lemon cream cake

An incredible Italian Lemon Cake with a creamy filling and buttery crumb topping. 

Olive Garden Lemon Cream Cake

milk

vanilla extract

lemon extract

unsalted butter (softened)

sugar

flour

salt

lemon zest

mascarpone cheese

heavy whipping cream

lemon juice

limoncello

all-purpose flour

butter

Egg white

Lemon extract

self-rising flour

Vanilla extract is a solution containing the flavor compound vanillin as the primary ingredient. Pure vanilla extract is made by macerating and percolating vanilla pods in a solution of ethyl alcohol and water. In the United States, in order for a vanilla extract to be called pure, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration requires that...

vanilla bean extract

Grease a 9” springform pan and place it on a cookie sheet. Place a rack in the bottom third of your oven, and preheat to 325F. 

Whisk together the milk, egg whites, and extracts. Set aside close to your mixer. In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, add sugar, self-rising flour, and salt. Beat briefly to combine evenly. Add the softened butter and about ¼ of the milk/egg white mixture. Starting on low speed, mix until combined, about 1 minute. Scrape the bowl. Increase the speed to medium and beat for 2 minutes to mix in some air and lighten the texture. Add the remaining wet ingredients and the zest and beat for about 30 seconds to blend in the liquid. Scrape bowl and beat a few more seconds. 

Scrape batter into prepared pan and bake until well-risen, domed, and golden brown, about 45 minutes. Check after 30 minutes and gently rotate the pan to ensure even baking. Tent foil over the pan if necessary to prevent over-browning. Cake is done when it is just starting to pull away from the sides of the pan and the top springs back when pressed lightly. Remove to a rack to cool for about 20 minutes. Run a thin knife around the inside of the pan to release the cake and then remove the springform sides. Allow cake to cool completely.

Cake Directions

Combine all the filling ingredients in the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Whip until the mixture just reaches stiff peaks. Scrape the bowl as necessary and, if using mascarpone, take care to not overwhip or the filling will become grainy. Refrigerate until ready to assemble the cake. 

Lemon Cream Filling and Frosting

Combine all the crumb ingredients in a medium bowl. Using your hands, mix/crumble together until there is no loose flour and none of the crumbs is larger than about the size of a chickpea. Refrigerate until ready to assemble the cake. 

Crumb Topping

Carefully slice the cake in half horizontally with a long serrated knife or with a cake leveler. Place the domed half on a plate. Keep the bottom half on the base of the springform pan and reattach the sides. (Optional) Brush half the limoncello evenly on the bottom layer of cake. Reserve 1 ¼ cups lemon cream filling and spread the remaining filling in a generous layer on top of the bottom layer. (Optional) Brush/drizzle the remaining limoncello on top of the filling so it will soak into the top layer. Place the top layer of cake on top of the filling, and press down gently. Refrigerate for about an hour to chill the filling. Remove the springform sides from the pan. 

Spread the reserved frosting in a very thin layer around the sides and on top of the cake. Don’t worry if a little cake shows through—it really will be a very thin layer of icing which will act as glue for the crumbs. Holding the cake at an angle over a tray with one hand, gather up a small handful of crumbs and press them into the side of the cake, letting the excess fall into the tray. Rotate the cake a little and press more crumbs into the side. Continue until you’ve covered all the sides with crumbs. Pour the remaining crumbs evenly on top of the cake. This will be a very generous layer. If you have any thin spots, fill in with any crumbs that fell onto the tray. Press the top crumbs into place and refrigerate until 30 minutes before serving. 

Garnish right before serving. Use a fine-mesh sieve to sift powdered sugar evenly over the top of the crumbs.

Cake Assembly

If you would rather drive to the restaurant then you're clearly not on the correct website! No baker in their right mind wants to pay 8.00 for a slice of cake when they can make it themselves! This recipe is written very well and the cake was delicious! Im a foodie and enjoy baking and cooking so I love copycat recipes. Just because you dont doesn't mean you're not in your "right mind" or vise versa. Smh

Made this cake yesterday, added lemon zest to the cake and the icing/filling. Everyone loved it

Stephanie 
I made this cake yesterday for my brothers birthday and it was AMAZINGLY!  I didn’t have lemon so I used orange instead. . I made a special dinner for my brother and his favorite part of the meal was the cake. 
Thanks for developing the recipe and sharing it with us.
Happy New Year!

Lemon Cream Cake combines light airy sponge cake with luscious lemon mascarpone filling and an outer layer of crushed vanilla creme cookies.

Italian Lemon Cream Cake (Olive Garden Copycat Recipe)

baking powder

eggs (room temperature)

unsalted butter

whole milk (room temperature)

mascarpone cheese (room temperature)

lemon lemon (about 2 Tablespoons)

lemon juice lemon

vanilla cookie crumbs (for coating)

Preheat your oven: Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C). Grease and flour a deep 8-inch round cake pan.

Sift the dry ingredients: Sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt in a bowl. Set aside.

Prepare wet ingredients: In a large mixing bowl, beat the eggs for about 1 minute. Gradually add sugar and vanilla extract, and continue beating for 7-8 minutes until thick and pale.

Fold in the dry ingredients: Gently fold in the dry ingredients in three additions, alternating with the melted butter and milk, starting and ending with the dry ingredients.

Bake the cake: Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 30-35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Cool the cake: Remove from the oven, allow to cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

Prepare the Sponge Cake:

Whip the cream: In a mixing bowl, whip the heavy cream until stiff peaks form.

Prepare the mascarpone mixture: In another bowl, combine the mascarpone cheese, powdered sugar, lemon zest, lemon juice, and vanilla extract. Beat until smooth.

Fold in the whipped cream: Gently fold the whipped cream into the mascarpone mixture until well combined.

Save some filling: Reserve 1/2 cup of this lemon cream filling for the cake&#39;s exterior.

Make the Lemon Cream Filling:

Torte the cake: Once the cake is completely cooled, use a long serrated knife to slice the cake horizontally into two even layers.

Bottom layer assembly: Place the bottom layer on a serving plate. Spread the lemon cream filling over the top, excluding the 1/2 cup reserved for the exterior.

Second layer assembly: Carefully place the second layer on top of the filling.

Frost the cake: Spread the reserved 1/2 cup of lemon cream filling around the sides of the cake.

Decorate the cake: Gently press the vanilla cookie crumbs into the lemon cream on the sides of the cake.

Chill before serving: Chill the cake in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours to set.

Slice and Assemble the Cake:

Finish the cake: Dust the top of the cake with powdered sugar for a sweet, decorative finish just before serving.

Finishing Touches:

donna's Lemon Cream Cake recipe is a game-changer! I added a touch of lemon zest to the cake batter for an extra zing, and it turned out even more amazing. Closest to restaurant quality!

Made this Lemon Cream Cake today, and it's an absolute winner! Thanks, Donna and Chad's The Slow Roasted Italian for sharing such an incredible recipe.

this lemon cream cake was tasty! thank you for the recipe!

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Olive Garden Lemon Cream Cake

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Top Tags

Olive Garden Lemon Cream Cake

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The most viewed lemon cream cake recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 20,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engine