This Lemon Cake Recipe is so luscious and fluffy. It’s the perfect lemon cake full of lemon flavor.
Do I have to use buttermilk in this recipe?
The buttermilk in this recipe interacts with the baking powder to create a fluffier cake. If you do not have buttermilk, you can easily make a buttermilk substitute.
Can I use a different kind of frosting in this recipe?
This lemon cake recipe uses a cream cheese frosting. If you do not like cream cheese frosting or cannot find cream cheese, you can replace the cream cheese with butter which will create a buttercream frosting.
What is the easiest way to frost a layered cake?
The easiest way to frost a layered cake is to transfer all of your frosting to plastic piping bags. Place the empty piping bags into a tall glass to make it easier to transfer the frosting. You don’t need to use a piping tip, simply snip off the bottom. Squeeze the frosting in a spiral on top of each layer of cake, then use a knife to spread it out in an even layer. Once all layers are assembled, you can squeeze the remaining frosting around the outside of the cake as well and smooth it out.
Can this lemon cake be made into a 2 layer cake?
Yes, this recipe is designed for either a 3 layer cake with thin layers, or a 2 layer cake with thicker layers without making any adjustments to the ingredients in this recipe. For a 2 layer cake, add 5 to 10 minutes to the baking time.
If you like this recipe, you may be interested in some of our other delicious cake recipes:
Watch the video below where Rachel will walk you through every step of this recipe. Sometimes it helps to have a visual, and we’ve always got you covered with our cooking show. You can find the complete collection of recipes on YouTube, Facebook Watch, or our Facebook Page, or right here on our website with their corresponding recipes.
This cake was delicious! Thank you!! Just wondering if you would update the recipe to include the directions for the frosting, if possible? Thank you so much!!
This cake turned out wonderfully. I added a few blackberries from my backyard in between the layers. The last few lemon recipes I made, the cake came out VERY dense. This one came out lighter, exactly how I wanted it. The frosting is the kind of frosting that makes you dance around your kitchen goin, “Mmm mmm mm!” after you dip your finger in for a taste.
Thanks for the recipe.
This cake recipe is incredible!!! I was searching for a lemon cake and tried another website’s recipe that I was disappointed in. Then I remembered that your chocolate cake recipe is my absolute favorite so I decided to search and see if you had a lemon cake one I could try for my daughter’s birthday. And thank goodness you did. It was so delicious! I’ve made it twice now and have gotten rave reviews! Thank you for another dynamite recipe!
The best lemon cake ever😊♥️
This looks delish!
Can I use two 8 inch round cake pans instead? I do not own 9 inch cake pans.
Sponge tasted great. I made it in a 9inch square tin and baked for 50 mins. The cocktail stick came out clean and it had browned on the outside however when I cut the cake, it seemed a bit too soft. It wasn’t springy, rather just all stuck together like play dough?!so not sure if I should have cooked it a little bit longer. I also used half of the frosting as it was quite sweet, split my cake in half and sandwiched it with the frosting as well as putting some on top. But it was still quite sweet… Read more »
I made the chocolate cake and i had so much praise everyone said it was restaurant style. Im excited to make this lemon cake today. Will post the outcome. Love your cakes amazing!!!!
Forst off, this is the BEST lemon cake i have yet made.
I used it as a base for a sheet poke cake, coated with a warm butter/lemon icing.
And since it came out nearly perfect, I was wondering if the batter would work with rum as a substitute for the lemon juice. It would be a huge upgrade for my rum drizzle cake.
Thanks in advance , and thanks for this great recipe
Top of my cake is done. Tooth pick came out clean. However when the cake was cool and I flipped the cake. The bottom is uncooked. Fingers crossed the bottom be cooked after 20 minutes on the bottom of the oven
The toothpick method is a reliable way to know when a cake is ready, though you do want to be sure it is inserted far enough into the cake.
Awesome cake?Thank you so much ?
Hey Rachel, I love your chocolate cake and i was excited when I saw you have a lemon cake recipe too. Just one question, can I substitute the egged with curd or buttermilk??? I need to bake the cake tonight for my daughters birthday tomorrow, please confirm
I made this cake over the weekend for the birthday dinner for my mom–who loves all things lemon! It was soft and delicious! I baked mine for 30 minutes,. I actually took a risk and put the third cake pan on the rack below the other two, and they all cooked evenly! (But I guess try this at your own risk?) The color of the exterior of the cake as well as the interior was very light. (It looked like a true white cake.) Like Rachel suggested, I also added a little yellow food coloring to the icing….it was the… Read more »
The icing turned out amazing! I used an extra tsp of lemon juice and lemon zest. Not sure what happened to my cake but it turned out dry and crumbly. I used cake and pastry flour instead of all purpose not sure if that made a difference. Also I over baked the cake I would love some pointers on what I did wrong..
Unfortunately cake flour and pastry flour are different enough that it definitely impacts the recipe in a negative way. Using all purpose flour will yield a better result.
This cake is amazing!!!! We have dairy protein allergies in our family, so I substituted Earth Balance’s dairy-free, soy-free butter for the regular butter and made my buttermilk out of So Delicious coconut milk with 1.5 Tablespoons of vinegar added. Also made the butter substitute in the icing. It was scrumptious!!!!
Thank you for your great videos and recipes. love your chocolate cake! Today, I’m making your Lemon Cake. In the future, I’d like to use 6″ X 2″ round pans for a smaller cake. Can I just cut the recipe in half?
You can use any size of pans you’d like. You’ll just have to be sure to not overfill it and adjust the baking time.