Easy Lemon Cake
There are only three ingredients in this easy lemon cake (and one is optional). The best part is it can be served in slices to be eaten with a fork or as a finger food for your next gathering.

With plans to have company over recently, I was on the lookout for something easy to share for our snack table.

After perusing several websites, I landed on one of my favorite ways to make a quick sweet without working all that hard for it: a cake mix transformation.

The recipe I tried promised to produce lemon bars with only three ingredients—cake mix, pie filling and powdered sugar—and I decided I was in.

And these turned out well, although I wouldn’t really call these lemon “bars.” Because you use an angel food cake mix, these are more cake-like than bar-like, but they are still darn delicious, so regardless, you can’t argue with the results.

This comes from the blog “My Crazy Good Life” by Becca Ludlum. You can find the original post at https://mycrazygoodlife.com/3-ingredient-lemon-bars/. I didn’t add anything to this recipe, but I did leave something out when I made these. I didn’t feel like the extra powdered sugar was necessary.

Easy Lemon Cake
Print Recipe

Easy Lemon Cake

There are only three ingredients in this easy lemon cake (and one is optional). The best part is it can be served in slices to be eaten with a fork or as a finger food for your next gathering.
Course: Dessert
Keyword: angel food, cake mix recipe, easy dessert, lemon bar, lemon pie filling, light dessert, powdered sugar, tea party

Ingredients

  • 16 ounces angel food cake mix
  • 21 ounces lemon pie filling
  • 1/2 cup powdered sugar optional

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Prepare a nine-by-13-inch pan by spraying it with cooking spray or coating the insides and bottom with butter, and then set it aside.
  • In a mixing bowl, mix the dry cake mix and the pie filling until everything is well combined.
  • Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until the edges are lightly browned.
  • Let the cake cool completely.
  • Once it’s cool, evenly sprinkle the powdered sugar over the top, if you want to use it (this is plenty sweet and tasty without it), and slice into pieces.
  • This can be served as a finger food or eaten with a fork. Store any leftovers in an airtight container.

These had delicious lemon flavor without being overpowering. I think sometimes lemon bars tend to have a bit of a pucker factor that I’m not as big on, but these were light and tasty.

I was also really glad I left out the extra sugar. I think it would have taken away from the rest of the flavors.

I kept thinking these would be such a cute little dessert to serve at a tea party because of the lightness and the pretty pale yellow color. Putting a little strawberry sauce over the top would be absolutely delicious.

And despite the fact that these took almost no time or effort, our guests were happy to help us dig into them. Time in the kitchen can be very satisfying, but time with friends is much more rewarding.

This piece first appeared in print Feb. 27, 2025.

Spice Up Your Life is a weekly newspaper column written by Lindsey Young in south central Kansas. If you are interested in sponsoring this column, please contact us through the “Contact Lindsey” link at the top of the page.