Sweet 16 Lemon Cream Cake

We celebrated my daughter Morgan’s Sweet 16 Birthday this past weekend. I can’t believe she is 16 already! Where does the time go? Morgan has grown into such a lovely young woman with the kindest, most compassionate heart. She has truly been a blessing to our lives. Her request was for me to make her favorite cake from Olive Garden’s Lemon Cream Cake. We are a chocolate cake kind of family and this was an unusual request, but it’s her special day. I scoured the internet for the best copy cat recipe I could find and then I tweaked it a bit and made the most amazing Lemon Cream Cake ever! I’m going to warn you… it’s decadent! This is a very special cake you’ll want to make for a special occasion like Easter, a bridal or baby shower or a lady’s luncheon.

Lemon Cream Cake

Ingredients: 1 3/4 c. cake flour, 1 T baking powder, 1 tsp. salt, 1/2 c. sugar., 1/2 c. vegetable oil, 6 egg yolks, 3/4 c. water, 1 T lemon zest, 1/2 tsp. cream of tartar, 3/4 c. sugar, 6 egg whites, 1 c. heavy cream, 8 oz. cream cheese, 2 1/2 c. powdered sugar, 3 T lemon juice.

Lemon Sponge Cake: The first step should be to make the meringue which gets folded into the cake batter. Separate 6 eggs. Reserve the yolks for a later step. Place 6 egg whites into a a large bowl and start beating on high with an electric mixer. SLOWLY sprinkle in 1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar, and 3/4 cup sugar, adding the sugar a bit at a time. Whip the egg white mixture until stiff peaks form.

In a bowl combine these dry ingredients- 1 3/4 cup cake flour, 1 tablespoon baking powder, 1 tsp. salt, 1/2 cup sugar. In a separate bowl combine these wet ingredients-  1/2 cup vegetable oil, 6 egg yolks, 3/4 cup water, 1 tablespoon lemon zest.

With an electric mixer, combine the wet and dry ingredients then gently fold in the meringue. Pour batter into a non-greased 10” tube pan and bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour. Upon removing from oven, immediately flip the tube pan upside down to rest and cool on the pan’s feet or onto a bottle neck if your pan doesn’t have feet. Allow to completely cool. Run a knife around the edges before removing from pan. Slice cake horizontally into 3 even layers with dental floss or a very long serrated knife.

Lemon Cream Filling: One cup heavy cream, whipped, 8oz. softened cream cheese, 2 1/2 cups powdered sugar, 3 tablespoons lemon juice. With an electric mixer, whip the cream cheese, powdered sugar and lemon juice until well combined then fold in the whipped cream. Chill for 1/2 hour, then frost the bottom layer with 1/2 of the lemon filling, place on middle cake layer and frost with the rest of the filling. Place last cake layer on top and chill cake. Dust cake top with powdered sugar right before serving.

All the family and guests raved about the cake, even the non-lemon lovers loved it! We had a beautiful time celebrating her Sweet 16 and this cake was perfect for her special celebration! Happy Birthday Morgan, we love you!

Kim

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