We spent the 4th of July bbq-ing with friends, and this year I thought I’d bypass the star spangled cake designs and flavors all together. Instead, I reached for the perfect lemon cake recipe (always a crowd favorite!) and paired it with the tastiest lemon cream cheese buttercream. It did not disappoint. I think this lemon cake is so perfect for any Summer gathering (or year round!), and I can’t wait to share this recipe with all of you lemon fans.
Last month, after tons of recipe testing and plenty of fails, this magical lemon cake was created. My insides squealed as I took it out of the oven and discovered that I had finally stumbled upon a lemon cake that’s fluffy, moist, packed with lemon flavor, and has the perfect amount of rise! Since lemon is such an acidic ingredient, you’ve got to be extra careful with which rising agent ratios you choose. I’m happy to say that these ones are perfection, so you can expect a beautiful lemon cake every time you bake it!
The first time I attempted a lemon cake recipe, I was flavoring the batter with fresh squeezed lemon juice. It turns out that lemon juice doesn’t really do much for flavor because most of it bakes off in the oven, and the most potent flavors of lemon actually come from the peel. So in the end, fresh lemon zest and a little lemon extract (which is made from distilled zest) add the perfect amount of zingy lemon flavor to this cake. Don’t worry about wasting any lemon juice though, you can save that for the lemon cream cheese buttercream!
I’ve paired this lemon cake with blueberry buttercream before, and it’s a beautiful flavor combination. This time around, I whipped up some lemon cream cheese buttercream and it is so, so dreamy with this cake. While cream cheese buttercreams tend to be on the softer side, this one is actually perfect for both frosting the cake and piping on designs, so it’s a real winner! And flavoring it with a little hit of fresh squeezed lemon juice really helps bring out the perfect amount of lemon flavor throughout the cake. So tasty!
As a finishing touch, I oven dried some lemon slices and stuck them onto the frosted cake. I think they’re so pretty, and really easy to make if you’ve got some down time. All it takes is slicing some lemons, baking them on a piece of parchment paper for 2-3 hours in a 200º oven (until they’re dry to the touch), and voila! The prettiest little lemon accents for your cake! However you choose to decorate, this lemon cake will have everyone reaching for that second (and third) slice.
Lemon Cake With Lemon Cream Cheese Buttercream
Ingredients
Lemon Layer Cake
- 3 1/4 Cups (344g) cake flour, sifted before measuring
- 1 Tbsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp baking soda
- 1 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 Cup (226g) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 2 Cups (410g) white granulated sugar
- 4 eggs, room temperature
- 1/3 Cup (75g) sour cream, room temperature
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 2 tsp pure lemon extract
- 1 Tbsp fresh lemon zest (about 1 small lemon)
- 1 1/4 Cups (300ml) whole milk, room temperature
Lemon Cream Cheese Buttercream
- 1 Cup (226g) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 16 oz (452g) cream cheese, room temperature brick-style, not the spread*
- 8 Cups (960g) powdered sugar
- 1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice (about 1/2 small lemon)
- 1/2 tsp salt
Instructions
Make The Lemon Layer Cake
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Prepare three 6-inch or two 8-inch cake pans by spraying the sides with a cooking spray (Baker’s Joy is my favorite) and a wax paper circle fitted to the bottom of the pan. Alternatively, you can grease and lightly flour the pans.
- Sift the cake flour and then measure by spooning and leveling it in your measuring cup. Add the cake flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt into a bowl and whisk to combine. Set aside.
- In the bowl of your stand mixer (a handheld mixer works fine too!), cream the butter for on high for two minutes until it’s light and fluffy. Add in sugar and continue to mix on medium-high for another two minutes, scraping down the bowl and paddle as needed. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing thoroughly after each addition. Add sour cream, vanilla extract, lemon extract, and lemon zest and mix for one minute on high, scraping down the bowl and paddle once more.
- With the mixer on low speed, add in the dry ingredients and mix until just combined. Add the milk slowly and mix until just incorporated. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl and give it a few stirs to make sure there are no lumps.
- Pour batter into prepared cake pans (no more than 2/3 of the way full) and bake for 30-35 minutes. They’re done when they spring back to the touch and a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean. Let the cakes cool in the pan for five minutes before turning them out onto a wire rack for an additional few hours of cooling. Make sure they’re entirely room temperature before applying any frosting.
Make The Lemon Cream Cheese Buttercream
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and cream cheese on high until light, fluffy, and uniform (no lumps), about five minutes. Turn the mixer to low and add the powdered sugar a few cups at a time, mixing thoroughly after each addition. Add the lemon juice and salt, mixing on low for another 30 seconds.
Assembly
- After the lemon cake is cooled, torte each layer to remove the excess cake dome. Fill and frost with lemon cream cheese buttercream. To replicate the design pictured, after crumb coating the cake, divide the lemon cream cheese buttercream amongst three separate bowls. Color one bowl with yellow food coloring (I used Americolor Lemon Yellow). Mix a little of the yellow buttercream into another bowl of plain white to create a middle yellow shade. You should now have one bowl of deep yellow buttercream, one bowl of mid-yellow buttercream, and one bowl of white buttercream.
- Frost the bottom third of the cake with the deepest shade of yellow buttercream, the middle third with the mid-tone buttercream, and the top third with white buttercream. Smooth it with an icing smoother to create an ombre finish. Top with pretty piping, oven dried lemon slices, and a few yellow and white sprinkles for good measure.
Notes
Did you make this cake recipe? I want to know how it went! Let me know in the comments below or feel free to tag @sugarandsparrowco on Instagram. I love to see your cake creations!
I have made this cake before and it is divine. My question is about the cake flour. I have a friend that eats gluten free. Have you ever or do you know if I used gluten free cake flour, if it will make a huge difference in the cake? I am inexperienced baking gluten free. Just trying to get some guidance. Thank you for any info. And I love your cakes. They have all been delicious that I’ve made.
Hi Jennifer! I haven’t ever substituted GF cake flour in my recipes before but I have heard of people doing it with success! I’d say go for it! So happy to hear you’ve been loving my recipes 🙂
Thank you the information. I’ll let you know how it turns out once I make it.
I just wanted to update after making the cake with gluten free cake flour. It was my first time doing so and the cake ended up being dry. I have made many of your cakes and never have had that problem. It also tasted different, not bad, but kind of a strange after taste. BUT in saying that, my friend liked the cake and took leftovers home, so that was a win because I was making it for her. I LOVE all your cake recipes I have ever done, just wanted to pass along my experience with the substitution. Have a yummy, cake filled day.
I’m glad your friend liked the GF version, Jennifer! GF baking is a whole different ballgame. One of these days I’ll try experimenting with some GF recipes and see if I can nail something moist and flavorful!
Wondering why lemon extract is used in this recipe vs fresh lemon juice in your other lemon/blueberry cake recipe? Either way, excited to make it!
Hi Lola! This is an older lemon cake recipe that’s still a great recipe but different from my most recent lemon blueberry layer cake which doesn’t use lemon extract. In that recipe I lean more on the lemon zest and lemon juice to flavor the cake. Just two different ways to make a lemon cake!
My 8” cake pans are 3” in height rather than the standard 2”. Would this have any affect on the cakes or will they come out ok? I assume I just fill both with even amounts of batter then keep watch of my baking time? I bought the 3” tall thinking they would be more versatile but now second guessing myself. Looking forward to baking this cake, I have just started to get into cake baking and loving your site!
Hi Jane! You can definitely use the 3″ high cake pans without any problems. Just divide the batter evenly between the pans and bake for the recommended time 🙂
Hello.. i love love your recipes. Just wondering if i used salted butter do I have to cut down the salt used and if so, how much do i cut it down by? Thank you for sharing your recipes with us all
Hi Joanne! If you’re using salted butter, omit all of the rest of the salt from the recipe. Let me know how it goes!
Hello, I am planning on making this cake ahead of time and freezing it to travel. Do you think the candied lemon slices will survive the freeze and thaw processed?
Hi Heather! The lemon slices should freeze and thaw beautifully!
Can you add lemon zest to the frosting to give it more lemon flavor?
Hi Una! You totally can. You’ll be able to see little flecks of zest in the buttercream though, so just keep that in mind.
Hi! How did you have the lemon rings for the decor?
Hi Tanvi! There are instructions for making the dried lemon slices right before the recipe portion of this post: slice some lemons, bake them on a parchment lined cookie sheet for 2-3 hours in a 200º oven (until they’re dry to the touch), and voila!
Hi!!
I live in Ireland and cake flour and corn starch are hard to come by. Would love to make this recipe but will I need a different measurement for plain flour or could I swap it gram for gram?
Love your recipes thanks!
Hi Rachel! Since plain flour weighs more than cake flour, it won’t be a straight substitution in grams but it would be a straight substitution in cups. In other words, 3 1/4 Cups of plain flour which will weigh about 405g total. Hope that helps!
Hello,
I was wondering if this recipe is a good recipe for stacking cakes? If you ever tried? I would be making a 3 tier cake and I was looking for a new lemon recipe for it. Thank you for your time.
Hi Nat! It will totally work for a tiered cake. Enjoy!
Hi!!
What bake time would you suggest for three 8inch pans? Would you use the same amount of batter or make more?
Thanks so much in advance!!
Hi Kate! For three 8 inch pans I would make 1.5x the recipe and bake for 30-35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Hope that helps!
What is cake flour ? Can you use plain flour or self raising ?
Hi Tanya! Here’s a post that explains why I use cake flour and how to substitute plain flour: https://sugarandsparrow.com/homemade-cake-flour
Hi there!
Is it possible to bake this recipe in a 9×13 pan?
Thank you!
Hi Jess! Yes, you can bake this in a 9 x 13 pan. Here’s all the details: https://sugarandsparrow.com/sheet-cake-recipes/
Just made your cake today for my daughter’s birthday. I actually had enough batter to make a 4th 6 inch cake. My pans aren’t the tall 6×2, I weighed each one out to 14 1/4 oz w/ batter. I’ve tried other recipes of yours and they are amazing. My daughter loves lemon cake and I knew this one would be perfect to do but I’m actually going to make a honeycomb cake for her because that’s what she requested lol. This is the first time on making that kind of cake.
Hi Whitney, I read a comment here about omitting the sour cream and substituting the milk for buttermilk. Just want to confirm that it’s okay to omit the sour cream altogether?
Hi Kate! You can do that, but the cake will not be as moist. I highly recommend keeping the sour cream in there or subbing with plain yogurt.
Hi there! If I wanted to make just a lemon buttercream (without the cream cheese in it), does the frosting ingredient measurements need to be adjusted? Or can I still make this lemon-flavoured buttercream by simply leaving the cream cheese out? Thanks!!!
Hi there! If you want to make a lemon buttercream without the cream cheese, use 1 extra cup of butter in place of the cream cheese. Enjoy!
Hi Whitney, I am from Australia and have been following your blog and Instagram for a few months and love your tips and tutorials! We use the metric measure here, so I was trying to convert your recipe but I am having a very hard time. Do you have any tips? I am confused with how you calculate your grams, they seem too low given how many cups you measure say for the flour for example. Desperately want to try one of your recipes they look incredible! Thanks xx
Hi Rachel, this recipe is already converted to metric measurements (grams/ml) so there’s no need to do any more calculating. The cake flour weighs less than all purpose or plain flour, so I am wondering if that’s what’s confusing. For example, if you follow the DIY recipe for cake flour in the notes it will weigh more than what’s listed as the cake flour weight because it’s made with all purpose flour. Does that make sense? Are there any other ingredients that are giving you a hard time? I would try the recipe as-is (it’s been tested lots) and see how it turns out before trying to change the measurements.