Cheesecake Swirled Lemon Butter Cake

Published July 9, 2012. Updated March 29, 2024

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Cheesecake Swirled Lemon Butter Cake is where cheesecake collides with lemon butter cake and creates this rich, creamy, lemony, dense and irresistible cake that won’t easily be forgotten. This cake is full of that fresh, zesty lemon flavor and with its cheesecake combination its sure to satisfy that decadent dessert craving.

Lemon Butter Cake with Cheesecake Swirls

Cheesecake Swirled Lemon Butter Cake

I love to combine two things that I love individually to see if they’re even better together. I’m happy to report that mixing rich and creamy cheesecake with soft and sweet butter cake is AMAZING. The tangy lemon is an important addition that keeps this cake from being too rich and sweet, giving it a lot of freshness and depth of flavor. ]

This dessert will give you all of the summer vibes, and pairs perfectly with fresh fruit! I would serve this for a summertime barbecue or special occasion where you want a nice treat—but not a heavy one.

There are several ways to serve this cake which I listed below. You could even come up with your own variation, maybe something blueberry or coconut.

Anyway you serve this cake, at room temperature or chilled, with or without sweetened whipped cream or simply with a generous dusting of powdered sugar, I think you are really going to enjoy this recipe!

Cheesecake Swirled Lemon Butter Cake

The Best Lemon Desserts

Lemon is a flavor that can be loved or hated. Too sour and no one enjoys it. Too light and you don’t get the balance of sweet and tart! But a delicious lemon dessert will make you a #1 fan, I promise. Here are a few of my favorite lemon desserts:

I always lean toward lemon and fruity desserts during the summer months, but don’t worry—you can make these delicious lemon desserts all year round!

16 Quick & Easy 30 Minute Recipes! (plus weekly recipe updates)

Cheesecake Swirled Lemon Butter Cake

Cheesecake collides with lemon butter cake and creates this rich, creamy, lemony, dense and irresistible cake that won't easily be forgotten. This cake is full of that fresh, zesty lemon flavor and with its cheesecake combination its sure to satisfy that decadent dessert craving.
Servings: 10
Prep20 minutes
Cook35 minutes
Ready in: 55 minutes

Ingredients

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 325 degrees. In a mixing bowl, using an electric hand mixer on medium speed, whip together cream cheese and 1/3 cup granulated sugar until fluffy and smooth, about 2 minutes. Stir in sour cream and heavy cream. Add in egg yolk, 1 Tbsp lemon juice and 1 tsp lemon zest and mix until combine, set aside.
  • In a separate mixing bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt, set aside. In another mixing bowl, using an electric mixer, whip together butter and 2/3 cup granulated sugar until pale and fluffy. Stir in egg. Mix in sour cream, lemon juice, lemon zest and vanilla extract. Add in dry ingredients and mix just until combine. Pour cake batter into a buttered 9 inch springform pan and spread mixture into an even layer. Pour cream cheese mixture over cake batter layer and spread cream cheese mixture into an even layer (you don't need to swirl the cake, it did it on it's own while baking). Bake in preheated oven for 35 - 40 minutes until edges are golden and toothpick inserted into center comes out clean. Allow to cool before cutting into slices.
  • I tried serving and eating this a few different ways:
  • 1. Serve warm garnished with lots of powdered sugar
  • 2. Allow to cool at room temperature 30 minutes, then cover and chill 1 hour. Slice and serve with sweetened whipped cream and optional fresh raspberries.
  • 3. Allow to cool at room temperature 30 minutes, then cover and chill 1 hour. Slice and serve with raspberry sauce and sweetened whipped cream.

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12 Comments

  • Anonymous

    i made this a couple of times and everyone always loved it! today i made it again but for some reason the cream remained at the top instead of mixing and having the cake batter at the top.. why do you think that happened? i hope it tastes just as good! ill just dust it with sugar like always and hope it would still be fantastic!

    • Jaclyn

      Not sure why that would have happened. Maybe it had too much air in it so it didn’t want to sink, that’s just my uneducated guess =). Hopefully it was still delicious though!

  • Jaclyn

    Anonymous – I’m so glad to hear you enjoyed this! Thanks for leaving a comment!
    debhemm – no, unfortunately I don’t have the recipe for Maureen’s turtle cake. She’s a restaurant owner and she makes the perfect turtle cake. It is out of this world good, that’s why I say it’s the secret recipe of my dreams I don’t think anyone has it but her.

  • debhemm

    Do you have the recipe for the turtle cake? Sounds great. my son loves turtles, would love to try it

  • Anonymous

    i made this today and it was deliciousssssss. just sprinkled powdered sugar and it was good to go! i had to keep it in the oven a little longer and got a crispy top which made it even BETTER.

  • Jaclyn

    Maureen – thanks so much for your comment!! I can only dream of being a baker as amazing as you are! Your turtle cake is to die for! The secret recipe of my dreams =). Thanks again!

  • Maureen

    This was delish!!! We really enjoyed this for a family birthday dinner. Very light and refreshing!!
    Thank you Jaclyn for your yummy recipes. I love your blog!

  • Hi, I’m Janet!

    This looks absolutely delish! There is something about lemons in the summer that seem so right. Can’t wait to try!

  • Katie Mar

    mmmm i love the combination of sour and creamy. this looks divine!