Gooey Lemon Butter Cake
Gooey Lemon Butter Cake: This semi homemade butter cake totally lives up to its name. With a wonderful almost cookie like crust, creamy lemon center, and crunchie top. This amazing cake is full of tart lemon flavor and is incredibly easy to make.
How to Make Gooey Lemon Butter Cake
This semi homemade lemon cake may start with a cake mix but the end result is divine!
INGREDIENTS—CAKE: The cake (bottom/crust) portion of the gooey lemon butter cake is full of lemon—butter flavor and offers a cookie like texture. Full printable recipe below.
○ LEMON CAKE MIX
○ LEMON ZEST
○ LARGE EGG
○ BUTTER
INGREDIENTS—GOOEY FILLING: The cream cheese filling has a hint of lemon flavor with wonderful butter tones. As the cream cheese custard bakes, it will sink into the middle of the cake, creating a gooey filling.
○ CREAM CHEESE
○ EGGS
○ LEMON EXTRACT
○ BUTTER
○ POWDERED SUGAR
How to Get a Gooey Filling
The lemon cream cheese filling uses eggs to help thicken the filling and helps with the yellow color without adding food coloring. Adding a few more simple ingredients creates a gooey filling that tasted like a cross between lemon bars and cheesecake. The perfect semi homemade dessert for family gatherings.
Make Ahead Solutions
GOOEY: For the BEST gooey texture, I recommend serving the cake warm out of the oven.
FIRM: Chill the cake for a few hours or overnight (like you would cheesecake).
STORAGE—REFRIGERATOR: Store in an airtight container or cake carrier for up to 3 days.
FREEZER: Slice cake, wrap the slices in parchment paper to prevent them from sticking together. Freeze up to 2 months.
Flavor Variations
It’s super easy to transform this Gooey Lemon Butter Cake into your favorite citrus Gooey Butter Cake. If you can’t find the citrus cake mix for your different gooey butter cakes, USE A WHITE OR VANILLA.
• LIME GOOEY BUTTER CAKE
• ORANGE GOOEY BUTTER CAKE
• GRAPEFRUIT GOOER BUTTER CAKE
OTHER GOOEY BUTTER CAKE RECIPES
ALMOND JOY GOOEY BUTTER CAKE 2. TROPICAL MANGO GOOEY BUTTER CAKE 3. RED VELVET GOOEY BUTTER CAKE
Gooey Lemon Butter Cake
Ingredients
For the Lemon Cake:
- 1 lemon cake mix
- 1½ teaspoons lemon zest
- 1 large egg
- 1 cup unsalted butter, melted
For the Filling:
- 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon lemon extract
- 1 cup butter, melted
- 16 ounces powdered sugar
Instructions
For the Cake:
- Preheat oven to 350°.
- Add the cake mix, lemon zest, egg, butter ,and cake mix to a medium mixing bowl.
- Mix until combined.
- Pat the cake mixture into the bottom of a lightly greased 9x13-inch baking pan.
For the Filling:
- In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese until smooth.
- Add the eggs, lemon extract ,and butter to a medium mixing bowl
- Beat until smooth and combined.
- Add the powdered sugar and mix well.
- Spread over cake batter and bake for 40 to 50 minutes.
- Make sure not to over bake as the center should be a little gooey.
- Cool on wire rack before cutting into squares.
Notes
MAKE AHEAD SOLUTIONS
GOOEY: For the BEST gooey texture, I recommend serving the cake warm out of the oven.
FIRM: Chill the cake for a few hours or overnight (like you would cheesecake).
STORAGE—REFRIGERATOR: Store in an airtight container or cake carrier for up to 3 days.
FREEZER: Slice cake, wrap the slices in parchment paper to prevent them from sticking together. Freeze up to 2 months.
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This sounds so easy, Sheryl!
It is Jamie! Perfect for picnics too! 🙂
How do I tell it’s done?
Hi Julie, You’ll be able to tell just by looking at it. The cake shouldn’t jiggle and lightly brown on top.
Perfect for my birthday. I don’t even want to know how many carbs. Insane but every once in a while, you need to throw common sense to the wind and enjoy!
So true Eve. 🙂
Sheryl, this is the yummiest looking cake. Oh my goodness!!!
Does it need to be refrigerated?
Hi Linda, I would refrigerate it after a few days.
Sheryl, do you use unsalted or salted butter for your Lemon Butter cake? I plan to make these for Easter, can’t wait to try them!
Hi Gabrielle, I use unsalted butter.
I made this today……but I used salted butter……tasted the batter…….ummmm good and tangy……
Hi Dorothy, I’m so glad you like the recipe. Thanks for commenting! 🙂
Can you use a round cake pan?
Hi Patti, As long as it holds as much as a 9×13 or maybe split the recipe into two pans?
We are having a Labor Day weekend dinner then go for a pontoon boat ride. These are perfect to take on the boat. Thanks for a great recipe!
Awesome Linda! Have Fun!
Is the crust crunchy?
Hi Julia, Maybe a little. It more of the texture of a lemon bar.
Is lemon juice e and lemon zest the same thing?
Hi Deborah, Lemon zest is the yellow (not white) part of the lemon peel.
Could I use the juice of the lemon instead of extract? Since I’m already zesting a lemon I thought I could do that perhaps? Thanks! 🙂
Hi Jane, You can but unfortunately fresh lemon does not offer as concentrated a flavor as lemon extract.
Sheryl, thank you so much for this! I absolutely love lemon, so this is a real treat for me. I also appreciate you giving us some ideas of what to serve this with.
Hi Kim, If you love lemon then you are going to love this recipe. It’s not only tasty it’s easy to make too!
I have made it for evening snacks. Preparation time is comparatively low and tasted yummy. I Will definitely make it again.
That’s Wonderful to hear Martha!
For the cake and filling you ask for 1 cup of melted butter for each a total of 4 sticks. Shouldn’t this be 1 stick which is a half a cup of butter for each?
Hi Lynda, No…you will need a total of 4 sticks of butter. Measuring 1 cup (2 sticks) for the cookie bottom and 1 cup (2 sticks) for the gooey topping.