This Lemon Bar Magic Cake has three gorgeous layers of deliciousness in one super easy cake!
Ok, let’s talk about these layers.
First of all, if you haven’t checked out my original Pumpkin Magic Cake (and it’s chocolate sister), then you haven’t seen the beauty of these magic cakes!
You start off with a basic box cake mix. For this one I went ahead and used a French Vanilla flavor.
Then I whipped up the ingredients needed for a deliciously tart and sweet lemon bar.
Super simple – eggs, sugar, lemon zest, lemon juice and just a touch of flour.
Then you pour this over the top of that French Vanilla cake mix and bake it!
The magic happens during the baking process. The lemon bar filling slowly sinks to the bottom, while the cake bakes to the top! You’re left with two perfectly even layers of lemon bar and fluffy cake!
Now let’s make a super simple, lemon infused frosting!
All you need are three ingredients – lemon pudding mix, milk and cool whip. Whisk together the pudding mix and milk, then fold in the cool whip and your frosting is done!
If you’re a lemon fan, you’re going to absolutely LOVE this cake!
Of course we could have made an actual lemon cake rather than a French Vanilla cake, but I didn’t want to overpower the dessert with too much lemon. As it stands, this is perfection.
The lemon bar filling on the bottom is perfectly sweet and tart with a moist and fluffy cake and creamy lemon infused frosting on top. It’s a party in your mouth!
Bring this cake to your next get together and watch it disappear!
I mean, doesn’t everyone just love lemon desserts?
This will be one that NO ONE has ever seen before!
What other flavors of Magic Cake would you like to see? Let me know in the comments!
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Lemon Bar Magic Cake
Ingredients
- 1 French Vanilla cake mix, plus ingredients needed to make - eggs, oil, water
For the Lemon Bar Filling:
- 2 cups sugar
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 4 eggs
- 2 lemons , zest
- 3/4 cup lemon juice, about 4 lemons
For the Frosting:
- 1.4 oz sugar free instant lemon pudding mix
- 1 cup milk, cold
- 8 oz Cool Whip, thawed
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease a 9x13" cake pan and set aside.
- Prepare the cake mix according to package instructions and pour into the prepared cake pan. DO NOT BAKE, set aside.
- Combine the 2 cups sugar, flour, eggs, lemon zest and lemon juice in a bowl and whisk together until sugar is dissolved. Pour over the prepared cake mix. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
- Let the cake cool completely before frosting! Whisk together the lemon pudding mix with the cold milk until smooth and thickened (about 2 minutes), then fold in the thawed Cool Whip, until fully combined.
- Spread the frosting over the cake and enjoy right away or chill, covered, in the fridge until ready to serve. Enjoy!
Video
Nutrition
Cajun Turkey Avocado Wraps
Zehra
Made this for the 4th time! Always a hit! But with the 1 cup of flour in the lemon bar portion, the texture was different and not to my liking. Can you let me know what the original recipe had for the amount of flour?
Thanks!!
Jen
This looks amazing!! Could I use a box mix for the lemon filling?
Shawn
I haven’t tried it with a box mix, so I can’t be sure how it would work.
Vanessa
Thanks for sharing! Do they keep long?
Suzanne
These look so good! Do you use this frosting recipe in any other cakes?
Jennifer isley
I’d love to see a strawberry magic cake or peach magic cake or banana magic cake oh yes lemon blueberry and raspberry vanilla magic cake
Shawn
Great ideas! I’ll have to get working on them! 🙂
Catherine Moffitt
Can you make a carrot magic cake
Kathy
Chocolate on butterscotch would be yummy
Shawn
Great idea!
Vickie
Does the cake store well? I would like to make it today and serve it tomorrow.
Shawn
Sorry I’m getting back to you so late Vickie, but yes, you can make the day before and serve the following day. Just make sure to refrigerate the cake. Enjoy!
Wen
I haven’t tried the recipe. Overpowering with too much lemon is an impossibilityx
Susan
Can this be made into a layered cake? Would love to use my heart shaped cake pans for my lemon loving Valentine. Thanks.
Shawn
I haven’t tried it this way, but I would line the bottom of the cake pans with parchment paper to easily remove from the pan.
Barbara Allen
What the heck happened? I had no magic layer on the bottom. I just poured it on top of the cake mix I didn’t stir it. Its very dry and there is no lemon layer on the bottom. What could have happened?
Shawn
I’m not sure what happened? Is it possible you missed an ingredient or two in the instructions?
Deb
Would this work in a Bundt pan with the lemony layer on the top once turned out?
Debbie Romero
It sounds like you poured the lemon batter over dry cake mix like a dump cake. The cake is to be made as a regular cake but not baked till the lemon mixture is added
fab
wowwwwwwwww look amazing
may I reduce sugar a half?
thanks
Lori
I would LOVE to see a chocolate version. Chocolate on chocolate!!!
Susan Panter
What is lemon pudding mix please
Shawn
You can find lemon pudding mix in the baking isle or on amazon here: http://amzn.to/2v9m2o3
gina
Great Recipe!! I fix this cake today and my family loved it!! Thanks!
Rene
For the lemon bar filling, do you thinkyou could double it to make more of a saucy cake?
Linda
You asked what other flavours we would like to see…… I love chocolate but pumpkin not so much….. So how about a black forest (chocolate and cherries) or a Dusty Rose (Chocolate and Strawberries) Or even just chocolate and chocolate (I am a chocoholoic and would DIE for this option…. lol
jackie
4 lemons dont add up to 3/4 cup of juice is ths right
Sarah Fischer-Tubbs
Can I use a classic lemon curd in place of the bar filling you made? Or does it need flour in it for the layering? I have a ton of lemon curd left from a party and this family is lemon bar-ed out!
Shawn
Hi Sarah, The flour in the lemon bar layer is crucial for helping it to set up. You might try stirring in the 1/2 the flour to the lemon curd and pouring that over the top? Hope that helps!
Dianne
What will substitute for Cool Whip? Not available in Australia. Thanks
Shawn
You can use whipped cream! 🙂
Kim Baumgart
I haven’t tried this yet, and I don’t usually post something before trying because I want to read people’s experience with the recipe not that it looks good. By the way, it really does and I have NO doubt about it taskting heavenly. But what I really wanted to say is I LOVE your site name. It reminds me of many, many evenings doing dishes with my Dad.
Shawn
Oh thanks Kim! I hope you enjoy the recipe! 🙂
Abby
Can you use a lemon cake mix instead of the French vanilla
Toni
Hi can I use normal ingredients instead of French vanilla cake mix .
Carol
Is one cup of flour correct just seems like a lot.
Shawn
Hi Carol, yup! It’s 1 cup!
Laurel O'Shea
THE RECipe calls for one cup of flour in the lemon filling, while the illustrated instructions say a “touch ” of flour. Is one cup correct?
Shawn
Hi Laurel, Yes the recipe should have a cup of flour in it. Since I first published the recipe I have revised it to make it better. 🙂
Pamela Jane Bradley
On the Lemon Bar Magic Cake do you use all-purpose flour for the filling?
Shawn
You’ll use all purpose flour for this one! 🙂
Vicky
Can I ask what pudding mix is and also cool whip? Uk doesn’t sell it .
Desperate to give this a go it looks so good.
Ellen Lockwood
Need to add this via e-mail account, yahoo.com
Can this option be added?
Ellen Lockwood
It saw the email option after I sent my email. Thanks.
Ellen
Yvonne Pisciotta
Hi! I made this today, and everything was good except the lemon layer at the bottom. Followed recipe exactly, but lemon layer was tough and chewy, not clear yellow like the picture, either. The only thing I can think of is if I baked it too long?? I don’t think the bottom layer should be like that, right?
Thanks!
Linda
The only instant pudding I can find comes in 3.4 ounce packages. Your recipe calls for 1.0 ounces. Is this an error, or do they really make an instant oudding in 1.0!ounce pkg?
Shawn
Hi Linda, the sugar free version is just 1 ounce, while the regular version is 3.4 ounces. Either one will work for the recipe. 🙂
Dee
Could I just use regular lemon pudding and not the sugar free instant since I bought the wrong one?please answer quickly as cake is made and realized I got wrong pudding mix
Shawn
Yes, regular lemon pudding mix will work great! 🙂
Marie
Hello, should I bake this in a glass pan like your picture shows or is it okay to bake it in a dark baking pan? Would the time and temp need to be adjusted depending on what you bake it in? Thank you, I’m looking forward to making this for my friend’s birthday, she loves lemon desserts.
Toni
What is a cool whip? Pleade excuse my ignorance but I am not a seasoned baker, but this recipe looks gorgeous and I will try it..
Janet
It’s a whipped cream topping that comes in a tub & is usually found in the frozen foods section of your supermarket.
Victoria
I normally replace the oil in a box cake mix with melted butter. Do you think this will interfere with the end result? This recipe looks amazing! Thanks!
Carole
Can you please tell me what cool mix is? I am in Australia. Thank you
Shawn
Cool Whip is a stabilized whipped cream that they sell in the freezer section of the grocery stores. You could just use whipped cream in place of the cool whip. 🙂
Nancy
I don’t do zest…can I increase lemon juice instead? If yes, by how much. Thank you..
Shawn
I would use a lemon extract or lemon oil rather then adding extra lemon juice.
Lisa
How much lemon extract would you use instead of zest?
KELLY
Hi Shawn,
I used the extract. Taste good but it did not settle on the bottom. Could it be because I stirred the lemon into the cake mix?
Use your recipes all the time, love them
Kelly
Kelly
Correction; should of said the lemon bar didn’t settle to the bottom could it of been because I stirred it into the cake mix. Still tasted good.
Shawn
Hi Kelly, yes, that’s exactly the reason it didn’t settle into layers. It’s difficult to just pour it in and NOT stir it together, but that’s what you gotta do. I’m sure it was still lemony and delicious though! 😉
Debbie Black
The ingredient list says 2 cups of suger. The instructions say use one and a half cups. Which is correct? Thanks…this looks so good!
Shawn
Sorry about that! It’s 2 cups sugar. I’ve updated the instructions. 🙂
Jana Gana Mana 52 seconds
I’m going to try this one…love lemon and the recipe is easy…yeah…bet it’s good.
Shawn
You’ll love it! Thanks Jana! 🙂
Jan C
I wonder if this would work with a sugar free yellow cake mix (Pillsbury, I think). My husband is type 2 diabetic so I try to keep desserts low sugar.
This looks amazing!
Shawn
I think that should work just fine! 🙂
Jennifer
Can the frosting be made with regular (not sugar free) pudding mix?
Shawn
Yes! I just had trouble finding a non sugar free kind. 🙂
SaraLily
Hmmm this reminds me of your pumpkin magic cake!! 😉 I loved that for Thanksgiving so I can only imagine how much I’ll love this – lemon is one of my favorite flavors!!!
Shawn
Thanks SaraLily! 🙂
Carol
Oh my gosh, I LOVE lemon bars so I know I’m gonna fall in love with this cake. It looks delicious.
Hmmmm other kinds of magic cakes would I love to see? How about one with Nutella or Biscoff incorporated into it somehow? I know whatever flavor you come up with is going to be amazing.
I can’t wait to try this! Thanks SO much, Shawn,
Carol
Shawn
What a great idea for the Nutella and Biscoff!! I’ll have to get experimenting! Thanks Carol! Hope you enjoy the cake! 🙂