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Lemon Cheesecake Cake

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Lemon cake layers filled with a vanilla cheesecake makes an impressive holiday cake.

 My husband likes to push my buttons and get me all worked up.  And he usually succeeds before I realize that he is just joking.  This weekend we hosted a dinner for our church’s praise team.  While we discussed our dinner menu, my dear hubby made a comment about buying dessert.  That just got me going because I already had plans to make this lemon cheesecake cake.

 “WHAT?  Are you kidding me?  I love to make dessert and there is no way I can show my face if we buy a store dessert.”

Then I looked at him and realized he was grinning.  He knows I will never let him buy dessert because I have way too much fun playing in the kitchen with sugar.  

Lemon cake layers filled with a vanilla cheesecake makes an impressive holiday cake.

 Last week I was talking to Aimee and telling her about the lasagna dinner we were hosting.  I knew that I wanted to make some sort of cheesecake, but I just wasn’t sure which one to try next.  She convinced me that I needed to try my hand at a cheesecake cake instead.  We talked some more about different flavors, and then she suggested Lemon.  For some reason I never make lemon desserts.  Not that I don’t like them, I just never think to make them.  This blog needs some more lemon I think.

Lemon cake layers filled with a vanilla cheesecake makes an impressive holiday cake.

This cake was such a show stopper!    Gotta love that new Cool Whip frosting.  It was the perfect light frosting for the lemon flavor.

This cake was so easy to decorate too.  I used a decorating bag and metal tip #12 to pipe on circles of frosting from top to bottom.  Then I used the back of a spoon to spread the frosting out.  You will need to do this one row at a time.  After you spread out one row, then you can pipe the next row of circles.  Repeat until you have covered the entire cake.  Pipe more circles on the top of the cake and add fresh raspberries for some color.  (you could also use blueberries, if you like those better.)  For more information on this decorating style, visit here.

Lemon cake layers filled with a vanilla cheesecake makes an impressive holiday cake.

I totally recommend making a cheesecake cake for your next big dinner party.  It’s so fun to watch it disappear 🙂

 

Yield: 16 slices

Lemon Cheesecake Cake

Lemon Cheesecake Cake
Lemon cake layers filled with a vanilla cheesecake and topped with Cool Whip frosting
Prep Time 1 hour
Cook Time 2 hours 15 minutes
Total Time 3 hours 15 minutes

Ingredients

For the Cheesecake

  • 3 - 8 ounce packages cream cheese, softened
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 cup sour cream
  • 3 eggs
  • 1 Tablespoon vanilla

For the Lemon Cake

  • 2 lemon supreme cake mixes
  • 8 eggs
  • 2 cups buttermilk
  • 2/3 cup lemon juice
  • 2 - 3.4 ounce instant lemon pudding mixes
  • 2/3 cup oil

For the Frosting

  • 2 - 3.4 ounce instant vanilla pudding mixes
  • 2 cups milk
  • 2 - 8 ounce containers Cool Whip, thawed

Instructions

For the Cheesecake layer

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place a large sheet pan on the very bottom rack and fill halfway with water.
  2. Line a 10 inch springform pan with parchment paper.
  3. Beat the cream cheese and sugar until fluffy. Add in the sour cream, eggs, and vanilla and beat until creamy.
  4. Pour into pan. Bake for 45 minutes. Cool on a wire rack for 5 minutes, then run a knife around the edges. Leave in pan and cool for 1 hour, then refrigerate and chill for 4-6 hours.

For the Cake

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour 2 - 10"x2" round cake pans.
  2. In a mixing bowl combine cake mix, eggs, buttermilk, lemon juice, pudding, and oil. Beat for 1 minute on low, and then 2 minutes on medium.
  3. Pour evenly into prepared pans. Bake for 42-44 minutes. Cool in the pan for 15 minutes and then flip onto a wire rack to cool completely.
  4. Whisk together the pudding and milk. Refrigerate 5 minutes. Fold in Cool Whip. Stir until creamy.
  5. To assemble the cake, level both lemon cakes. Place one cake on a plate and smooth on a thin layer of frosting.
  6. Place the cheesecake on top. If the layers don't match up you can use a knife to very carefully remove the sides of the cheesecake to fit. Smooth a thin layer of cool whip frosting on top of the cheesecake.
  7. Place the last cake layer on top of the cheesecake. Smooth the Cool Whip frosting over the top and sides of the cake. Decorate with fresh raspberries if desired. Keep refrigerated.
© Jocelyn @ Inside BruCrew Life
Cuisine: American / Category: Cakes & Cupcakes

Lemon cake layers filled with a vanilla cheesecake makes an impressive holiday cake.

Want more fun Cheesecake ideas?  Check out these links:

Key Lime Cheesecake Cookie Bars from BruCrew Life
Chocolate Peppermint Cheesecake Cake from Shugary Sweets
Cheesecake Caramel Pumpkin Cups from Something Swanky
Butterfinger Mousse Cheesecake Cups from BruCrew Life

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Comments

    • What I love most about this lemon cake is how light the lemon is…I am not crazy about sour things and this is very refreshing!

      Reply

  6. Wow is this cake gorgeous! And I love lemon anything… Amazing recipe! I might just be trying this cheesecake cake business!! 🙂

    Reply

    • Thanks girl!!! You definitely need to try this decorating style…so easy. I added a link to the post showing it step by step.

      Reply

    • I am starting to embrace the lemon a little bit more too!! And man, I sure wish we were neighbors…think of all the fun we would have:-)

      Reply

  12. This cake is stunningly gorgeous, Jocelyn! How did you know lemon cake is one of my favorites? 🙂 there’s a dessert diner here in Sacramento that has the most gorgeous cakes and pies and your cake looks like it could be in their glass window! And their lemon cheesecake torte happens to be my all-time fave, and this looks even better! I am going to have to start brainstorming my own flavor combinations to try after I try the lemon–SO delish!

    Reply

  14. That is a STUNNING cake! I rarely make lemon desserts either, mainly because my husband always requests something chocolate – but this looks so beautiful and I adore cheesecake cakes!

    Reply

  15. aimee – the queen of layered cheesecake/cakes! i’m’ glad you tried your hand at one, Jocelyn – a lemon variety is wonderful. lemon flavored desserts are one of my favorite flavors – sometimes more than peanut butter! it’s true. All those beautiful layers – you really did a beautiful job here!

    Reply

  18. My mouth is seriously watering right now. For some reason lemon anything sounds DELICIOUS. Maybe it’s because I went overboard on the chocolate and peppermint this weekend?! Even if I wasn’t craving lemon like its my job, this recipe looks amazing. I love how beautiful it is. And the lemon cake layers with a layer of cheesecake in the middle is brilliant. YUMM 🙂

    Reply

  33. My husband would be all over this cake! He loves lemon desserts. I’m the same way about taking desserts to functions. Unless I’m lying in bed unable to move, there will be homemade sweets heading out the door. Baking is so much fun!

    Reply

  37. Mmm, this looks delicious. Something the Cheesecake Factory would serve!

    And I have one of those men in my house too. I usually know when he’s trying to wind me up and ignore him but once in a while I’ll get in a tizzy and then notice him smirking.

    Reply

  40. I can’t wait to make this cake for the Christmas dessert table. Also, I would like your lasagna recipe. My sister in law made the best lasagna and I never asked for the recipe because she was always making one for us. She is no longer with us and I will never get the chance now to ask her for it.

    Reply

  41. This really looks marvelous!! We have a baker at our annual Holiday Market (Knoxville) who makes a Red Velvet Cheesecake Layer Cake!! Very popular. 🙂

    Reply

  43. Jocelyn,
    You’ve just combined two of my all time favorite flavors ~ Lemon and Cheesecake! This is gorgeous. Thanks for sharing at Creative Thursday 🙂 Have a great week.
    Michelle

    Reply

  44. So, my Mom saw this on my Pinterest board, and now she’s requesting it for her 70th birthday party, this Friday! But… I am unfamiliar with Cool Whip frosting. Where does one find this item? Ideas or suggestions, please?

    Reply

    • I bought the Cool Whip frosting at Walmart in the freezer aisle. It is right next to the regular Cool Whip. Let me know if you have any other questions.

      Reply

  46. Love it.. I will I could dig in this cake right now…
    I really wanted an opinion from u also all these ladies here… Which cake brand u prefer… Pills bury? Betty Crocker ! Or Duncan?
    As Betty says pudding in the mix included that’s why m confused if I can add more pudding in it.. Please help me.. Need advise

    Reply

  47. I absolutely LOVE anything lemon… especially cake!! What a perfect idea to combine the lemon cake with cheesecake! I just planted 4 raspberry bushes and 16 blueberry bushes, so I could try it with either berry combination, but I don’t think I can wait till mine put out berries, I may have to pick some up at the grocery and make this wonderful treat this weekend!! =)

    Reply

  48. Oh, this looks like a great cake for all the upcoming summer BBQs. I noticed that you didn’t specify the box size of the cake mixes. Can I assume that they were 18.25 oz. each? Sometime in the last year or so, the cake mix manufacturers have downsized the volume of their cake mixes by as much as 3 oz. which can certainly change the way a doctored cake mix recipe will come out. I’d love to make this and will buy an extra cake mix to weigh out if necessary to get to 36.5 oz. but just need to know if I have to do that to get the same results. Just discovered your blog and am enjoying browsing!

    Reply

    • This could definitely be made in a 9×13 pan. Bake the cake mixes according to the package directions. The cheesecake can be baked in the 9×13 pan lined with parchment paper for approximately 30-40 minutes…sorry I can’t give you an exact time because I didn’t make it that way. Let me know how it works for you.

      Reply

  50. Is it possible to use whiopped cream and not cool whip? Will it be stiff enough to hold up? Cool whip is not good for us. If you read the label you will see it is full of chemicals. If you leave it out for days it won’t melt or change shape. It doesn’t mold either.

    Reply

    • You can try the whipped cream if that’s what you like. I’m not sure it would hold up long enough for the cake to be eaten. You could also use your favorite vanilla frosting if you would like that instead. I happen to love Cool Whip and so that’s why I use it 🙂

      Reply

  53. Such a delicious looking cake. I am going to try to attempt this cake for Thanksgiving this year. I loooooove lemon and cheesecake! Fingers crossed it turns out and everyone loves it! Thanks for sharing such a yummy dessert!

    Reply

  54. Thank you! Thank you! My husband hosted a Holiday dinner for work at our house and I made this fantastic dessert. It went wonderfully with his home-made lasagna. Everyone went crazy for it!

    Reply

  55. I didn’t read all the comments, so not sure if this question was asked. A whole box of cake mix plus the pudding seems like an awful lot for a single round cake layer. It doesn’t overflow the pan?

    Reply

    • As long as you use the right size pan it will not over flow your pan. The biggest thing to make sure of is the height of the pan…it needs to be 2 inches high. (I use Wilton cake pans) If you pan is shorter, use half the batter and shorter bake time. Then repeat with the remaining batter.

      Reply

  57. There’s no recipe for the cool whip frosting…are you using this one:

    4 ounce/115g box instant vanilla pudding mix, dry
    1/4 cup powdered sugar, sifted
    1 cup milk
    8 ounces/225g Cool Whip

    Reply

  58. I cannot find Cool Whip frosting anywhere. The clerk at Walmart said they do not carry it anymore nor does Food Lion & she mentioned other stores that do not carry it anymore. Any suggestions for frosting or a place to buy Cool Whip Frosting? I went to target as well….no luck.

    Reply

    • That’s pretty interesting because I have seen it in the frozen aisle at my stores. But if you can’t find it, try mixing 1 cup milk with 1 small box pudding, then fold in one container Cool Whip. This should make a similar frosting that you can spread on the cake.

      Reply

    • Yes, you can use 1 pudding whisked into 1 cup milk and an 8 ounce container of Cool Whip. I need to change this recipe now that they don’t make the Cool Whip frosting. Thanks for the reminder to do that. I hope you enjoy the cake!

      Reply

  60. This looks amazing! It also looks huge! Have you ever made it by halving the recipe? Like with only 1 box of cake mix, 1 or 2 blocks of cream cheese, etc.? Any suggestions for trying this? Thanks!

    Reply

    • I have never made it any smaller. This one was made for a group dinner, so bigger was better. You could also just make one cake mix and cut it in half after baking to layer the cheesecake in. It would be shorter that way.

      Reply

  61. I have made this one time before and lost the recipe. It had a dream whip recipe for the frosting. Do you still have that? I see it says discontinued under the notes!

    Reply

  62. As a Wilton Instructor, I just wanted to mention that you can decorate this cake with just a very large writing tip. After piping on a dot, pull sideways with the tip. It saves having to stop and use something else to pull the dots sideways.

    Reply

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