Lemony Cream Cheese Cake

This cake is an absolute must try.  It truly is to die for.  And how cute are they?  I did these in mini spring form pans, rather than just one big cake, and I have to tell you all something...I ate a whole one and a half of these myself!!  The day I made them.  I'm not joking.  Probably not something I should admit, but it really is that good.  This recipe comes from Blackjack Bakehouse and I really only changed one thing...instead of lemon extract in the filling, I used lemon juice.  I just don't have lemon extract, but I had lemons!

You can see from this picture that my filling sank all the way to the bottom, forming a very distinct layer of cream cheese and cake.  This didn't really resemble the pictures from the original recipe, but I'm not convinced that it made much of a difference.  I don't think this cake could have tasted any better had it turned out differently!  So either way yours turns out, you will be sure to enjoy it.    

 Makes 1 cake or 3 mini cakes

Cake
2/3 cup flour
1/3 cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 cup butter, melted and cooled slightly
2 eggs
2 tablespoons lemon juice (about 1 lemon)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
zest of two lemons

Cream Cheese Filling
8 oz cream cheese, at room temperature
1 cup confectioner's sugar
3 tablespoons butter, melted
1 egg
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
zest of 1/2 lemon

Preheat oven to 325 degrees and grease the springform pan(s) with cooking spray.

For the filling:  Beat the cream cheese in a stand mixer for about 5 minutes until smooth and creamy.  Add confectioner's sugar and beat another 2-3 minutes.  Add butter, lemon juice, vanilla extract and lemon zest.  Set aside.

For the cake:  In a large bowl, whisk flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.  Whisk in the remaining ingredients until just combined, do not overmix.

Pour cake batter into the springform pan(s).  Carefully pour the cream cheese mixture evenly over the batter, to within about a 1/2 inch of the edge of the pan (so the cake batter is visible around the edges).

Bake for 35-40 minutes (start checking at 25 minutes if you are using the mini pans) until the cake has puffed up and a toothpick inserted near the edge comes out clean.

Allow pan to cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes and then remove the springform pan.  Transfer to refrigerator and allow to chill completely before serving.  Dust with confectioner's sugar before serving.

(Source:  Adapted from Blackjack Bakehouse)