Italian Lemon Cream Cake Recipe

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While Italian cuisine tends to be known for its tomatoes, basil, and mozzarella, there’s an ingredient known well in Italy that also deserves recognition. Lemons, grown in Southern Italy along the Amalfi Coast and the Sorrento Peninsula, are used widely in drinks, pastas, and dessert. The hot summers of the Mediterranean provide the perfect climate for the tangy citrus, and paired with the proximity to the sea, has caused the fruit to become prominent in the country’s cuisine. Beyond a squeeze over seaside fritto misto or crispy milanese, lemon is widely known for its use in limoncello, lemon delights, and pasta al limone.

Italian lemon cream cake is a dessert made with the fresh flavors of Italy, with bright, tangy lemon in every buttery layer. In this Italian lemon cream cake recipe written with developer Michelle McGlinn, the cake’s buttermilk base is filled with lemon flavor and stacked with a layer of mascarpone cream swirled in between. Topped with buttery, airy-soft vanilla crumble, the cake is a perfect balance of textures bursting with lemon in every bite. A sweet way to taste the fresh flavors of the Italian coast, this lemon cream cake is the perfect summer indulgence.

For both the crumble and the cake base, you’ll need cake flour, which has a lower gluten-protein content than all-purpose flour. Cake flour is used to make fluffier, more crumbly desserts like cake and sugar cookies, whereas all-purpose is better for doughs that require density and more structure. For the flour you’ll use for the crumble, it should either be baked before making the crumble itself, or baked after all crumble ingredients are already combined, like a streusel. We’ll touch more on how you can prep the crumble flour in the FAQ below. 

From there, you’ll also need baking powder, salt, egg whites, buttermilk, both granulated and powdered sugar, butter, vanilla, heavy cream, mascarpone, and plenty of lemons. In total, you’ll need four lemons for this recipe, which you can zest before slicing and juicing.

Preheat the oven to 350 F.

Grease two 9-inch round cake pans, then line with parchment and grease again.

Begin the cake: Sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.

In a separate bowl, whisk the egg whites and buttermilk until combined.

In a large bowl, combine the sugar and lemon zest, massaging with your hands to incorporate the lemon oils into the sugar.

Add the butter to the bowl with the sugar and beat until light and fluffy, about 2 to 3 minutes.

Add the vanilla and ½ cup of the flour mixture into the butter/sugar mixture and beat to combine.

Alternate between the eggs and the flour, incorporating each slowly into the large bowl. Beat until completely combined.

Transfer the cake batter to the cake pans and bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Let cakes cool slightly, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Begin the mascarpone cream: Whip the heavy cream to soft peaks using an electric whisk or stand mixer.

In a separate bowl, beat the mascarpone, powdered sugar, lemon juice, and zest until smooth.

Fold the whipped cream into the mascarpone mixture. Set aside.

To make the cake crumbles, add the (pre-baked) flour, powdered sugar, vanilla extract, and lemon zest to a food processor and pulse to combine.

Add the butter and pulse until mixture looks crumbled.

To build the cake, first trim the cakes flat, if needed. Spread half of the mascarpone cream onto one cake, then top with the other cake.

Spread the remaining mascarpone cream across the top, then the sides of the cake until cake is thinly frosted.

Sprinkle the crumbles on top of the cake.

To finish, sift powdered sugar across the top of the cake. Slice and serve.

Making whipped cream by hand is tiring, but far from difficult. To do so, you’ll need a cold bowl and a whisk. Vigorously whisk the cream in a circular motion until it thickens into a whipped cream consistency — this can take up to 10 minutes, depending on the temperature of the bowl and the speed of your whisking. Using a balloon whisk can help make this process faster, the bulbous shape meant for incorporating more air into the cream. Once the cream is whipped to soft peaks, do the same with the mascarpone, using a spatula to beat the cheese and sugar together until soft. Once the two are individually combined, you can fold them into one another – and give your arms a much needed rest.

Making the cake crumbles by hand is a little less work. You’ll first need to soften the butter slightly so that it is workable by hand, then add all of the ingredients to a bowl, including the butter. Using gloves, combine the flour, sugar, vanilla, lemon, and butter until the mixture is shaggy. Shake the bowl to round the pieces into crumbles. Repeat as needed, being sure not to overwork the butter into a paste.

The crumble, like a streusel, is meant to be a textural topping on the cake. Typically streusel toppings are cooked to remove the raw flour flavor and brown the pieces into a golden topping. This recipe calls for using pre-treated flour since it is recommended to cook flour before consuming. Fortunately, it’s easy to cook flour to make it suitable for turning into an edible crumble, and it really can be as easy as baking the flour in an oven for just a few minutes.

The first way to cook the crumble is to heat treat the flour alone. Spread the flour on a baking sheet and bake in the preheated oven for 5 minutes, being careful not to burn. Then, simply combine with the remaining ingredients and crumble. This will provide the same buttery, flavor and fluffy texture. To cook the crumble like a streusel, first combine all of the ingredients until small pieces form, then spread across a baking sheet and bake until browned. This topping will be more crunchy with a nutty, caramelized flavor and golden color, which can be covered with powdered sugar.