I put my foot in this lemon cake recipe y’all. You will never taste another one this tender and moist. Like seriously the texture is everything. Then I double up the lemon with both lemon zest and lemon so you know you are gonna taste lemon for reals. Finally I balance the citrus with a cream cheese frosting that has a bit of zing too. It’s a straight up hit boos.
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How to Make Lemon Cake
For the Cake
- Preheat oven to 325°F and spray two 8-inch cake pans.
- Beat oil and butter for 2 minutes, then slowly add sugar and beat 4–5 minutes until pale and fluffy.
- Add eggs one at a time, mixing well. On low speed, mix in flour in two additions with baking powder, salt, and baking soda.
- Add sour cream, milk, lemon zest, lemon extract, and vanilla. Mix just until combined.
- Divide batter between pans and bake 30–40 minutes, checking at 27 minutes. Cool 10–15 minutes in pans, then turn out to cool completely.
For the Frosting
- Beat butter and cream cheese until nice and fluffy.
- Gradually add confectioners’ sugar, then whip in cream, vanilla, lemon extract, and salt until smooth.
To Assemble
- Next level the cakes if you want then slice each layer into two layers. Frost between the layers then cover cake with remaining frosting before serving.
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Lemon Cake Recipe
This moist, tender and soft lemon cake is iced in a l lemon cream cheese frosting and bursting with irresistibly zingy and tangy lemon flavor!!!
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I’ll email this recipe to you, so you can come back to it later!
Servings: 18 servings
Ingredients
For the Cake
- 2/3 cup vegetable oil
- 1/3 cup unsalted butter room temperature
- 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
- 3 large eggs
- 2 3/4 cups all purpose flour sifted
- 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1 1/4 cup sour cream
- 1/3 cup whole milk
- 1 tbsp fresh lemon zest
- 1 1/2 tsp lemon extract
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
For the Frosting
- 1 cup unsalted butter room temperature
- 8 oz cream cheese room temperature
- 4 cups confectioner's sugar
- 2 tsp heavy whipping cream
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 tsp lemon extract
- pinch of salt
Instructions
For the Cake
- Start by preheating your oven to 325°F then liberally spray 2 (8-inch) round cake pans with non-stick baking spray.
- In your mixer bowl, add oil and butter and beat for 2 minutes on high speed. Slowly add in sugar and beat on high speed for an additional 4-5 minutes until very pale yellow and fluffy. Next, add eggs, one at a time, combining well after each addition and scraping down the sides as needed.
- Turn your mixer down to its lowest speed, and slowly add flour into batter in two increments then add baking powder, salt and baking soda. Be careful not to over beat.
- Lastly, add sour cream, milk, lemon zest, lemon and vanilla extracts, scrape down sides and mix until just combined and turn off mixer.
- Evenly pour cake batter into prepared baking pans and place in oven to bake for 30-40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes just barely clean but don't over bake (crucial not to over bake this cake)!! I personally start checking the cakes around 27 minutes just to ensure.
- Remove cakes from oven and rest in pans for 10-15 minutes. Invert cakes from pans onto cooling racks until cooled.
For the Frosting
- Add butter and cream cheese to the bowl of your mixer and beat on high speed until it begins to thicken and fluff.
- Next slow down mixer and carefully add in confectioner’s sugar. Once all sugar has incorporated, turn mixer back to high to continue whipping.
- Add in heavy cream, vanilla, lemon extract and salt and continue whipping until it is smooth, light and a fluffy frosting.
To Assemble
- Level the cakes, if necessary, and slice each cake into two layers making a total of four layers of cake. Add frosting between layers then frost entire cake with remaining frosting. Serve.
Notes
You can store this cake overnight at room temperature in a covered container. If you plan on making it further in advance then go ahead and refrigerate. You can also make the layers in advance and freeze them as long as they are wrapped (with plastic wrap) very well.
Before serving, be sure to bring your cake to room temperature. Butter based cakes tend to harden while refrigerating and you’ll miss out on that melt in your mouth experience.
Nutrition
Calories: 519kcal | Carbohydrates: 59g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 30g | Saturated Fat: 20g | Cholesterol: 87mg | Sodium: 229mg | Potassium: 113mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 44g | Vitamin A: 744IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 60mg | Iron: 1mg
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Recipe Tips
- Keep it Room Temp: Butter, eggs, sour cream, cream cheese. That all needs be room temp to make a smooth cake batter and a fluffy creamy frosting.
- Don’t Overmix: Once those dry ingredients go in the mixing bowl, I feel like a timer starts. Add it until it just mixes in and then move on so the cake doesn’t get dense.
- Check Early: These layers are super forgiving but if you overbake them, they will dry out. Start checking the cake at least 5 minutes before the time since some ovens run hotter than others.
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I made this today for my dads birthday and the texture was just beautiful. The frosting was so smooth and complemented the cake well, the lemon flavor was subtle, but i also added a lemon curd to the inside and it made everything so bright and tangy. Im saving this one! Thank you!
Wonderful! I’m so so glad you enjoyed this!
I wanted to love this cake but it lacked lemon flavor (in the cake). The frosting was really good but overall it was a lot of work and ingredients for a disappointing result. The cake wasn’t as moist as I’d like to be either.
What a beautiful cake! You could make it for a wedding!
Making this cake for the third time, all three times as a birthday cake for my now 12 year old. Your recipe is flawless and the cake is out of this world. Thank you! <3
Awe, thank so much, Amy!
Would you recommend using Meyer lemons for this recipe ? Or one half regular lemons and one half Meyer lemons ? I’m baking a wedding cake for the first time ! Thank you for your amazing recipes !!!
Meyer lemons do tend to be sweeter than regular lemons so it really just depends on your taste preference. The best thing to do would be to test it out all three ways and do a tasting before making the final cake.
Thanks for your delicious cake recipes, all the way from sunny Perth, Western Australia tried the lemon loaf, now hummingbird’s next
Wow!! Thank you so much for making my cakes, I can’t wait to see what you think of the hummingbird cake!
Can I make this cake in a 9×13 pan?
Because this cake is only 2 8 inch round layers, it won’t hold enough volume for a 9×13 pan unfortunately. It would need almost close to double for that pan.
I made this in a 9×13 pan, cut it in half and stacked it, making a 9×6.5” rectangular cake. The layers were not thick enough to split further (as Jocelyn said), so I kept it as a 2 layer cake. The icing was too sweet for me anyway, so I was happy keeping it as 2 thicker layers. The guidance of checking the cake early was very useful, and I took it out at 35 minutes.
The cake itself was lovely and moist.
And thanks Jocelyn! Your cake recipes (this and your carrot cake) have given me confidence to bake cakes that I can share with others. I use the metric measurements and everything has turned out perfectly. I look forward to making your Turtles cake next! ❤️
Awe, thank you so much, Alissa, for your kind words and for sharing your tips for making a 9×13!
Could I make this in a bundt pan? Thank you
Great question, I don’t recommend making this cake in a bundt pan, but my lemon pound cake holds up amazing in a Bundt pan!
Hello, will I need to coat this cake with simple syrup? It will be in the fridge for 2 days before assembly.
I would suggest not putting this cake in the refrigerator or any cake in the fridge. If you won’t be assembling for 2 days, I suggest wrapping the layers super well with plastic wrap and putting in the freezer. Then thawing when you want to wrap. This will keep the layers moist.
Can you use this recipe for cupcakes?
Yes! It makes great cupcakes.