Olive Garden Lemon Cream Cake Copycat

Today we are continuing to catch up with our Easter recipes. We tried out a copycat recipe for the Olive Garden Lemon Cream Cake. The verdict was it was very delicious, although not an exact match to the Olive Garden, but close enough to satisfy our needs. This cake gets a better flavor the longer it chills in the fridge. You may want to make this ahead of time and let it chill for a few hours before serving.

Overall the cake was a bit sweeter than the original. I noticed a few reviews remarking that the filling was too runny. Please take care to whip the heavy whipped cream until it reaches stiff peaks. If you do not beat it long enough it will cause your filling to be runny. I would recommend chilling your mixing bowl and beaters in the fridge before you beat the whipping cream. You want all of the elements to be nice and cold.

Some reviews have said that there wasn't enough crumb topping to coat the cake. For simplicity we only garnished the top of the cake with the crumb topping. Less hassle for us and I didn't mind that the sides of the cake weren't garnished. I dig the rustic look. If you are planning on using crumbs on the sides of the cake you might consider doubling the recipe for the crumb topping.

Notes: A cake leveler is perfect for a recipe like this. I recommend picking one up at the store. I love mine. The original recipe calls for raw flour to be used in the topping. You can toast the flour at 350f degrees for 10 minutes to make it safe to eat. I haven't tried this method out yet, but wanted to provide this option for those that are concerned about it.

Olive Garden Lemon Cream Cake Copycat
Makes one 10" round cake

• Cake:
• 1 white cake mix, prepared
• Filling:
• 8 oz. cream cheese, softened
• 2 cups powered sugar
• 1 cup heavy whipping cream, whipped to stiff peaks
• 3 tbsp. lemon juice
• Crumb Topping:
• 1/2 cup all purpose flour
• 1/2 cup powered sugar
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 4 tbsp. butter

1. Prepare cake as directed in a 10" round cake pan or a 10" round spring form pan.

2. Blend cream cheese, powered sugar, and lemon juice together. In a medium bowl, whip heavy whipping cream to stiff peaks. Gently fold into cream cheese mixture and blend by hand. Chill until ready to add to the cake.

3. Mix flour and powered sugar in small bowl. Crumble butter in and dribble in vanilla extract. The crumbles should be no larger than pea size. If you have trouble crumbling mixture, chill for a few minutes. Chill until needed.

4. After cake is cooled, cut in half. Spread cream cheese mixture, saving 1/2 cup, on bottom half and carefully place top layer back. Spread rest of cream cheese mixture on the sides of cake. Press crumb topping into sides gently. (We only added it to the top)

5. Chill for 3 hours. Cut into 12 slices.

Recipe from SparkRecipes.