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This easy lemon cake is made in a 9×13 inch pan with 2 frosting options – choose between a simple lemon glaze or lemon buttercream frosting. Lemon sheet cake is moist, tangy, and bursting with fresh lemon flavor.
Where are my fellow cake lovers?!
There is no hiding that I like cake.
I’m intentionally adding more “sheet cake” recipes to our collection. I think of a sheet cake as any cake that is made in a single pan – that could be an 8×8, 9×13, or 10.5×15.5 inch pan.
Sheet cake recipes are easy and quick, something you could make and frost in under 2 hours. Plus, a lot of that time is not active time, it includes the time the cake needs to bake and cool.
Easy Lemon Cake Ingredients
all purpose flour: flour is necessary to build structure
baking powder: helps to leaven and lift the batter, reacts with the lemon juice
salt: just a pinch to balance the sweetness and enhances the other flavors of the cake
granulated sugar: adds sweetness and flavor
lemon zest: adds bold lemon flavor
eggs: binds the cake together by providing structure
milk: adds moisture
sour cream: adds moisture and creaminess
vanilla extract: adds flavor
fresh lemon juice: adds bright lemon flavor and tenderizes the cake
How to Make Lemon Cake from Scratch
- Combine the flour, baking powder, salt, sugar and lemon zest, stir, set aside.
- In a separate mixing bowl, combine the eggs, milk, sour cream, vanilla extract and fresh lemon juice.
- Gently fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients, mixing by hand with a spatula.
- Spray a 9×13 inch pan with non-stick cooking spray. Pour the batter into the pan and spread smooth with a spatula.
- Bake then cool completely before adding the frosting.
Total Time Required
- 10 minutes to prep the batter
- 27-30 minutes to bake the cake
- 1 hour, at least, to cool the cake
- 15 minutes to make and frost the cake
Lemon Cake Frosting
Choose between a lemon buttercream frosting or a simple lemon glaze.
The lemon buttercream frosting is creamy and bright. The lemon glaze is more tangy and fresh. Both options are listed in the recipe section.
How to Make Gluten Free Lemon Cake
I have made this cake multiple times with King Arthur’s Gluten Free Measure for Measure Flour with great success. I use that brand of flour as a one for one substitute for regular all purpose flour.
Tips for Making Cake
- Properly measure the all purpose flour using the spoon and sweep method.
- Combine the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients just until they are combined. Over mixing could lead to dry, dense cake.
- Store this cake covered on the counter.
More Recipes Using Lemon
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Lemon Cake
Equipment
Ingredients
Lemon Cake
- 2 ¼ cups all purpose flour
- 2 ½ tsp baking powder
- ¼ tsp salt
- 1 ½ cups sugar
- zest of 2 lemons
- 2 large eggs
- ¾ cup milk
- ¾ cup sour cream
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 3 tbsp fresh lemon juice, this is about 2 lemons
Lemon Frosting or Lemon Glaze – you pick!
- Choose between a lemon buttercream frosting or a simple lemon glaze., The lemon buttercream frosting is creamy and bright. The lemon glaze is more tangy and fresh.
Lemon Frosting
- 3 sticks unsalted butter, softened, 1 1/2 cups
- 2 tbsp fresh lemon juice, this is about 1 1/2 lemons
- 3 ½ – 4 ½ cups powdered sugar
Lemon Glaze
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- ¼ cup fresh lemon juice
- zest of 1 lemon
Instructions
Lemon Cake
- Preheat the oven to 350º F.
- Spray a 9×13 inch baking pan with non-stick spray.
- In a bowl combine the flour, baking powder, salt, sugar and lemon zest.
- In a separate bowl combine the eggs, milk, sour cream, vanilla extract, and lemon juice. Whisk lightly.
- Gently combine the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, mixing with a spatula until combined.
- Pour the cake batter into the pan and bake for 27-30 minutes or until a tooth pick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Allow the cake to cool before adding the frosting.
Lemon Frosting or Lemon Glaze – you pick!
Lemon Frosting
- Using an electric mixer, cream the butter for 1-2 minutes, until fluffy and whipped.
- Add in the lemon juice, beat again.
- Gradually add the powered sugar, scraping down the sides of the bowl, until everything is incorporated.
Lemon Glaze
- In a bowl combine the powdered sugar, lemon juice, and lemon zest until the powdered sugar is incorporated and the consistency is runny.
- Pour the glaze over the cake. You can choose to let the glaze set before cutting or not.
Nutrition
Nutrition Disclosure
All nutritional values are approximate and provided to the reader as a courtesy. Changing ingredients and/or quantities will alter the estimated nutritional calculations.
This cake looks super fluffy and the glaze looks scrumptious! :)
Hi there, this would be a great contribution to Food on Friday: Eggs over at Carole’s Chatter. Please do bring it over to join in the fun. Cheers
What a beautiful cake! I love lemon desserts!
by powdered sugar, do u mean icing sugar or granulated sugar?
Wow! I made this for a family gathering and got RAVES! I’m making it for a 4th of July party for tomorrow. Thank you so much! (To the poster above–powdered sugar is icing sugar).
So glad you loved it!!
I made this and it was too dense and the icing drizzle just made everyone complain that it was way too sweet. In the future I will use a lot less milk & sour cream and skip the drizzle
2.5 tssp of baking powder.. I’m not a baker so I googled what it does and what tssp is. Lol. I am guessing a typo here but could go either way for me, tsp or tbsp? I went tablespoon so fingers crossed 🤞🏼
Hi Brittany! So sorry, typo! it’s 2.5 TSP – so teaspoons!
Delicious and easy!
I’m a freak for anything lemon. So while this cake was a little more dense than anticipation, the flavor was on point! I’ll give it a B+
Made this for a spaghetti dinner and it was a big hit!