you need to add the cream cheese layer slowly, into the centre, spreading it out towards the edges, to ensure it doesn’t escape over the sides.
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Ingredients
For the cream cheese filling:
- 8 oz. full-fat cream cheese, at room temperature **do not use light, reduced fat or no fat cream cheese
- 1 cup icing/confectioners’ sugar
- 3 Tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
- 1 large egg
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
- Zest of 1/2 lemon
- 2 Tablespoons lemon juice, freshly squeezed
For the Cake:
- 2/3 cup all-purpose flour, spooned and levelled
- 1/3 cup granulated white sugar
- 2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/8 teaspoon salt, reduced to a pinch if using salted butter
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
- 2 large eggs
- Zest of 2 small or one large lemons
- 2 Tbsp lemon juice, freshly squeezed
- 1/2 tsp vanilla, or vanilla bean paste
For garnish:
- Additional icing/confectioners’ sugar
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325F. (not fan assisted) Prepare an 8-inch springform pan by spraying with cooking spray and lining the bottom with a round of parchment paper. Place pan on a baking sheet and set aside. *Baking sheet is recommended as some small amount of butter may leak out during baking.
- Prepare the filling: In a large bowl with an electric beater or the bowl of a stand mixer with a paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese on medium-high speed for about 5 minutes, until smooth and creamy.
- Add the icing sugar and beat for another 2 to 3 minutes. Add the egg and beat until completely combined, about 1 minute. Add the melted butter, vanilla, lemon zest and lemon juice. Beat until completely combined, about 1 minute. Set aside.
- Prepare the cake batter: In large bowl, whisk together the flour, white sugar, baking powder and salt. Whisk in melted (cooled) butter, eggs, lemon juice, vanilla and lemon zest just until combined. Do not over-mix.
- Pour the cake batter evenly into the prepared springform pan. Spread to the edges and level batter. Very carefully and a bit at a time, pour the cheesecake filling mixture in the centre of the cake, spreading it to within about 1/2 inch of the edge of the pan, leaving that 1/2-inch around the outside with just bare cake batter visible.
- Bake for about 30-35 minutes, or until the outside edges of the cake is light golden and the centre of the cake is set. You can test with a cake tester around the outside edges, but not in the centre, as it is mostly cream cheese. You want the center to be set, so you can test by moving the pan a little to see how jiggly the centre is.
- Allow cake to cool in the pan for 5-10 minutes, then run a knife around the edges and carefully remove the outer ring. Allow to cool completely at room temperature for 1 hour, then transfer to a serving plate and refrigerate to chill before serving.
- To serve, serve chilled, with a little sprinkling of icing/confectioners’ sugar.
Notes
More Lemon Cake Recipes to Love!
Hi! I’m Jennifer, a home cook schooled by trial and error and almost 40 years of getting dinner on the table! I love to share my favourite recipes, both old and new, together with lots of tips and tricks to hopefully help make your home cooking enjoyable, stress free, rewarding and of course, delicious!
I love this cake but am wondering if there is any way to convert this to cupcakes? I need a more transportable and shareable dessert.
I have no idea, Nichole, as I’ve never tried it. Possibly. If you try it, let me know how it works out.
I would like to bake this cake today but only have ricotta cheese in my fridge – can I use that instead of cream cheese. Thank you. Inge
Hi Inge, I’d love to say you could try it, but I honestly don’t think it would work, as ricotta has so much more liquid than cream cheese. Possibly if you squeezed the liquid out, but still a big chance it might end up a mess and you’d waste that lovely ricotta.
I just made this tonight, realized I have a 10 inch spring form pan and larger. So I divided the batter between two 14oz ramekins. I attempted to turn one out, but it was too hot and collapsed. I’m hoping they baked alright, they both baked like a cake should and what I was able to taste was delicious!!! Fingers crossed the other one is better since it’s still in the ramekin.
I hope it works for you. I think for ramekins, you probably need to let it cool if you hope to turn it out.
Just made this for my dad’s birthday, followed the instructions exactly, and it came out AMAZINGLY. My dad had asked for a lemon cake for his birthday and had been used to the typical boxed lemon cakes… but I wanted to give him something much better, especially in 2020! He absolutely loved this and we all thought it was a huge hit. He can’t wait for me to make it again!
So glad to hear, Kelly and hope your Dad had a wonderful birthday :) Thanks!
I love this recipe! I’m making it for a second time but it’s for a group of around 20 people this time around. Any recommendations for doubling to recipe or making it for a larger group of people?
Hi Priya, You should be good to just double everything, divide between two baking pans and bake together, to yield two cakes to feed a crowd.
It’s delicious, mine doesn’t look as beautiful as the one pictured but next time I’ll spread the batter higher, I think that was my mistake. Thank you for the recipe!
Glad you enjoyed it! Thanks :)
I am super excited about making this for my mom for Mother’s day this Sunday, I am just wondering if you think it will be okay to make it the previous day? I am planning quite a spread and would like to get cracking!
Hi Mari, I think it will hold nicely made the previous day. Enjoy!
I only have a 7 inch or 9 inch spring form pan. Should I go bigger or smaller?
Hi Melissa, I think I”d go smaller. It will take a little longer to cook, as it will be thicker. Enjoy :)
Hi, I just made this and it’s baking right now. The filling was so runny that it immediately went to the sides of the pan. I followed the recipe to a T. Not sure how you are ending up with a filling that is thicker and doesn’t spread. Any suggestions?
Hi Ashley, did you use full-fat cream cheese? Low or no fat cream cheese will not work, as it is too watery.
This looks delicious. I’m wondering if anyone has tried making it with a gluten-free flour and if you have any recommendations for a specific flour to try.
Hoping someone might weigh in for you on a good gluten free option :)
I’ve made it twice gluten free and it is yummy. The only change I made was the flour. Used Orgran all purpose plain flour.
Glad to hear, Robyn and good to know it works with GF flour. Thanks :)
I’m always looking for anything lemon. I always try a recipe before serving it to company and I will definitely be making this for our next dinner party. So good!! Thanks.
So happy to hear, Elizabeth :) Thanks so much!
This was the hit of the evening with dinner guests. Rave reviews all around. The flavor and texture were amazing. Will make this again often. Thank you for such a great recipe.
So glad to hear, Margaret! Thanks so much :)
Do I need to use a springform pan? If not, what size pan to you recommend?
Hi Emily, while this cake doesn’t absolutely need a springform pan, you will not have an easy time getting this cake out of any other kind of pan. If you don’t care about neat slices, you can just use an 8-inch round cake pan.
Jennifer. This recipe looked delicious, I love lemon flavor anything, so I made it Tonight The flavor is amazing and I love the texture of the cream on top. My problem has been the cake, mine came out quite dry and I don’t know wish I did wrong. I did use cake flour, could that be the issue. I would like to make it again, maybe you can help me with what I did wrong. Thank you.
Hi Ursula, Yes, the use of cake flour is a likely cause if your cake is dry. The recipe does specify all purpose (or plain) flour. I suggest trying it with all purpose flour next time you make it.
Jennifer, do you think this cake could be frozen?
Hi Jeanette, I haven’t frozen it myself, but I feel like it should freeze fairly well :)
Hi Jeanette, I’m thinking of freezing it as well, did it work for you?