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+ servings
A lemon crunch cake on a cake stand.

Lemon Crunch Cake

This delicious dessert recipe is well worth making. The yellow cake is decorated with fluffy frosting as well as crumbled homemade caramel pieces for crunch.
Prep Time:15 minutes
Cook Time:35 minutes
Chilling Time:2 hours
Total Time:2 hours 50 minutes
Servings:10 slices

Ingredients

For the cake:

  • ½ cup canola oil
  • ¼ teaspoon cream of tartar
  • 18 ounces yellow cake mix
  • 3 eggs separated
  • ¾ cup water
  • 1 teaspoon lemon extract

For the frosting:

  • 2 teaspoons baking soda
  • 2 cups heavy cream whipped
  • 1 ½ cups granulated sugar
  • ½ teaspoon lemon extract
  • cup water
  • ¼ cup confectioners' sugar
  • ¼ cup light corn syrup

Instructions

For the cake:

  • Grease and flour 2 8-inch layer pans.
  • Empty a package of yellow cake mix in a large bowl, creating a well in the center.
  • Beat in 1 teaspoon lemon extract, ½ cup canola oil, ¾ cup water, and egg yolks, for about a minute, until smooth.
  • In a separate bowl, beat together ¼ teaspoon cream of tartar and egg whites until stiff peaks form.
  • Fold in egg yolk mixture gradually until just blended.
  • Pour into prepared pans and bake for 30 to 35 minutes at 350 F.
  • Once done, let them cool and split each cake into 2 layers.
  • Frost both cake layers with lemon crunch frosting.

For the frosting:

  • Combine 1-½ cups sugar, ¼ cup light corn syrup, and ⅓ cup water in a heavy saucepan. Stir cook until a small drop of mixture separates into hard brittle threads in cold ice water.
  • Turn off heat and stir in baking-soda mixture quickly until foamy.
  • Pour batter onto an 8 by 12-inch buttered cookie sheet and spread to ¼-inch thickness. Let it cool.
  • Break into pieces before crushing into crumbs.
  • Combine together ¼ cup confectioners' sugar, ½ teaspoon lemon extract, and 2 cups heavy cream in a large bowl and mix well until blended.
  • Spread the middle of cake layers with half of the sweetened whipped cream and the remainder on the sides and top.
  • Sprinkle sides and top with crushed candy.
  • Garnish with slices of lemon and refrigerate for 2 to 3 hours.

Notes

  • Make sure the cakes are completely cool before cutting and frosting.
  • It’s important to beat the egg whites and cream of tartar well. It will take about four minutes with an electric whisk to get stiff peaks.
  • Candied lemons make a wonderful decoration. To make these, cook a finely sliced lemon with a cup each of water and sugar on the stove for about 40 minutes. Let them dry overnight on parchment paper.

Nutrition

Calories: 534kcal | Carbohydrates: 56g | Protein: 7g | Fat: 34g | Saturated Fat: 13g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 151mg | Sodium: 520mg | Potassium: 169mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 37g | Vitamin A: 899IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 150mg | Iron: 1mg