This lemon poke cake is made with a moist and tender lemon cake, lemon condensed milk filling, and lemon mascarpone whipped cream.
This lemon mascarpone cake is incredibly soft and is full of lemon flavor from fresh lemons. It is topped with a zesty and light mascarpone whipped cream and extra lemon zest and lemon slices for presentation.
This cake is perfect for summer and springtime! This refreshing lemon dessert is light, fresh, and zesty.
If you like making poke cakes, check out my chocolate pudding poke cake recipe.
For more lemon desserts, check out our lemon crinkle cookies, lemon shortbread cookies, lemon bars with graham cracker crust, lemon pound cake, lemon curd cookies, lemon poppy seed muffins, lemonade bundt cake, and lemon curd cake.
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Why this recipe works
- Natural- this cake does not use any artificial lemon flavoring like lemon pudding mix, or food coloring. It is all-natural and made with real lemons.
- Flavor- the flavor of this cake is full of lemon! It is light and bright and is truly sunshine in a dessert.
- Ease- this cake comes together in one bowl and is made with super simple ingredients. It is easy to prep and can be made by anyone as long as you follow the instructions correctly.
- Texture- the texture of this cake is tender, moist, fluffy, and super soft.
- Frosting- this cake is topped with a light and fluffy lemon whipped mascarpone cream frosting.
What is a poke cake?
A poke cake is a cake that is poked into while it's still warm. Then a liquid, that is usually sweetened condensed milk or pudding mix poured into the holes, and then the cake is topped with a light and fluffy frosting.
Ingredients
Before you start to make this lemon mascarpone cake recipe, measure and prepare your ingredients so the cooking process will go smoothly and easily.
Full measurements are in the recipe card below.
Butter- use unsalted butter for this recipe. Only butter will work for this recipe, no margarine, and no coconut oil. Margarine has a weird taste and can ruin the flavor of this cake.
Eggs- you will need 4 large eggs for this recipe. Make sure that your eggs are at room temperature.
Lemon juice- use fresh lemon juice for this recipe. Fresh lemon will give you the best result. We don't recommend using store-bought lemon juice. This will make the flavor pop!
Lemon zest- you will need 2 tablespoon of lemon zest. We recommend zesting the lemon first and then juicing it.
Flour– we used all-purpose flour for this recipe. cake flour will work great as well.
Baking powder and baking soda – to allow the cake to rise. Ensure that your baking powder and baking soda aren't expired and are active.
Granulated sugar– we like to use granulated sugar, also the most common sugar used in baking. Caster sugar will work great as well.
Sour cream- use either sour cream or Greek yogurt. Both will work great. Use full-fat sour cream.
Vanilla extract- adds extra flavor.
Buttermilk– gives the cake extra moisture. You can make your own buttermilk if you don’t have one on hand. Simply mix a cup of milk with a tablespoon of vinegar or lemon juice and let it sit for at least 10 minutes.
Kosher salt- you will need about ½ teaspoon of kosher salt for this recipe.
For the filling
Sweetened condensed milk- is the key ingredient to make this pie decadent and extra creamy! Use your favorite brand of sweetened condensed milk for this.
For the frosting
Mascarpone cheese- is the most important ingredient, make sure that you put your mascarpone cheese at room temperature for at least 30 minutes before starting to make the recipe.
Heavy cream- make sure that your heavy cream is cold. Cold heavy cream whips better and quicker.
Powder sugar- you will need powdered sugar for this recipe. you don’t have to buy powdered sugar, you can make it at home by blending granulated sugar in a blender or food processor.
Vanilla extract- adds extra flavor. You can use regular vanilla extract or vanilla bean extract.
Instructions
Preheat an oven to 180c (350f) and prepare a 9 by 13 inch pan with parchment paper.
Into a big mixing bowl, add the soft butter, granulated sugar, kosher salt, vanilla extract, and lemon zest. Mix with an electric hand mixer until creamy and smooth for about 3 minutes.
Add the eggs, lemon juice, and sour cream, and mix until well combined.
Add ½ of the flour, ½ of the buttermilk, baking powder, and baking soda, and mix until almost combined.
Add the rest of the flour and buttermilk and mix the cake batter until just combined. Do not overmix.
Pour the batter into the prepared baking pan and bake the cake in a 180c (350f) preheated oven for about 30-40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean.
Let the cake cool in the pan for 20-30 minutes and poke holes using the back of a wooden spoon.
In a medium mixing bowl, add the sweetened condensed milk and lemon juice and mix until well combined.
Pour the mixture on top of the cake and spread it out all over the cake using a spoon or an offset spatula. Ensure the holes fill out with the filling.
Make the lemon mascarpone whipped cream
Into a big mixing bowl, add the heavy cream, kosher salt, vanilla extract, and sugar and mix with an electric hand mixer until stiff peaks form. (don't overbeat the mixture so you don't create butter)
Add the mascarpone cheese (which is at room temperature) and mix it lightly into the whipped cream using a spatula until a creamy mixture forms.
Top the cake with the cream and spread it evenly. Make swirls using an offset spatula and sprinkle more lemon zest and top with sliced lemon (optional). Serve and enjoy!
Expert Tips
- Use room temperature ingredients. It is important that you use room-temperature ingredients like eggs and butter. This step ensures that your mixture mixes into a homogenous mixture and bakes perfectly. you don’t want to place cold batter into the oven.
- Measure your flour correctly! When measuring your flour, avoid scooping it with a measuring cup. Instead, stir the flour with a spoon to create as many air pockets as possible, and spoon it into your measuring cup. Finally, level it with a back of a knife.
- Don’t overmix the batter, you don’t want to develop the gluten in the flour. This step ensures you have a moist cake and not a dense and dry cake.
- Line your baking pan with parchment paper! This step helps the cake to bake evenly, and it makes sure that your loaf cake will release easily from the pan.
- Make sure that your butter is at room temperature. An hour or two before making these cookies, take the butter out of the fridge and let it come to room temperature. The butter should be soft to the touch. If your butter is too cold, it will be harder to mix and there will be lumps of butter in the dough.
- Be patient! I know it’s extremely tempting to frost this cake as it is pulled out of the oven, but let the cake cool for at least 1 hour so it will be firmer and won’t crumble up, and prevent the frosting from melting.
Faq's
Your poke cake might be soggy if you poked the holes too close together. Make sure that there's at least ½ inch between every hole. Also, ensure that you let your cake cool to room temperature before you add the filling.
We use all-purpose flour for this cake, self-rising flour, and cake flour will work great as well.
This cake will last up to 4 days stored in the fridge. Cover the cake with plastic wrap or foil to prevent it from drying out.
Poke and pour cake is called poke cake since is it a recipe that calls for inserting holes into the cake, and then filling them with different fillings.
Storing
This cake will last up to 4 days stored in the fridge. Cover the cake with plastic wrap or foil to prevent it from drying out. This cake tastes amazing the day after.
Freezing
Freeze this cake after it cooled completely in an airtight freezer-friendly container for up to 3 months.
My tip is not to freeze it decorated or covered with frosting, because it can ruin the decorating of the cake, we suggest freezing the cake and decorating it when you defrost it.
If you’re not looking to impress anyone with your decorating skills, it’s absolutely okay to freeze the cake with the frosting on.
Substitutions
Gluten-free - if you want to make this recipe gluten-free, simply replace the flour with gluten-free flour.
Cake mix- I love making all of my desserts from scratch, but if you would like, you can make this cake with a boxed lemon cake mix. You will need a 15.25 oz package of boxed lemon cake mix.
Variations
Filling- instead of filling the cake with sweetened condensed milk and lemon juice, you can take it to another level and fill the cake with lemon curd.
Another filling idea is making a lemon pudding from an instant lemon pudding mix. Just use the package instructions and fill the holes of the pudding poke cake the same way.
Frosting- you can use your favorite frosting for this cake like cream cheese frosting, lemon buttercream frosting, vanilla frosting, mascarpone whipped cream, etc!
White chocolate- add mini white chocolate chips to the cake batter for a delicious white chocolate flavor.
Lemon zest- add even more lemon zest for a stronger lemon flavor and aroma.
Lemon flavor- for an even extra lemon flavor, add ½ teaspoon of lemon paste or lemon extract!
More lemon desserts
Chewy lemon blueberry cookies- These chewy lemon blueberry cookies are loaded with white chocolate chips and flavorful blueberries, are chewy in the middle, and crispy on the edges.
Lemon cooler cookies- These lemon cooler cookies are made with fresh lemon zest and lemon juice, making the lemon flavor pop! These are the perfect summer cookies buttery and tossed in powdered sugar.
Lemon tart- This lemon tart is made with a buttery pastry crust and filled with a zesty lemon curd filling. This tart is a ray of sunshine in a dessert!
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📖 Recipe
Lemon Poke Cake With Lemon Mascarpone Frosting
Ingredients
- 230 g Butter unsalted, softened
- ½ teaspoon Kosher salt
- 1 ½ cup Granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoon Lemon zest
- ½ cup Sour cream
- 4 Eggs
- â…“ cup Lemon juice freshly squeezed
- 2 ½ cups Flour
- 2 teaspoon Baking powder
- ½ teaspoon Baking soda
- 1 cup Buttermilk
Filling
- 14 oz Sweetened condensed milk
- ¼ cup Lemon juice fresh
Lemon mascarpone whipped cream
- 340 g Mascarpone cheese softened
- 1 ½ cups Heavy cream
- 1 cup Powder sugar
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon Lemon zest
Instructions
- Preheat an oven to 180c (350f) and prepare a 9 by 13 inch pan with parchment paper.
- Into a big mixing bowl, add the soft butter, granulated sugar, kosher salt, vanilla extract, and lemon zest. Mix with an electric hand mixer until creamy and smooth for about 3 minutes.
- Add the eggs, lemon juice, and sour cream, and mix until well combined.
- Add ½ of the flour, ½ of the buttermilk, baking powder, and baking soda, and mix until almost combined.
- Add the rest of the flour and buttermilk and mix the cake batter until just combined. Do not overmix.
- Pour the batter into the prepared baking pan and bake the cake in a 180c (350f) preheated oven for about 30-40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean.
- Let the cake cool in the pan for 20-30 minutes and poke holes using the back of a wooden spoon.
- In a medium mixing bowl, add the sweetened condensed milk and lemon juice and mix until well combined.
- Pour the mixture on top of the cake and spread it out all over the cake using a spoon or an offset spatula. Ensure the holes fill out with the filling.
Make the lemon mascarpone whipped cream
- Into a big mixing bowl, add the heavy cream, kosher salt, vanilla extract, and sugar and mix with an electric hand mixer until stiff peaks form. (don't overbeat the mixture so you don't create butter)
- Add the mascarpone cheese (which is at room temperature) and mix it lightly into the whipped cream using a spatula until a creamy mixture forms.
- Top the cake with the cream and spread it evenly. Make swirls using an offset spatula and sprinkle more lemon zest and top with sliced lemon (optional). Serve and enjoy!
Notes
- Use room temperature ingredients. It is important that you use room-temperature ingredients like eggs and butter. This step ensures that your mixture mixes into a homogenous mixture and bakes perfectly. you don’t want to place cold batter into the oven.
- Measure your flour correctly! When measuring your flour, avoid scooping it with a measuring cup. Instead, stir the flour with a spoon to create as many air pockets as possible, and spoon it into your measuring cup. Finally, level it with a back of a knife.
- Don’t overmix the batter, you don’t want to develop the gluten in the flour. This step ensures you have a moist cake and not a dense and dry cake.
- Line your baking pan with parchment paper! This step helps the cake to bake evenly, and it makes sure that your loaf cake will release easily from the pan.
- Make sure that your butter is at room temperature. An hour or two before making these cookies, take the butter out of the fridge and let it come to room temperature. The butter should be soft to the touch. If your butter is too cold, it will be harder to mix and there will be lumps of butter in the dough.
- Be patient! I know it’s extremely tempting to frost this cake as it is pulled out of the oven, but let the cake cool for at least 1 hour so it will be firmer and won’t crumble up, and prevent the frosting from melting.
Amy
This cake was wonderful! I made it for my brothers birthday and it was enjoyed by all! I used fresh off the tree arizona lemons and couldn’t find marscapone cheese so I substituted cream cheese. We all loved it!