This first page gathers five lemon cake recipes that range from bake-and-slice bars to layered cakes and a chilled refrigerator dessert.
Each one uses lemon in a different way, from pie filling and curd to zest, juice, pudding, and cream cheese.
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- 3-Ingredient Lemon Cake Bars
- 4-Ingredient Lemon Cream Cheese Dump Cake
- Cranberry Cake with Lemon Butter Sauce
- Lemon Butter Cake
- Lemon Refrigerator Cake
3-Ingredient Lemon Cake Bars
3-Ingredient Lemon Cake Bars are built from lemon cake mix, melted butter, and lemon pie filling, then baked in a 9×13-inch dish. The mix and butter are stirred until the texture looks like damp, clumpy sand, which helps create a crumb base and topping around the filling.
After about two-thirds of the crumbs are pressed into the pan, the lemon pie filling is spread over the crust and the remaining crumbs are sprinkled on top. The bars bake until lightly golden with bubbling edges, then cool in the dish before slicing.
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4-Ingredient Lemon Cream Cheese Dump Cake
4-Ingredient Lemon Cream Cheese Dump Cake pairs yellow cake mix with lemon pie filling, softened cream cheese, and melted butter. The result is a layered dessert with a crumbly bottom and top, and a smooth lemon-cream cheese center.
The cake mix and butter are first combined into coarse crumbs, then half is pressed into a greased 9×13-inch baking dish. The cream cheese is whisked with the lemon pie filling until smooth before being spread over the base and covered with the remaining crumbs, then baked until golden and set.
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Cranberry Cake with Lemon Butter Sauce
Cranberry Cake with Lemon Butter Sauce combines a simple cranberry-studded cake with a separate warm sauce. The cake batter uses sugar, butter, milk, cake flour, baking powder, vanilla, and halved cranberries, while the sauce includes butter, brown sugar, flour, boiling water, lemon juice, and vanilla.
The method starts by beating sugar and softened butter until pale and fluffy, then alternating the dry ingredients and milk just until combined before folding in cranberries. While the cake bakes in a square pan, the sauce is cooked on the stove until slightly thickened, then finished with lemon juice and spooned over warm servings.
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Lemon Butter Cake
Lemon Butter Cake is a two-layer style dessert with lemon in both the cake batter and the cream layer. The base includes butter, sugar, egg, vanilla, lemon zest, lemon juice, flour, baking powder, and salt, while the topping blends cream cheese, powdered sugar, egg, and lemon zest.
The batter is spread into a greased cake pan or pie dish, then covered with the cream layer made by beating the softened cream cheese until smooth and mixing in the remaining ingredients. It bakes until golden and set in the center, and the cake is cooled completely before slicing.
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Lemon Refrigerator Cake
Lemon Refrigerator Cake is a chilled dessert built with cubed angel food cake, instant lemon pudding, milk, yogurt, lemon curd, and thawed whipped topping. Instead of baking, it layers soft, creamy elements over the cake and lets everything set in the refrigerator.
The cake cubes are arranged in a 9×13-inch dish, then topped with lemon curd and a pudding-yogurt mixture that is whisked until slightly thickened. A layer of whipped topping finishes the dish, and the covered pan is refrigerated for at least three hours before serving.
