Lemon zest and lemon juice assure this lemon cake recipe is bursting with lemon taste! The cake batter bakes up mild and fluffy. And when you slather the highest of the cake with cream cheese frosting and lemon curd, it’s able to serve. No fussing with a number of cake layers!
I Love Lemon Cake (And You Will, Too)
One factor you need to learn about me? I’m a die-hard lemon lover who takes her lemon desserts very critically! I like lemon cake recipes particularly as a result of they’re mild, refreshing, and excellent for nearly any event. And any time of 12 months.
Sunday brunch… Mom’s Day… Easter… Christmas… or an informal picnic within the park. Lemon cake matches the invoice! I take advantage of conventional lemons for this recipe, however for those who’re fortunate sufficient to have meyer lemons available, by all means, use them! They’ll work nice and can give this cake an additional candy and vibrant lemon taste.
Why this Lemon Cake Recipe is a Winner
- Mild and fluffy cake texture
- Sunshiny candy lemon taste because of lemon extract, lemon zest, and lemon juice
- Bakes in a 9×13-inch baking pan, making it good for serving a crowd
- The flat cake layer makes adorning a breeze!
- Topped with cream cheese frosting AND lemon curd, it’s scrumptious and exquisite
- One million occasions higher than boxed lemon cake combine (ew)
The way to Make Lemon Cake
- Make the Lemon Cake Batter: Use an electrical mixer to make the cake batter. Make sure to not over combine the cake batter. Pour the batter into the ready baking pan and easy the highest.
- Bake the Lemon Cake: Place the cake within the oven and bake till mild and fluffy. And a toothpick inserted in the midst of the cake layer comes out clear. Take care to not over bake this cake! Over baked desserts shall be dry and dense.
- Cool the Lemon Cake: Place the entire cake – pan and all – on a wire cooling rack. Cool at room temperature. As soon as cool, you possibly can embellish within the pan or take away the cake from the pan.
- Make the Cream Cheese Frosting: About quarter-hour earlier than you propose on adorning your cake, make the frosting. You’ll want an electrical mixer for this step.
- Embellish the Lemon Cake: As soon as the cake layer is totally cool, slather cream cheese frosting everywhere in the tops of the cake. Then add dollops of lemon curd and swirl. You could possibly even add some recent blueberries or raspberries, to essentially make it further.
Lemon Cake Batter
- You’ll want a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or a big bowl and an electrical mixer for this recipe.
- Sadly, you possibly can’t make this lemon cake batter with out an electrical mixer. You want to beat the granulated sugar and butter with this instrument till mild and fluffy.
- Not like a number of lemon cake recipes, there’s no want to mix the sugar and lemon zest collectively earlier than use. Simply add these substances individually, when the recipe requires them.
- You’ll want a 9×13 baking pan and parchment paper for this recipe. Not like a number of lemon sheet desserts, I don’t use a sheet pan as a result of this cake has a lot batter.
- I don’t advise utilizing this recipe to make layer desserts or cupcakes.
- I HIGHLY suggest utilizing a kitchen scale to weigh your all-purpose flour. I examined this recipe 8 occasions and it’s not tremendous forgiving. An excessive amount of and your cake shall be bone dry.
- Ensure your flour, baking powder, and baking soda are all recent and never expired.
- Your moist/stable substances are butter, eggs, lemon extract, vanilla extract, lemon juice, bitter cream, and buttermilk. I do know buttermilk is a ache, but it surely’s important.
- You’ll be able to at all times make a home made buttermilk if want be. Merely mix one scant cup of milk and 1 tablespoon of lemon juice. Put aside for about 5 minutes. It will enable the combination to curdle.
Flour Discuss: Can I Use Cake Flour?
- Sure, you should utilize cake flour as a substitute of all function flour if desired. This cake is mild and fluffy with out it. And since all-purpose flour is each cheaper and extra simply out there, I selected to make use of it on this recipe.
- However if you would like the softest cake doable, cake flour is a good alternative! You’ll be able to merely sub cake flour for the all-purpose flour. That change doesn’t require every other adjustments on this recipe.
- I don’t counsel utilizing every other number of flour, equivalent to almond flour, coconut flour, or complete wheat flour.
- A 1-for-1 Gluten free flour would possibly work happy with this recipe. However I haven’t examined this, so it will likely be an experiment.
Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting: Yum!
- This lemon cream cheese frosting is to-die-for! Made with butter, cream cheese, lemon juice, lemon zest, and lemon extract. Plus, a ton of powdered sugar, which binds every thing collectively and sweetness issues up!
- I don’t counsel lowering the quantity of confectioners’ sugar known as for. Decreasing the quantity will end in a runny cream cheese frosting.
- You’ll want a big bowl and an electrical hand-held mixer or a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment for this recipe.
- In case you don’t like cream cheese frosting, attempt a white chocolate frosting as a substitute.
Embellish the Lemon Cake
- I like making issues fairly, so clearly I needed to doll this lemon cake up and make it a showstopper!
- To do this I merely added some dollops of lemon curd and recent lemon slices on prime! I used about 1/2 cup of lemon curd in whole. Use kind of as you see match!
- I made the swirls utilizing a protracted wood skewer, however a pointy skinny knife or toothpick would additionally work properly.
- Add skinny lemon slices on prime for much more pizzazz! Contemporary lemon slices work nice however so do candied orange slices.
- In fact, you may also skip all these steps and easily serve with the cream cheese frosting on prime. This cake doesn’t require any garnish or adorning!
The way to Retailer Lemon Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
- Uncut, this cake will hold at room temperature for 3 days. Cowl with a cake keeper or loosely cowl with plastic wrap.
- As quickly as you’re taking a slice out of this cake, moisture begins to flee. That is what causes cake to get dry and rancid.
- Defend the sliced edges by urgent a chunk of plastic wrap straight onto the sliced space of the cake. Ensure it clings firmly to the lower space.
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Extra Lemon Desserts:
Lemon Cake for a Crowd
My lemon cake for a crowd is moist, fluffy, and loaded with recent lemon taste! Topped with silky easy lemon cream cheese frosting, dollops of lemon curd, and recent lemon slices, that is one in all my hottest lemon desserts. Bonus: this lemon sheet cake is really easy and feeds a crowd!
Components
For the Lemon Sheet Cake:
- 2 and three/4 cups all-purpose flour (343 grams)
- 2 and 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup (8 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 2 cups sugar granulated sugar
- 4 giant eggs, at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon lemon extract
- 1/2 cup buttermilk, at room temperature
- 1/2 cup bitter cream, at room temperature
- 1 and 1/2 Tablespoons lemon zest, finely grated
- 1/2 cup recent lemon juice
For the Cream Cheese Frosting:
- 8 ounces cream cheese, VERY tender
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, VERY tender
- 3 cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted
- 2 and 1/2 Tablespoons lemon recent lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon lemon extract
Directions
For the Lemon Sheet Cake:
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Preheat oven to 350 levels. Line a 9×13-inch baking pan with parchment paper. Spray parchment paper, and any uncovered pan, with non-stick baking spray. Put aside till wanted.
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In a big bowl sift collectively the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Put aside.
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Within the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or in a big bowl utilizing a handheld electrical mixer, beat the butter and sugar on medium-high velocity till mild and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Scrape down the edges and backside of the bowl with a rubber spatula, then beat for an additional 30 seconds.
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Add within the eggs, one by one, beating properly after every addition, and scraping down the edges and backside of the bowl typically to make sure all the substances are being evenly integrated.
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Beat within the vanilla extract and lemon extract.
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On low velocity, add within the sifted dry substances and beat till simply barely mixed, about 20 seconds right here. Don’t over combine right here or your cake shall be dry! Cease mixing when you possibly can nonetheless see lumps and streaks of dry substances.
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Flip the mixer off. Add within the buttermilk, bitter cream, lemon zest, and lemon juice. Flip mixer on lowest velocity and blend simply till all the substances are mixed.
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Flip the mixer off and, utilizing a rubber spatula, give the batter a mild fold, scraping from the underside of the bowl up. That is simply to make sure the mixer blade didn’t miss something!
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Pour the batter into the ready baking pan and use a spatula to softly easy the highest.
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Bake in preheated oven for 35 to 40 minutes, till the highest is agency, golden brown, and a toothpick inserted in the midst of the cake comes out clear, or with a couple of moist crumbs hooked up.
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Place cake pan on a cooling rack and funky fully earlier than frosting.
For the Cream Cheese Frosting:
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Within the bowl of a stand-mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or in a big bowl utilizing an electrical handheld mixer, beat the cream cheese and butter on medium-high velocity till fully easy; about 2 minutes.
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Scale back the velocity to low and steadily add within the sifted confectioners’ sugar. As soon as all the sugar has been added, add within the lemon juice and lemon extract and beat till mixed.
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As soon as mixed, enhance velocity to medium- high-speed and beat for two minutes.
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As soon as the cake has fully cooled, unfold the frosting over the cake and embellish with lemon curd and recent lemon slices, if desired.
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Leftovers must be lined tightly and saved within the fridge for as much as 3 days.
