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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 must learn about me? I’m a die-hard lemon lover who takes her lemon desserts very significantly! I like lemon cake recipes particularly as a result of they’re mild, refreshing, and ideal for nearly any event. And any time of yr.
Sunday brunch… Mom’s Day… Easter… Christmas… or an off-the-cuff picnic within the park. Lemon cake suits the invoice! I take advantage of conventional lemons for this recipe, however when you’re fortunate sufficient to have meyer lemons readily 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 due to 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
- 1,000,000 occasions higher than boxed lemon cake combine (ew)
Find out how to Make Lemon Cake
- Make the Lemon Cake Batter: Use an electrical mixer to make the cake batter. Make certain 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 muffins might 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’ll be able to 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.
- Beautify the Lemon Cake: As soon as the cake layer is totally cool, slather cream cheese frosting all around the tops of the cake. Then add dollops of lemon curd and swirl. You can even add some contemporary 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’ll be able to’t make this lemon cake batter with out an electrical mixer. You should beat the granulated sugar and butter with this device till mild and fluffy.
- In contrast to a whole lot of lemon cake recipes, there’s no want to mix the sugar and lemon zest collectively earlier than use. Simply add these elements individually, when the recipe requires them.
- You’ll want a 9×13 baking pan and parchment paper for this recipe. In contrast to a whole lot of lemon sheet muffins, 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 muffins 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 might be bone dry.
- Make certain your flour, baking powder, and baking soda are all contemporary and never expired.
- Your moist/strong elements 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 may all the time 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. This may permit the combination to curdle.
Flour Speak: Can I Use Cake Flour?
- Sure, you should utilize cake flour as an alternative of all goal flour if desired. This cake is mild and fluffy with out it. And since all-purpose flour is each cheaper and extra simply accessible, I selected to make use of it on this recipe.
- However if you’d like the softest cake doable, cake flour is a good selection! You may merely sub cake flour for the all-purpose flour. That change doesn’t require another adjustments on this recipe.
- I don’t counsel utilizing another number of flour, resembling almond flour, coconut flour, or entire wheat flour.
- A 1-for-1 Gluten free flour may work comfortable with this recipe. However I haven’t examined this, so will probably 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 part collectively and sweetness issues up!
- I don’t counsel lowering the quantity of confectioners’ sugar referred to as for. Decreasing the quantity will lead to a runny cream cheese frosting.
- You’ll want a big bowl and an electrical handheld mixer or a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment for this recipe.
- Should you don’t like cream cheese frosting, strive a white chocolate frosting as an alternative.
Beautify the Lemon Cake
- You recognize I like making issues fairly, so clearly I needed to doll this lemon cake up and make it a showstopper!
- To try this I merely added some dollops of lemon curd and contemporary lemon slices on prime! I used about 1/2 cup of lemon curd in complete. Use roughly as you see match!
- I made the swirls utilizing a protracted wood skewer, however a pointy skinny knife or toothpick would additionally work nicely.
- Add skinny lemon slices on prime for much more pizzazz! Recent lemon slices work nice however so do candied orange slices.
- In fact, it’s also possible to skip all these steps and easily serve with the cream cheese frosting on prime. This cake doesn’t require any garnish or adorning!
Find out how 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 are taking a slice out of this cake, moisture begins to flee. That is what causes cake to get dry and off.
- Shield the sliced edges by urgent a bit of plastic wrap immediately onto the sliced space of the cake. Make certain it clings firmly to the lower space.
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Extra Lemon Truffles:
Lemon Cake for a Crowd
My lemon cake for a crowd is moist, fluffy, and loaded with contemporary lemon taste! Topped with silky easy lemon cream cheese frosting, dollops of lemon curd, and contemporary lemon slices, that is considered one of my hottest lemon desserts. Bonus: this lemon sheet cake is very easy and feeds a crowd!
Elements
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 massive 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 contemporary 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 contemporary 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 pace till mild and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Scrape down the edges and backside of the bowl with a rubber spatula, then beat for one more 30 seconds.
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Add within the eggs, one after the other, beating nicely after every addition, and scraping down the edges and backside of the bowl typically to make sure the entire elements are being evenly integrated.
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Beat within the vanilla extract and lemon extract.
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On low pace, add within the sifted dry elements and beat till simply barely mixed, about 20 seconds right here. Don’t over combine right here or your cake might be dry! Cease mixing when you’ll be able to nonetheless see lumps and streaks of dry elements.
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Flip the mixer off. Add within the buttermilk, bitter cream, lemon zest, and lemon juice. Flip mixer on lowest pace and blend simply till the entire elements are mixed.
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Flip the mixer off and, utilizing a rubber spatula, give the batter a delicate 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 just a few 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 pace till fully easy; about 2 minutes.
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Cut back the pace to low and steadily add within the sifted confectioners’ sugar. As soon as the entire sugar has been added, add within the lemon juice and lemon extract and beat till mixed.
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As soon as mixed, improve pace 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 contemporary lemon slices, if desired.
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Leftovers ought to be coated tightly and saved within the fridge for as much as 3 days.
