Ingredients
Main Recipe
- 1 box (15.25 oz / 432 g) yellow cake mix, dry and unprepared
- 1 can (21 oz / 595 g) prepared lemon pie filling
- 8 oz (226 g) full-fat block cream cheese
- 1/2 cup (8 tablespoons / 113 g) unsalted butter, melted
Optional for a crunchier topping
- 2 tablespoons granulated or coarse sugar
- 2 tablespoons finely chopped pecans
Important : garde les deux derniers ingrédients sous Optional. Sinon le titre « 4-Ingredient » devient trompeur.
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Position a rack in the center of the oven.
- Lightly grease a 9×13-inch baking dish.
- Spread the lemon pie filling evenly across the bottom of the dish, including the corners.
- Cut the cream cheese into small pieces, about 1/2 inch each. Scatter them evenly over the lemon filling.
- Sprinkle the dry yellow cake mix evenly over the cream cheese and lemon layers. Do not prepare the cake mix according to the box directions.
- Gently level any thick areas of cake mix with the back of a spoon. Do not press down and do not stir the layers.
- For an optional crunchier topping, sprinkle the sugar and/or finely chopped pecans evenly over the cake mix.
- Slowly drizzle the melted butter over the surface. Move back and forth across the entire pan so the butter covers as much dry cake mix as possible.
- Bake uncovered for 45–50 minutes, or until the topping has golden-brown areas and the lemon filling is bubbling around the edges.
- Check the cake near the end of baking. The center should remain soft and gooey, but the topping should look baked rather than covered with large patches of loose, dry cake mix.
- Remove the baking dish from the oven and place it on a heat-safe rack.
- Rest for 10–15 minutes before serving. Serve warm on its own or with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream.
Notes
Do not mix the layers. The separate layers create the characteristic dump-cake texture.
Cut the cream cheese into small, evenly sized pieces. Large cold chunks may not soften as evenly.
The cake mix goes into the baking dish dry. Do not add the eggs, water, or oil listed on the cake-mix package.
For better butter coverage, drizzle the melted butter very slowly across the whole surface instead of pouring it into a few spots.
A few pale crumbs are normal. Large areas of completely dry powder indicate that the cake mix did not receive enough butter or moisture.
The finished dessert should not resemble a fluffy sheet cake. The lemon layer remains intentionally soft and gooey.
The optional sugar and pecans can create a more textured topping, but using them makes the recipe technically more than four ingredients.
Because this dessert contains cream cheese, refrigerate leftovers promptly. FDA guidance says perishables should generally be refrigerated within two hours and refrigerators should remain at 40°F (4°C) or below.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 50 minutes
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American