Easy Lemon Lava Cake
This post may contain affiliate links that won’t change your price but will share some commission.
Lemon Lava Cake is silky and luscious. This boxed cake mix recipe is simple and easy to make!
Made with cake mix and lemon pudding, it comes out of the oven with a self-made lemon sauce. It’s best served warm with vanilla ice cream.
When hot, the lemon sauce flows like lava out of this Easy Lemon Lava Cake, thus its’ name. You may have seen chocolate lava or red velvet lava cakes before. I didn’t want to discriminate, so tried the same cooking method using lemon. It worked like a charm.
Lemon Lava Cake
This pudding cake is luscious, with a velvety mouthfeel. There’s no tartness usually associated with lemon desserts. It’s sweet and sensational. It’s sure to satisfy the taste buds of the lemon lover in your life!
Recipe Tips
- First, this cake starts with a cake mix. If you have a basic lemon cake recipe, you can use that if you’re opposed to using a box mix. At times, I like a semi-homemade, time-saving cake and I start it with a cake mix.
- Next, I use the 15.25-ounce yellow or white cake mix.
- This cake uses instant pudding. If you are opposed to using instant pudding mix, I don’t know a substitution for that. If you are unable to find instant pudding in your area, try Amazon. This is the instant pudding I use in lemon flavor.
- Serve this cake warm, with homemade whipped cream or a good quality vanilla ice cream.
To make whipped cream, place a metal mixing bowl and metal whisk in the freezer for 10 to 15 minutes. Add 2 tablespoons sugar and 1 cup heavy whipping cream in a large bowl. Whisk just until the cream reaches stiff peaks. Store any unused portion in an airtight container for up to 10 hours.
Easy Lemon Lava Cake
Ingredients
- 15.25 ounce package yellow cake mix or white cake mix + eggs, oil, & water called for on back of cake mix
- (2) -3.4 ounce packages lemon instant pudding mix
- ⅓ cup granulated sugar
- 2 cups whole milk cold
- 1 and ¼ cup water
Instructions
- Heat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Spray a 9×13 inch cake pan with non-stick spray.
- Prepare cake as directed on back of package.
- Pour cake batter into prepared pan.
- Add dry pudding mix, granulated sugar, milk and water in a bowl.
- Whisk by hand 2 minutes.
- Evenly pour lemon pudding mix over cake batter. Do not stir.
- Place cake pan on a larger baking pan with at least a 1-inch edge in case the cake bubbles over.
- Bake 55 minutes to 1 hour or until cake is brown on top and wooden pick inserted in center of the cake comes out clean.
- Cool 20 minutes before serving.
- Dust with confectioners sugar.
- Serve warm with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream and/or fresh raspberries, strawberries, or blueberries.
- Refrigerate leftovers.
Notes
- optional – confectioners sugar for dusting.
- Serve with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream, fresh raspberries, strawberries, or blueberries
Nutrition
Nutritional information given is an automatic calculation and can vary based on the exact products you use and changes you make to the recipe. If these numbers are important to you, I recommend calculating them yourself.
Finally, if you like Easy Lemon Lava Cake, you may also like these recipes
How to make Lemon MIni Cupcakes
It doesn’t specify whether it needs to be whole milk, I have almond milk on hand, but could purchase whole milk for this
I recommend Whole or 2%.
Hiya.
We love this recipe. Although I did reduce the sugar in the sauce. Very yummy. Thank you
Hi Paula, Do I have this right? For the Lemon Lava Cake, the batter goes into the pan first then the pudding. Does the cake batter rise to the top while baking?
Also, can I substitute canned lemon pie filling like Lucky Leaf Pie Filling?
Yes, the batter rises to the top. Canned lemon pie filling should work just fine.
I have been making this exact recipe for for more than 20 years. it’s good, and one of my favorite go-to, quick recipes to serve to guests. Don’t hesitate to try it!
In one recipe it said pudding mix in pan first then cake mix on top is this correct or does cake mix go first then pudding mix I’m confused
I made this one as the recipe specifies
Made it for Easter and it was very easy and delicious. I will definitely make this again.
Great idea for a light dessert recipe. I really think you meant to use 2 small packages of lemon pudding as opposed to the one listed in the recipe, as the amount of liquid is just too much for 1 package and results in too bland of a lemon custard.
Eek! It is supposed to be 2. Thanks
Made this cake but omited the sugar used a lemon cake mix . it was delicious . will make other flavors and use this recipe thanks for the post
Going to give this a try shortly, making it in my stack cooker in my microwave. I did a Chocolate one a couple days ago, my hubby and son loved it!
A question for you, do you feel that Sauce ‘N Cake is the same as a lava cake? I did my chocolate one from scratch.
I’m not familiar with Sauce N Cake, Sharla.
I made this cake today. It looked beautiful coming out of the oven and I couldn’t wait to sneak a taste. My husband and I both thought the sauce was rather watery. In fact, it gave the cake a soggy taste. I wonder if I add less than 1 1/4c water to the mix if this would improve the sauce?
I bake quite a lot and make a point of following the directions. Any suggestions?
I’m not sure what happened. I’ve never had it be that way. Maybe reduce the water next time