Best Ever Lemon Cake (2024)

Best Ever Lemon Cake (1)ThisHomemade Best-Ever Lemon Cake will be your new go-to lemon cake recipe! Moist and soft with a fluffy, tender crumb and a luscious lemon cream cheese frosting, it is perfect for any time of year, but especially spring and summer!

I hope you guys all had a great Easter Sunday!

Ours was low-key. I made my Key Lime Pie and Berry Mousse Pie and they were a huge hit! It was just 8 of us, as usual, so it was nothing fancy or major. I spent most of the day relaxing with my boys and reading or goofing around on the computer. And thankfully, the weather was perfection: sunny, breezy, and warm enough to wear a dress without a cardigan. I love low-key days like these!

But now it is back to work and I’m kinda glad about it. Wanna know why? Because I have lemon cake to talk about (and eat!).

I have received many requests about finding the perfect lemon cake recipe, but to be honest, none of them really lived up to par. They were too dry, some were cornbread-y tasting (ew!), and some weren’t lemony enough. To be frank, I wanted one like a lemon cake mix: moist and tender but with a real lemon flavor – nothing artificial or sour.

Best Ever Lemon Cake (2)Folks, this is it and it by a long shot! It is AMAZING. I know you’re going to love it!

The recipe is actually adapted from my friend Rachel’s recipe at the Stay at Home Chef. Her recipe had all the elements I wanted and the proportions were just right of each ingredient to yield a fluffy, tender, and supremely moist cake with a fresh, REAL lemon flavor.

Best Ever Lemon Cake (3)I went ahead and made a lemony cream cheese frosting to coat the outside of the cake with. As you can probably see from the photos, I am no cake icer… not in a million years! This icing definitely makes enough to frost the entire cake, inside and out – but I wanted to really drive home that lemon flavor, so I added lemon curd in between the layers. It was a very brilliant decision, if I do say so myself!

Best Ever Lemon Cake (4)The lemon curd is glossy and thick with a very vibrant, punchy lemon flavor and really helps tie the more mellow lemon frosting and cake together. If you wanna get all Betty Crocker, you can certainly make the lemon curd yourself – or I have this recipe! – but I used the Bonne Maman lemon curd and it was fantastic! Anywhere I can shave off time, money, or corners, I will!

Best Ever Lemon Cake (5)The result is the dreamiest,Best-Ever Lemon Cake.Moist, tender, soft and fluffy with a delicious, stick-to-your-fork crumb and superior lemon flavor throughout each element of this easy cake.

Enjoy!

UPDATE 1/2020: Some readers had issues with the density of this cake. To fix this, I have made the following amendments to the recipe:

1. I reduced the amount of baking powder as well as added in some baking soda to help with lift.

2. I now require you beat the butter and sugar together for a full FIVE minutes. You read that right! This gives it ample time to break down the sugar crystals and create a light, fluffy and aerated mixture for a fluffier, lighter cake.

Best Ever Lemon Cake (6)

Best Ever Lemon Cake (7)

Print Recipe

This is the BEST Homemade Lemon Cake recipe I've tried, and I've tried a lot! Supremely moist and soft with a stick-to-your-fork kinda crumb, it's filled with a thick and punchy lemon curd and a lemony cream cheese frosting!

Prep Time25 minutes mins

Cook Time35 minutes mins

Total Time1 hour hr

Course: Cakes/Cupcakes, Dessert

Cuisine: American, Dessert

Servings: 8 -12

Author: Hayley Parker, The Domestic Rebel

Ingredients

  • FOR THE CAKE:
  • 1 cup (2 sticks) salted butter, softened
  • cups granulated sugar
  • 3 large eggs
  • 1/4 cup lemon juice fresh squeezed is best!
  • cups buttermilk
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • Zest of one medium lemon about 1-2 Tablespoons
  • cups all-purpose flour
  • 3 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • About 1 cup lemon curd freshly homemade or prepared
  • FOR THE FROSTING:
  • 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter softened
  • 8 ounces (One 8-ounce package) cream cheese softened
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 1/4 cup lemon juice
  • 1 Tablespoon lemon zest about zest from one medium lemon
  • 4-5 cups confectioners' sugar

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease the bottom of two 9" round cake pans, then place a piece of parchment paper in the bottom. Liberally grease the bottoms and sides of the cake pans with cooking spray; set aside.

  • In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream together the butter and granulated sugar until fluffy and pale, about 5 minutes. Do not skimp on the beating time as this breaks down the sugar crystals and makes the cake fluffy. Meanwhile, in a medium to large-size bowl, whisk together the eggs, lemon juice, buttermilk, vanilla extract, and lemon zest until combined. Set aside.

  • In another bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Starting with the flour, add a little into the stand mixer bowl with the butter mixture and beat on low speed until incorporated. Alternate adding the buttermilk mixture with the flour mixture until a thick batter comes together.

  • Divide the batter evenly among the baking pans and smooth out the tops. Bake for about 25-35 minutes, testing with a toothpick inserted near the center. If the toothpick comes out clean or with moist crumbs, it is done. Cool completely.

  • For the frosting: In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream together the butter, cream cheese, and vanilla extract until smooth, about 1 minute. Gradually add in the confectioners' sugar, alternating with the lemon juice until the frosting is light and fluffy. Beat in the lemon zest to combine.

  • To assemble: On a cake plate or cake stand, place one of the cake layers upside down. Pipe a thick border of frosting around the edge of the cake, leaving the center open. Fill with the lemon curd, spreading out to the frosting border. Top with the second cake layer, then frost with the remaining frosting on the tops and sides of the cake. Serve!

Best Ever Lemon Cake (8)I know you guys are going to adore this easy, beautiful and delicious cake recipe!

Best Ever Lemon Cake (9)

Have a super sweet day!

xo, Hayley

Best Ever Lemon Cake (2024)

FAQs

How do you get the perfect lemon cake game? ›

Players will get a "Perfect Order" by serving a customer almost immediately after taking their order. They will tip more, as indicated by a blue smiley face. The best way to get consistent 'Perfect Orders' is to have a whole variety of the menu in the display window, ready to serve customers almost immediately.

Can I use lemon juice instead of water in cake mix? ›

Sprinkle in lemon or orange zest to give your box cake batter a hint of zing. You can also replace the water with lemon, orange or lime juice or soda. Use this method with any type of cake mix, but it works best with lemon, yellow and white cake.

How do you increase the flavor of lemon in a cake? ›

Combine lemon zest with oil or butter

Rub the lemon into the sugar, then add your cooking fat, like butter or oil. The tangy zest will infuse the whole batter, elevating the tart flavor of your dessert. For a shortcut, you can use lemon-infused olive oil.

What happens if you put too much lemon juice in a cake? ›

Cutting too much lemon for a recipe can result in a dish that is excessively sour or acidic. This can overpower the other flavors and make the dish unbalanced. It is important to use the right amount of lemon to ensure the desired taste and to avoid ruining the dish.

How to get perfect orders in lemon cake? ›

A perfect order is one where you deliver the pastry while the "patience bar" is still in the blue zone. Perfect orders actually have to do with how fast you get the pastry to the customer! Each customer has a patience bar.

How long does it take to finish lemon cake game? ›

Updated:
Single-PlayerPolledAverage
Main Story611h 26m
Main + Extras514h 45m
Completionist1124h 33m
All PlayStyles2218h 45m

Why is my lemon cake not fluffy? ›

Why is my lemon cake not fluffy – The cake is not fluffy because the batter wasn't beaten enough. The butter and sugar should be creamed well until pale and creamy. The eggs should be added into the butter mixture one at a time until well incorporated.

Why is my lemon cake so dense? ›

Your cake is too dense A cake that is overly dense typically has too much liquid, too much sugar or too little leavening (not excess flour, as is commonly thought).

What makes a cake more moist water or milk? ›

One common ingredient swap that is known to help make cakes remarkably moist is using milk instead of water. Try switching out any water in your recipe for full-fat milk or buttermilk for a moist, decadent texture. Another ingredient that can enhance the moisture of your cake is mayonnaise.

Why doesn't my lemon cake taste like lemon? ›

Lemon flavor: Let's all say it together: LEMON JUICE DOESN'T ADD LEMON FLAVOR (when added to the cake). Instead, try adding more zest, lemon extract, or a lemon soak.

How do you intensify lemon flavor? ›

Add up to a few teaspoons of zest to your baked goods to provide background flavor notes. It can be used to boost the overall lemon profile of your bake or accent additional flavors, similar to vanilla extract. Add the zest to your recipe when called for or when adding the fat (butter, oil, etc.)

Why does my lemon cake taste bitter? ›

Why does my lemon cake taste bitter? Depending on what you use to zest your lemons, you may have gotten some of the pith, too. This tends to give a more bitter flavor. Too much baking soda and baking powder can also make desserts bitter.

Why has my lemon cake sunk? ›

5. My cake has sunk in the middle. There are three main reasons for this: a/ the oven door has been opened before the cake has set, b/ the cake didn't go in the oven as soon as the mixture was ready or c/ there's too much raising agent.

Why is my lemon cake dry? ›

If you have too much flour in a recipe and not enough fat, like butter or oil, your cake is going to be dry and hard. For best results, I would encourage you to use a scale when baking, but if you don't have a scale, then just make sure you're using measuring cups correctly.

What happens if you add sugar to lemon juice? ›

The acid in the lemon juice will change the sugar. Sucrose is subject to acid hydrolysis and will split into glucose and fructose.

How to do a cake walk game? ›

The participants walk around the path in time to music, which plays for a duration and then stops. A number is drawn at random and called out, and the person standing on that number wins a cake as a prize (hence the name).

How many levels are in Cake Mania? ›

The original PC game has 48 stages, and 84 with the expansion. The Wii version of Cake Mania: In the Mix! has a co-op multiplayer mode, an endless mode, a cake frosting minigame, the ability to run a catering business, and advertise in the newspaper.

References

Top Articles
Latest Posts
Article information

Author: Fr. Dewey Fisher

Last Updated:

Views: 5839

Rating: 4.1 / 5 (42 voted)

Reviews: 81% of readers found this page helpful

Author information

Name: Fr. Dewey Fisher

Birthday: 1993-03-26

Address: 917 Hyun Views, Rogahnmouth, KY 91013-8827

Phone: +5938540192553

Job: Administration Developer

Hobby: Embroidery, Horseback riding, Juggling, Urban exploration, Skiing, Cycling, Handball

Introduction: My name is Fr. Dewey Fisher, I am a powerful, open, faithful, combative, spotless, faithful, fair person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.