LEMON BAR BUTTER CAKE
The cake of everyones dreams- the best spring & summer dessert that will have everyone at your dinner parties raving about. A butter cake topped with lemon bar filling is exactly what this is. A butter, moist, soft lemon cake (instead of your typical shortbread crust) with a gooey lemony, zesty, sweet, delicious lemon bar topping! If you are a fan of a warm butter cake, which by the way it is one of my all time favorite desserts and if you have never had it you must try, or a fan of lemon bars this is the best dessert.
I first had a butter cake at a few restaurants in my home city, Maestros & Original Joes, and I had never tasted something so delicious yet so simple as a butter cake. I immediately tested so many recipes and started creating my own for the days I am craving one but do not want to go out to eat. Although I had felt like I created an amazing butter cake I decided to put a twist on it and mix it with one of my other favorite desserts. If there is a dessert my family, especially my mother, requests more than anything, it is lemon bars. The amount of times I have baked lemon bars is insanity; but I thought to myself if I am getting tired of lemon bars, everyone else has to be as well. Therefore, I made it my mission to make as many different versions of a lemon bar as possible for everyone to enjoy and not get bored. I also want to make it clear that I do not get tired of lemon bars per say; however, you do get curious and interested in other desserts once you’ve eaten the same one several times. With that being said, this Lemon Bar Butter Cake is a new family favorite and some delicious and easy to make.
INGREDIENTS NEEDED:
Flour, eggs, cream cheese, lemon zest, lemon juice, powdered sugar, granulated sugar, butter (of course), & baking powder.
Springform pan is necessary or can be made in a regular pan if lined with strong foil and parchment paper to be able to lift out of the pan when done. The springform pan will be the easiest to work with so you can just take off the sides of the pan; this cake can not and will not work if it is inverted and will result in a huge mess.
HOW TO MAKE:
The very first step is to make sure that your butter and cream cheese are ROOM TEMPERATURE or you will have a very difficult time making this cake and it will not turn out as planned. So make sure to take those ingredients out ahead of time or the night before. Once these are room temperature you can start making the butter cake.
The butter cake is pretty simple. and creaming together the butter and sugar together will be a lot easier if the butter is softened. Add in the lemon zest and juice in order for those orders and flavor to disperse and distribute across all of the sugar mixture. Add in the eggs one at a time and then the dry ingredients. A springform pan is the easier to work with since you can take off the side of the pan, since this cake will be impossible to take out of a regular pan since it cannot be inverted with the lemon bar filling on the top. Once your pan is properly lined, spread out the cake batter across the entire bottom of the pan
Next is the lemon bar filling, creaming together the powdered sugar and the cream cheese, adding the lemon juice and zest and then finally the egg. Pour it over the top of the cake and evenly disperse across the entire pan. This is one of those desserts you will most certainly be tempted to cut and dig into right out of the oven but it will cause a huge mess and fall apart if it is not cooled and set before cutting! Patience is key for this dessert. Bake and let cool! Enjoy!
LEMON BAR BUTTER CAKE
8-12
servings30
minutes38-45
MinutesIngredients
- BUTTER CAKE
2 ¼ cups All-Purpose flour
1¾ cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 cup unsalted butter (2 stick); softened room temperature
3 Tablespoons lemon juice
zest from 1 lemon (about 2 Tablespoons)
2 teaspoons baking powder
- LEMON BAR FILLING
1 stick of cream cheese (8 ounces)
2¾ cups of powdered sugar
1 egg
1 Tablespoon lemon zest
2 Tablespoons lemon juice
Directions
- BUTTER CAKE
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and line a springform pan with parchment paper and baking spray
Cream together the softened room temperature butter and granulated sugar for about 2-3 minutes
Add in the lemon juice and zest to get that incorporated to the sugar mixture and let all the flavors come together
Add in the eggs one at a time. Beat until incorporated
Add in the dry ingredients - flour and baking powder.
Pour the cake batter into the pan and smooth it out against the bottom of the pan.
- LEMON BAR FILLING
In a large bowl beat together the cream cheese and powdered sugar using the paddle attachment of a stand mixer or a handheld mixer
Add in the lemon juice and zest and mix once more.
Add in the egg and mix until incorporated. It will be a pale yellow/white color.
Pour directly on top of the cake batter and spread it out covering the entire thing. Bake for 38-45 minutes until the lemon bar top is set and golden on the top. It will still be slightly giggly (you do not want to overbake this dessert because the cake will get dry and the lemon bar filling will also over bake). Once out of the pan do not cut into it before it is cooled or it will fall apart everywhere!
