Lemon Cake

Moist, buttery, and tender, this lemon cake recipe is like a ray of sunshine! Made from scratch with real ingredients such as freshly squeezed lemon juice and lemon zest, this cake is full of flavor and is the perfect balance of sweet and tart. Unlike some cakes, this is not overly sweet, and the tanginess of the cream cheese and buttermilk help balance everything out. Everyone will love the brightness and lightness of the cake.

The best part about this lemon cake is that it comes together in only a few easy steps, so you can whip it up whenever you crave it! If you like lemon desserts, try my lemon bars recipe, lemon blueberry cake recipe, and lemon cupcakes recipe as well!

What You Need to Make This Recipe

Leavening agents — this lemon cake uses both baking soda and baking powder. Make sure they are fresh and replace them from your pantry if they’ve expired.

Butter — buy unsalted butter to control the amount of salt added to the cake and frosting. Make sure the butter is at room temperature so it’ll be easier to cream.

Lemon — fresh lemon juice is key to a delicious cake. Fresh lemon juice has a brighter flavor than bottled lemon juice. As the recipe calls for lemon zest, you’ll need fresh lemons anyways! 

Buttermilk — don’t skip adding buttermilk to your cake batter, as it gives the cake a tangy flavor and adds fluffiness and moisture to the crumb. If you do not have any, see my post on how to make buttermilk with only two ingredients.

Cream cheese — for the lemon cream cheese frosting, I recommend using full-fat cream cheese as it will give the frosting a creamy consistency that’s also slightly tangy. Get the blocks of cream cheese, not the spreadable cream cheese tubs.

Powdered sugar — you must use powdered sugar as it’ll quickly dissolve into the frosting, making it creamy and sweet. If you only have regular sugar, see my post on how to make powdered sugar with it!

How to Make Lemon Cake

1. In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

2. In a large mixing bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Beat the butter on medium speed until creamy. Add the sugar and lemon zest and beat until light and fluffy.

3. Add the vanilla then eggs one at a time, scrape down the bowl between additions, and beat until well combined and fluffy.

4. Stir the buttermilk and lemon juice together. With the mixer on low speed, add a third of the flour mixture, followed by half of the milk mixture. Continue, alternating between the flour and milk, mixing just until combined. Divide the batter among two greased 8-inch cake pans. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, then let cool in the pan for 15 minutes before inverting onto a wire rack to cool completely.

5. To make the frosting, beat the butter and cream cheese together until creamy. Add the lemon zest and beat until light and fluffy before adding the powdered sugar alternating with a little bit of the lemon juice. Beat in the vanilla and continue to beat until smooth and fluffy. Place one layer on a cake stand or serving plate. Top with 1 cup of frosting, spreading smoothly out to the edges.

6. Top with the second cake layer and spread the remaining frosting all over the outside of the cake. Decorate the lemon cake with thin lemon slices or edible flowers, if desired.

Pro Tips for Making This Recipe

• Measure your flour correctly! Adding too much flour to the recipe is the most common mistake that will yield a dry and dense lemon cake. The best and easiest way to measure flour is by using a scale. If you don’t have one, fluff the flour with a spoon, sprinkle it into your measuring cup, and use a knife to level it off. If you scoop the flour straight from the bag, you overpack the measuring cup.
• If the tops of your cake layers are domed, use a serrated knife to cut off the top so you can stack them evenly. Alternatively, if you’re worried about doming, use cake strips to help your cake layers come out evenly. Cake strips work by keeping the outside edge of the pan cooler to ensure that the entire cake rises at the same rate, preventing a dome from forming in the middle. If you don’t want to buy cake strips, I have a post on how to DIY cake strips.
• Any ingredients that you keep in the fridge, take out ahead of time to bring them to room temperature, so they mix evenly into the batter.
• Be gentle when handling the layers during assembly, as the cake is very tender.
• When zesting the lemon, make sure only to zest the yellow parts. The white layer underneath is bitter.
• To get more juice from the lemons, roll them under your hand on the countertop to loosen the juices.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I make this ahead of time?

You can make the cake layers a day or two ahead of time, and once cooled, wrap them up and store them in the fridge until you are ready to assemble the cake. You can also make the lemon cream cheese frosting 2 to 3 days ahead of time. Simply keep the frosting in an airtight container in the fridge. Bring the frosting to room temperature and re-whip with the mixer before using.

How do I store leftovers?

If you have leftover lemon cake, cover them tightly with plastic and store them in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Bring the cake to room temperature before serving.

Can I freeze this?

This cake freezes beautifully! Simply wrap the entire cake or cake slices in a couple of layers of plastic before freezing for up to 3 months. Bring the cake to room temperature before you serve it.

How else can I decorate this cake?

I pipe dollops of frosting on top of the cake and add slices of lemon as well as some edible flowers for garnish. However, feel free to decorate it any way you prefer! A drizzle of lemon curd, fresh berries, whipped cream, or even some fresh herbs makes for a delightful addition. Be sure to check out my how to decorate a cake guide for more tips and tricks.

If you’ve tried this homemade lemon cake recipe, then don’t forget to rate the recipe and let me know how you got on in the comments below, I love hearing from you!

4.95 from 2511 votes

Lemon Cake

Bursting with lemon flavors, this Lemon Cake recipe will brighten your day. Sweet, tart, and tangy, this cake is made from scratch with real lemons!

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Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Prep Time 30 minutes minutes

Cook Time 35 minutes minutes

Total Time 1 hour hour 5 minutes minutes

Servings 10 servings

Calories 1005kcal

Author John Kanell

Video

Equipment

• ▢
  8" cake pans
• ▢
  Parchment paper
• ▢
  Mixing Bowls
• ▢
  Electric or stand mixer

Ingredients

For the Lemon Cake:

• ▢ 2½ cups all-purpose flour (300g)
• ▢ 1½ teaspoons baking powder
• ▢ ½ teaspoon baking soda
• ▢ ¾ teaspoon salt
• ▢ 1 cup unsalted butter softened (227g)
• ▢ 1½ cups granulated sugar (300g)
• ▢ 2 tablespoons lemon zest (about 2 lemons)
• ▢ 3 large eggs
• ▢ 1 cup buttermilk (240ml)
• ▢ ¼ cup lemon juice (about 2 lemons) (60ml)
• ▢ 1 tablespoon vanilla extract

For the Frosting:

• ▢ 1 cup unsalted butter room temperature (227g)
• ▢ 8 ounces cream cheese room temperature (226g)
• ▢ 1 tablespoon lemon zest (about 1 lemon)
• ▢ 7 cups powdered sugar (840g)
• ▢ 2 tablespoons lemon juice (about 1 lemon)
• ▢ ½ teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions

For the Cake:

• Preheat the oven to 350F. Grease two 8-inch round cake pans and line with parchment paper.
• In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
• In a large mixing bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Beat the butter on medium speed until creamy. Add the sugar and lemon zest and beat until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add the vanilla then eggs one at a time, scrape down the bowl between additions, and beat until well combined and fluffy.
• Stir the buttermilk and lemon juice together.
• With the mixer on low speed, add a third of the flour mixture followed by half of the milk mixture. Continue, alternating between the flour and milk, mixing just until combined. Stop and scrape down the bowl occasionally. Divide the batter among the prepared cake pans.
• Bake for 35 to 40 minutes or until the center of the cakes are springy to the touch and the sides are just starting to pull away from the pan. Let the cakes cool in the pan for 15 minutes then invert and cool completely on a wire rack.

For the frosting:

• In a large mixing bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and cream cheese together on medium speed until creamy and well combined. Add the lemon zest and beat until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
• With the mixer on low speed, gradually add the confectioners’ sugar alternating with a little bit of the lemon juice. Stop occasionally and scrape down the bowl. Beat in the vanilla. Once combined, increase the speed to medium-low and beat until smooth and fluffy, about 1 minute.

For the Assembly:

• Remove the parchment paper from the cake layers. Place one layer on a cake stand or serving plate. Top with 1 cup of frosting, spreading smoothly out to the edges. Top with the second cake layer and spread the remaining frosting all over the outside of the cake. Decorate with thin lemon slices or edible flowers, if desired.

Notes

• Measure your flour correctly! Adding too much flour to the recipe is the most common mistake that will yield a dry and dense lemon cake. The best and easiest way to measure flour is by using a scale. If you don’t have one, fluff the flour with a spoon, sprinkle it into your measuring cup, and use a knife to level it off. If you scoop the flour straight from the bag, you overpack the measuring cup.
• If the tops of your cake layers are domed, use a serrated knife to cut off the top so you can stack them evenly. Alternatively, if you’re worried about doming, use cake strips to help your cake layers come out evenly. Cake strips work by keeping the outside edge of the pan cooler to ensure that the entire cake rises at the same rate, preventing a dome from forming in the middle. If you don’t want to buy cake strips, I have a post on how to DIY cake strips.
• Any ingredients that you keep in the fridge, take out ahead of time to bring them to room temperature, so they mix evenly into the batter.
• Be gentle when handling the layers during assembly, as the cake is very tender.
• When zesting the lemon, make sure only to zest the yellow parts. The white layer underneath is bitter.
• To get more juice from the lemons, roll them under your hand on the countertop to loosen the juices.

Nutrition

Calories: 1005kcal | Carbohydrates: 141g | Protein: 8g | Fat: 47g | Saturated Fat: 29g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 12g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 179mg | Sodium: 418mg | Potassium: 144mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 115g | Vitamin A: 1561IU | Vitamin C: 6mg | Calcium: 113mg | Iron: 2mg

*Nutrition Disclaimer

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