Lemon Butter recipe

This lemon butter cake is a mixture of two great desserts: lemon bars and lemon cakes. Lemon cream curd is added to the top of a soft lemon cake. The lemon cream curd sinks into the cake during baking, creating a moist and tender cake full of fresh lemon flavour.

This lemon butter cake is the perfect lemon dessert! A layer of lemon cream curd is added to the top of this tender lemon cake. As the cake bakes, the curd will sink into it, creating a moist lemon cake with a layer of creamy lemon curd. It tastes as good, if not better than it looks.

What’s a gooey lemon butter cake?

This recipe was inspired by classic butter cake. It’s a dense, thin cake that’s baked with butter and cream cheese on top.

It’s sweet, gooey-gooey goodness. For the lemon version, however, I wanted a mix between rich lemon bars and fluffy lemon cakes.

The base is made of a lemon cake, which is neither too dense nor too light. It can hold the topping’s weight while baking through.

The hardest part was the topping. It kept overpowering and making it difficult to set up and cook. The power of testing perfected this cake!

The lemon cream is layered on top of the cake to create a moist, tender lemon cake. It becomes a pudding-like texture when baked and melts in your mouth.

The layers are baked with fresh lemons, so the dessert contains a lemony flavour. This goes well with the creamy topping and rich cake.

How to make lemon butter cakes?

This cake is a huge crowd pleaser and easy to make. Spread the batter in a baking pan and let it cool. Here are my top tips to make sure it turns out perfectly.

Lemon Cake

The flour – Use this method for all recipes, but especially cakes. It is better to weigh flour than to measure it by cups. This is the best way to bake. If you don’t have a scale, use your hands to stir the flour into a cup gently. Then level it with a flat edge. This will prevent the flour from sticking to the cup and making a hard, dry cake.
Butter – I recommend using high-quality butter, such as sophisticated European style. Although it is not required, this will give your cake tons of flavour. Make sure to let the butter cool before you use it.
Lemons – Use fresh lemon juice, and don’t forget the zest! It has a stronger, more authentic flavour than packaged lemon juice and is not as tart.
Mixing – The batter is made by hand, so it is difficult to overmix. Mixing should stop when the flour is gone. Overworking the batter will cause it to be difficult to bake.

Lemon Cream

Cream Cheese – First, ensure that the cream cheese is at room temperature before using it. The cream will become lumpy and contain clumps. Second, Philadelphia block cream cheese is my favourite cream cheese. It has the best consistency & flavour of any cream cheese I have ever tried.
Mixing – Add the powdered sugar one at a time to the cream cheese, making sure each ingredient is well incorporated before you add the next. The sugar helps to smoothen and thin the cream cheese, which is helpful when you add the egg.
Egg – Use a room-temperature egg. The egg could freeze some cream cheese if it is too cold.
Pour – Add the cream to the middle of the lemon cake batter. The cream should be thin enough that it spreads out naturally to the edges. Although it doesn’t have to touch the sides, it should cover most of the cake’s surface.

How do you know when your lemon butter cake is ready?

This is where the toothpick test won’t work as the toothpick will pick up any wet cream topping. Look at the surface of your cake to see if it is done.

The cream should have a golden, dry skin and small cracks at the edges. The edges of the cake should be golden and slightly puffy.

Lemon butter cake with chilling lemon flavor

This is crucial as the cream will set if it’s not chilled. After the cake has cooled to room temperature for 30 minutes, it should be chilled and left to cool uncovered for at least 2 hours.

Lemon butter cake with a creamy, rich flavor

Although this cake can be eaten straight from the fridge, I prefer it to cool at room temperature for around 30 minutes before serving. This allows the cake’s texture to soften so that each bite melts in your mouth.

How do you store lemon cake?

The cake should be kept in an airtight container in your refrigerator. It can be kept for up to one week.