Lemon Crunch Cake
Lemon Crunch Cake is a soft lemon layer cake with tangy cream cheese frosting, a buttery crunch topping, and a white chocolate drizzle—bright, zesty, and crisp in every bite.
Ingredients
For the Cake:
- 2½ cups all-purpose flour
- 2½ tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 cup unsalted butter softened
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 4 large eggs
- 1 tbsp lemon zest
- ¼ cup lemon juice freshly squeezed
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 cup buttermilk
- For the Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting:
- 8 oz cream cheese softened
- ½ cup unsalted butter softened
- 3 cups powdered sugar
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tbsp lemon zest
For the Crunch Topping:
- 1 cup crushed vanilla wafer cookies or shortbread cookies
- 2 tbsp melted butter
- 2 tbsp brown sugar
- ½ tsp lemon zest
For the White Chocolate Drizzle:
- ½ cup white chocolate chips
- 1 tbsp heavy cream
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C). Grease and flour two 9-inch cake pans. In a bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt. In a separate large bowl, cream butter and sugar for 3 minutes until fluffy.
- Beat in eggs one at a time. Mix in lemon zest, lemon juice, and vanilla. Alternate adding the flour mixture and buttermilk, stirring just until blended. Divide batter evenly into pans.
- Bake for 25–30 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool in pans for 10 minutes, then transfer to wire racks to cool completely.
- Beat cream cheese and butter until smooth. Slowly add powdered sugar, mixing on low, then beat on medium-high until fluffy. Stir in lemon juice, lemon zest, and vanilla. Chill for 10–15 minutes if too soft.
- Mix crushed cookies, melted butter, brown sugar, and lemon zest in a bowl. Spread on a baking sheet and bake at 350°F (175°C) for 5–7 minutes until golden. Let cool completely.
- Place one cake layer on a serving plate and spread with frosting. Add the second layer and frost the top and sides evenly. Press cooled crunch topping onto the top of the cake.
- Melt white chocolate chips with heavy