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.

slice of lemon lava cake on a white plate.

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.

scooping a serving of lemon pudding dessert from the baking dish.

Table of Contents

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!

plated slice of yellow lava cake made with cake mix and lemon pudding.

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.

slice of lemon lava cake, close up, topped with whipped cream.

Easy Lemon Lava Cake

Easy Lemon Lava Cake is an easy cake to make that begins with a cake mix and instant pudding mix. A great alternative to chocolate, this cake is sure to please that lemon lover in your life.

Author: Paula

5 from 13 votes

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Prep Time: 10

Cook Time: 1

Total Time: 1 10

Servings: 12 servings

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.

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Finally, if you like Easy Lemon Lava Cake, you may also like these recipes

Easiest Lemon Dessert Sauce