Lemon Streusel Cream Cake

Sometimes a semi-homemade not-so-healthy sweet treat is the only thing that hits the spot.  This recipe comes from my grandma's church cookbook and is a perfect example of why I love this book.  One bowl, one box of lemon cake mix, one stick of butter, one block of cream cheese...I am terrible at memorizing recipes and notorious for screwing them up.  But this recipe is pretty much fool proof  and delicious!  My family went bonkers for it.

 I kind of wish this cake was a little more lemony, so the next time I make it I'm planning to increase the lemon juice by two or three times, replacing some of the milk with it.  I like things over the top with flavor, though, so don't think the recipe isn't good as is.  It definitely is!  My next attempt will be a Super Lemon Streusel Cake, and this one is a Lemon Streusel Cream Cake.  Yum and Yum!

Lemon Streusel Cream Cake

One box of lemon cake mix
One stick of butter, cold from the fridge
3/4 cup milk
2 eggs
1 8-ounce block of cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons lemon juice
Zest of one lemon
1/2 cup ground almonds/almond flour (or any type of chopped or ground nuts)

Preheat the oven to 350F.  Grease a 9 by 13 or similar sized baking pan with baking spray (I used two 8-inch cast iron skillets).

In a large bowl, grate the butter into the cake mix and crumble with your fingers until the largest crumb is the size of a pea.  Reserve 1 cup of crumbs for the topping and set aside.  Add milk and eggs to the bowl and beat on high for 2 minutes with an electric mixer.  Pour the batter into your pan.

In the same bowl, beat cream cheese, sugar, lemon juice and lemon zest until smooth and fluffy.  Drop spoon fulls of the mixture over the batter.  Mix reserved crumbs and nuts together and sprinkle this evenly over the top.

Bake for 35 to 45 minutes or until the center is puffed and crackles when you put your ear to it ( a skewer might not come out clean if it has cream cheese smeared on it so don't test your cake this way).  Cool completely and store in the fridge.

Enjoy!