This Lemon Cream Cheese Swirl Cake is a moist lemon loaf with cheesecake filling and topped with a delicious lemon glaze.
Lemon Loaf with Cream Cheese Swirl
This simple and easy-to-make dessert is so good and has always been a favorite of mine. It is something I constantly whipped up for friends and family at brunches, birthday parties, picnics, and more. It is a sweet, moist, creamy, and slightly sour delight that everyone will enjoy.
You will also love our Starbucks Copycat Lemon Loaf and Lemon Cream Cheese Coffee Cake recipes.
Key Ingredients You’ll Need
Lemon: You will need lemon cake mix, lemon instant pudding mix, and freshly-squeezed lemon juice.
Cream cheese: This will be added to make the cheesecake filling that is swirled into the dessert. You can use low-fat if you prefer, but do not use fat free.
Sugar: You will need granulated sugar for the batter and powdered sugar for the lemon glaze.
Flour: I like to use all-purpose flour for the best results. This will be used in the cream cheese filling.
How To Make Lemon Loaf with Cream Cheese
Step 1. Set the oven to 350 degrees. Use a non-stick baking spray to lightly grease a 9-inch loaf pan. Add the cake mix, dry pudding mix, water, oil, and 3 eggs into a large bowl and combine well with a whisk. Add the cream cheese, 1 egg, sugar, vanilla, and flour into a medium bowl, and combine with a whisk until smooth.
Step 2. Place half the batter into the prepared pan. Add all of the cheesecake mixtures on top before adding the rest of the cake batter on top. Place in the oven for 45-50 minutes until a toothpick placed in the middle comes out clean. Allow the bread to cool for 10 minutes before using a knife to loosen the pan. Take it out gently and place it on a wire rack to cool thoroughly.
Step 3. Place the powdered sugar and lemon juice into a small bowl and combine until thick and smooth. Add on top of the cooled cake, slice, serve, and enjoy!
Variations For Lemon Cream Cheese Cake
You can use some of the suggestions below to make this amazing recipe even better.
- Try using vanilla pudding instead of lemon.
- Flavor the glaze on top by adding some vanilla bean paste.
- Add poppy seeds to the batter to make this lemon poppy seed loaf.
Tips & Tricks
- I prefer using a Large Loaf Pan for this recipe. You can use two smaller pans for two small loafs instead.
- Don’t worry if the cheesecake swirl doesn’t come out the best every time, each one will vary, but will be just as delicious.
- Place leftovers in an airtight container and store in the fridge.
Can I Freeze Lemon Cream Cheese Cake?
Yes! If you want to make a double batch and save another loaf, store it in the freezer. To freeze the loaf, first, let it cool completely. Next, wrap the baked cake in a layer of plastic wrap and place it in the freezer for a couple of hours. Once partially frozen, wrap it in another layer of aluminum foil. Label and date the outside; it can be frozen for up to 2-3 months.
More Lemon Recipes:
Lemon Cream Cheese Swirl Cake
Ingredients
- 1 15.25 oz box lemon cake mix
- 1 3.4 oz box lemon instant pudding
- 1 cup water
- ½ cup vegetable oil
- 4 eggs divided
- 6 oz. cream cheese softened
- ¼ cup sugar
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
- 3 Tbsp flour
Glaze
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- Juice half a lemon
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly spray a bread loaf pan with non-stick spray. In a large bowl whisk together the cake mix, dry pudding mix, water, oil, and 3 eggs until well combined.
- In a medium bowl combine the cream cheese, 1 egg, sugar, vanilla, and flour. Whisk together until smooth.
- Pour half of the lemon batter into the loaf pan. Pour all of the cream cheese mixtures on top of the lemon cake batter. Pour the remaining cake batter on top of the cream cheese mixture.
- Bake for 45 to 50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes; run a butter knife around the edge of the pan to loosen it. Carefully remove the cake from the pan and onto a cooling rack to cool completely.
Make the glaze.
- Combine the powdered sugar with the juice from half a lemon. The glaze will be thick, but that is okay. Pour the glaze over the cake. Slice and serve!