Lemon Cake Recipe

A lemon cake with a slice cut out on top of a cake stand with cut lemons and purple flowers scattered around on the counter.

Easy Lemon Cake is always a hit, and brimming with fresh lemon flavor (not extract!). The cake turns out soft and moist every time and is coated with a dreamy lemon cream cheese frosting.

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Prep Time 30

Cook Time 35

Total Time 1 5

Servings to 12 servings

Calories 1005kcal

Author John Kanell

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 room temperature
1 cup low-fat buttermilk room temperature (240ml)
¼ cup fresh 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 350°F. Lightly grease two 8-inch round cake pans with butter or baking spray and line the bottoms with parchment paper. Wrap the outside of the cake pans with soaked fabric baking strips, if you’d like. (This produces flat cake layers!)
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 eggs one at a time, scrape down the bowl between additions, and beat until well combined and fluffy.
In a liquid measuring cup, stir the buttermilk, lemon juice, and vanilla together.
With the mixer on low speed, add a third of the flour mixture followed by half of the buttermilk mixture. Continue, alternating between the flour and buttermilk, 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.

Video

Notes

Be sure to zest the lemons before you juice them! This is a common mistake, but it makes a big difference. Lemons are much easier to zest when they are firm and whole. They’re a bit easier to squeeze once they are zested, too!
To get the most juice out of your lemons, roll them under your palm on the countertop while gently pressing down. This will start to break open the pulp inside and loosen the juices, making them easier to squeeze.
For a bakery-style appearance, you can add 1 to 2 drops of yellow food coloring to the frosting if you’d like. This won’t affect the flavor, but it will give the overall cake a light lemon-yellow hue, perfect for decorating with your favorite edible flowers, sprinkles, or mint sprigs. You can get more ideas from my post all about how to decorate a cake!
Let the cake layers cool completely before frosting. If they’re still warm, the frosting can melt, causing the top layer to slide right off!

Nutrition