Just Like Olive Garden's Lemon Cream Cake

Just Like Olive Garden's Lemon Cream Cake

Just Like Olive Garden's Lemon Cream Cake

Just Like Olive Garden's Lemon Cream Cake

If you've ever had Olive Garden's sweet confection, the Italian Lemon Cream Cake, you know how delicious it is. Just Like Olive Garden's Lemon Cream Cake recipe lets you make this delightful recipe at home! This recipe shows you how to make a lovely lemon cake completely from scratch, so you know it's going to taste amazing. As an added bonus, you can boast about your talents in the kitchen to all your friends. It's more than likely that once they try a piece, they'll be asking you to make this cake all the time. We can guarantee this recipe is top-notch because we made it in our test kitchen. Fair warning: there will not be any leftover, so make sure to grab a slice while you can and enjoy the fruits of your labor!

Serves: 12

Ingredients For the Cake:

6 eggs, separated
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon cream of tarter
3/4 cup water
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 1/2 tablespoon lemon zest, divided
1 3/4 cup cake flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
For the Filling:
1 cup whipping cream
8 ounces cream cheese at room temperature
2 1/2 cups powered sugar
3 tablespoons lemon juice
1/4 cup powdered sugar and fresh lemon slices for garnish

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Have a 10-inch, straight-sided tube pan  ready but un-greased.
Separate eggs, setting aside the yolks, and whip the whites in an electric mixer until foamy. Slowly add the sugar and cream of tarter and continue to whip on high until the beater leaves distinct tracks and glossy, stiff peaks form, about 3 minutes. Set aside.
Combine water, vegetable oil and 1 tablespoon of the lemon zest with the reserved egg yolks.
Place the cake flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in a large bowl, and stir with a whisk or fork to combine well.
Using an electric mixer, begin by mixing the wet ingredients until combined, then slowly add the dry ingredients with the machine running. Stop and scrape down the sides completely and continue until everything is well mixed.
Fold together the batter with the egg white mixture just until there are no large swirls of the yellow egg mixture it does not have to be completely mixed.
Spoon batter into the cake pan and bake for 1 hour, until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Immediately turn the cake in the pan upside down and either rest it on the pans tabs or set it on top of a bottle neck until completely cool, about an hour.
While cake is cooling, prepare the filling: Use an electric mixer to whip the cream to firm peaks. In another bowl, whip the cream cheese until it is smooth. Add the lemon juice and zest, then slowly add the powdered sugar until completely mixed. Fold together the cream cheese mixture with the whipped cream and chill for 30 minutes before assembling the cake.
When cake has cooled, use a table knife to run around the edges and the tube to loosen the cake, then tip it out onto a large plate. Use a serrated knife to cut the cake horizontally into 3 layers. Spread the filling between the layers and chill the cake.
Before serving, top the cake with sifted powdered sugar and lemon slices, if desired