Copycat Olive Garden Lemon Cream Cake
A light and creamy white cake (made from scratch), filled with a lemon-scented cream cheese mousse and covered in a lemony, vanilla crumb topping. This is easily one of my favorite cakes ever. It also happens to be a copycat of the (now discontinued) Lemon Cake from Olive Garden. So, if that was ever a favorite of yours, you’ll find a happy place in this cake.Â
- Yield: Makes one 9-inch cake 1x
Ingredients
For the Cake
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1 cup milk
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6 large egg whites
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3 teaspoons vanilla extract
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2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
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1 3/4 cups granulated sugar
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4 teaspoons baking powder
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3/4 teaspoon salt
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12 tablespoons unsalted, room temperature butter cut into small pieces
For the Crumb
- 2 cups oat flour or superfine almond meal (see note)
- 3 cups confectioner’s sugar
- Zest of one large lemon (about 1 heaping TBSP)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 8 tablespoons unsalted, room temperature butter, cut into small pieces
 For the Filling
- 1.5 cups heavy whipping cream
- 8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
- 2 cups confectioner’s sugar
- The juice of one large lemon (I do this to taste)
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste
Optional Serving Suggestion: fresh berries for topping
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Adjust the oven rack to the middle position. Thoroughly butter a 9-inch springform pan.
- To make the batter, whisk the egg whites in a medium bowl until frothy. Add the milk and vanilla. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer using the whisk attachment (or in a large mixing bowl, using a hand-held mixer) mix together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt until well-blended. Add the butter and mix for about 20 seconds to cut it in.Â
- Add half of the milk mixture and mix to combine. Add the rest of the milk mixture and mix/beat on high until smooth – about 15 seconds or so. Pour the batter into the greased pan and bake until lightly golden on top and done inside; about 40 to 45 minutes. NOTE: I also like to put a sheet pan underneath my baking cakes, to catch any drips or spills if that should ever occur. Also, if it starts to brown too quickly, just lay a big piece of foil over the cake until the inside is done. This will slow down the browning.Â
- Cool for at least 20 minutes in the pan before removing it. Cool completely before filling; takes about an hour or so.Â
- Meanwhile, prepare the crumb. In a mixing bowl, combine the oat flour or almond meal, confectioner’s sugar, lemon zest, and vanilla. Add the butter and, using a pastry blender, a fork, or your fingers, cut the butter into the dry ingredients until you have a coarse crumb. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before use.Â
- Make the filling: whip the cream on high to stiff peaks; about 2 minutes. Transfer to another bowl for now. Whip together the cream cheese, confectioner’s sugar, vanilla, and lemon juice. Fold the whipped cream into the cream cheese mixture, turning and gently mixing until smooth and combined.
- When the cake is totally cool, split it in half across the equator, creating a top and bottom. I use a large serrated knife for this. Place the bottom half on your cake plate and top with all but about 1 cup of the lemon cream, spreading it evenly. You’ll have a big, thick layer
- Place the top cake half on the filling and then frost with the remaining cream, creating a thin layer all around the edges and top of the cake.Â
- Lastly, cover the top and sides of the cake with the chilled crumb coating, pressing it into the sides. Slice and serve at room temperature. You can also chill a little, if you like. But I find that refrigerators are the enemy of cake – especially white cake.Â
Notes
Many recipes for this type of cake call for raw flour in the crumb. It is generally not considered a good idea to consume raw wheat flours, so I use oat flour instead. A superfine almond meal will work fine as well.Â
This cake will store, covered, at room temperature for up to 3 days. At that point, I never have any left, but if I do – I pop it in the fridge.