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Lemon Cake is the bright, sunny dessert that turns any ordinary day into something special, with tender lemon layers, a tangy lemon curd filling, and fluffy lemon buttercream. I baked this for a spring birthday and my girls declared it the best cake I have ever made, right up there with our easy lemon blueberry poke cake.
If you love a dessert that is equal parts tangy, sweet, and downright gorgeous, this is the lemon cake for you.
Lemon Cake Quick Look
- 🕒 Prep Time: 30 minutes
- 🌡️ Cook Time: 27 minutes
- ⏳ Total Time: 57 minutes
- 🍽️ Serving: 12 servings
- ⚡ Calories: 640kcal
- 🌶️ Flavor Profile: Bright, tangy lemon with sweet, fluffy buttercream
- ✋ Difficulty: Intermediate, a fun weekend bake like our spice layer cake
Quick Answer
To make a lemon cake from scratch, whisk together cake flour, baking powder, and salt, then cream butter and sugar and beat in egg whites. Mix in buttermilk, fresh lemon juice, vanilla, and lemon zest, divide between two pans, and bake until a toothpick comes out clean. Fill the cooled layers with lemon curd and frost with lemon buttercream for a bright, bakery-worthy cake.
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Why This Recipe Works
Click to see the technique science
- Cake flour for tenderness. Cake flour has less protein than all-purpose, so the lemon layers bake up soft, fine, and melt-in-your-mouth tender.
- Egg whites only. Using just the whites keeps the crumb pale and delicate while letting the bright lemon flavor shine.
- Triple lemon flavor. Fresh lemon juice, lemon zest, and a lemon curd filling layer the flavor so every bite tastes like real lemons, not extract.
- Buttermilk for moisture. Buttermilk adds richness and a subtle tang that keeps the cake moist for days.
- A curd filling surprise. A ribbon of lemon curd between the layers adds a tangy, jammy center that takes this cake over the top.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- It is bursting with bright, fresh lemon flavor from juice, zest, and curd all in one cake.
- The tender crumb and fluffy buttercream make it look and taste like it came from a bakery.
- It is the showstopper your spring and summer gatherings have been missing, right beside our lemon blueberry trifle.
Key Ingredients
Here is what gives this Lemon Cake its bright flavor and tender texture. See the recipe card below for exact measurements.
- Cake Flour: The lower protein content gives you a soft, fine, tender crumb instead of a dense one.
- Lemon Juice and Zest: Fresh-squeezed juice and the zest of three lemons deliver real, bright lemon flavor.
- Egg Whites and Buttermilk: Whites keep the crumb pale and delicate while buttermilk adds moisture and tang.
- Lemon Curd: A jar of prepared lemon curd makes the tangy filling effortless.
- Butter and Powdered Sugar: The base of a silky lemon buttercream, just like our homemade American buttercream.
See recipe card for exact quantities.
Variations and Substitutions
This Lemon Cake is easy to adapt to your taste and occasion.
- Lemon blueberry: Fold a cup of fresh blueberries into the batter or scatter them between the layers.
- Cream cheese frosting: Swap the buttercream for a tangy lemon cream cheese frosting.
- Sheet cake: Bake the batter in a 9×13 pan for an easy crowd-friendly version.
- More lemon desserts: Turn the same flavors into our lemon poppy seed cake.
How to Make Lemon Cake
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and prep two 9-inch cake pans with baking spray and parchment. Whisk together the cake flour, baking powder, and salt.
- Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, then beat in the egg whites in batches. Mix in the flour mixture, then the buttermilk, lemon juice, vanilla, and lemon zest until just combined.
- Divide the batter evenly between the two pans and bake for 22 to 27 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Let the cakes cool completely.
- Make the lemon buttercream by creaming the butter, then beating in the powdered sugar a little at a time, followed by the salt, lemon juice, and vanilla. Whip until light and fluffy.
- Place the first cake layer on your serving plate, spread lemon curd over the top leaving a half-inch border, then set the second layer on top.
- Give the cake a thin crumb coat and chill it for two hours, then frost with the remaining buttercream, slice, and serve.
Recipe Tips & Tricks
- Use room-temperature ingredients. Butter, egg whites, and buttermilk blend into a smoother batter when they are not cold.
- Zest before you juice. It is much easier to zest a whole lemon than a squeezed one, so always zest first.
- Do not overmix the batter. Stir just until combined to keep the crumb tender instead of tough.
- Cool the cakes completely. Frosting a warm cake melts the buttercream, so be patient before assembling.
- Chill after the crumb coat. A quick chill sets the first layer of frosting so the final coat goes on clean.
- Leave a border for the curd. Keeping the lemon curd a half-inch from the edge stops it from oozing out the sides.
Serving Ideas and Suggestions
This Lemon Cake is a stunner all on its own, but a dollop of whipped cream and a few fresh berries on the plate make it feel extra special, much like our lemon blueberry coffee cake.
Serve thin slices with hot tea or coffee for an afternoon treat, or set it out at a spring brunch next to our lemon lime angel food cupcakes for a lemon-lovers’ dessert table.
Have leftover cake? Turn the scraps into our lemon raspberry cake balls, or simply enjoy another slice the next day when the flavors have melded even more.
Lemon Cake FAQs
You can substitute all-purpose flour by removing 2 tablespoons per cup and replacing them with cornstarch, but cake flour gives the softest, most tender crumb.
Store the frosted cake in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. Let slices come to room temperature before serving for the best texture and flavor.
Yes. Freeze the unfrosted, cooled layers wrapped tightly in plastic and foil for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge, then fill and frost.
Absolutely. Bake the layers a day ahead and store them wrapped at room temperature, then assemble and frost the day you plan to serve it.
Dense cake usually means the butter and sugar were not creamed long enough, the batter was overmixed, or the ingredients were cold. Cream until fluffy and mix just until combined.
Fresh lemon juice and zest give the brightest flavor, but bottled juice works in a pinch. You will lose some of the fresh, fragrant lemon taste.
Looking for more bright, citrusy desserts? Try our lemon poppy seed cake or a refreshing lemon blueberry trifle next.
If you love sheet cakes, our moist peanut butter cake is packed with peanut butter flavor.
Lemon Cake
Ingredients
- 2 1/4 cups cake flour
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 3/4 cup unsalted butter room temp
- 1 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 6 large egg white room temp
- 1 cup buttermilk room temp
- 1/4 cup lemon juice fresh squeezed
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- zest of 3 lemons 3 tablespoons
For the frosting:
- 3/4 cup unsalted butter softened
- 3 cups powdered sugar
- pinch of fine sea salt
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice fresh squeezed
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
For the filling:
- 1 1/2 cups prepared lemon curd
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Spray 2 9-inch cake pans with baking spray, take a pastry brush, and brush the spray all over to make sure it is even. Place a parchment paper liner in the bottom and brush more baking spray on top, set aside.2 1/4 cups cake flour
- In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt, set aside.2 1/4 cups cake flour
- Add the butter and sugar to the body of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment and mix on medium speed until light and fluffy, 2 minutes. Add the egg whites into the bowl in three batches, mix thoroughly in between each addition. Add the flour mixture and stir it in until just combined, scrape down the sides. Add the buttermilk, lemon juice, vanilla, and lemon zest. Stir it in until combined. Scrape down the sides and give it another 5 seconds of stirring.2 1/4 cups cake flour
- Divide the batter among the two cake pans and smooth out the tops. Bake for 22-27 minutes until lightly golden brown on top and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, a few crumbs on the toothpick is okay, any wet batter and it needs to bake longer.2 1/4 cups cake flour
- Let the cakes cool on a wire rack in their pans for 5 minutes, turn out the cakes and place them top side up on the wire rack to cool completely.2 1/4 cups cake flour
- While the cakes cool, make the frosting by placing the butter in the body of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment. Cream the butter until smooth, 30 seconds. Add the powdered sugar a little at a time until fully combined, scrape down the sides as needed. Stir in the salt, lemon juice, and vanilla until incorporated. Place the speed on medium-high and whip the frosting for 3 minutes until light and fluffy set aside.2 1/4 cups cake flour
- To assemble the cake place a tablespoon-sized dollop of the buttercream onto the bottom of your serving dish or cake plate, this will help keep the cake in place while you assemble. Take the parchment paper off of one of the cakes and place it bottom side down onto the buttercream on your serving platter.2 1/4 cups cake flour
- Place the lemon curd on top and smooth it out to the edge leaving a half-inch border. Take the next cake and take off the parchment paper liner and place it top-side down on top of the lemon curd. Lightly press the cake down to distribute the curd out toward the sides but not so it is pouring out.2 1/4 cups cake flour
- Frost the cake with a small amount of buttercream for a crumb coat. Place in the fridge for 2 hours to set.2 1/4 cups cake flour
- Frost with the remaining buttercream, slice and serve.2 1/4 cups cake flour
Notes
- The buttercream recipe is even to lightly frost the cake, for more intricate decorating I suggest 1.5x or 2x the buttercream recipe. The cake shown uses 1.5x the recipe.
- The cake texture is extremely light and fluffy yet bursting with lemon flavor at every bite!
- You can freeze your cake layers, see my tips above.
- If you want to make homemade lemon curd you can do that instead of using store bought.
- This needs to be refrigerated since it contains lemon curd, again see tips above.
Nutrition
Love This Recipe?
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They are not whipped, just added to the batter in three batches.
I have a question instead of a comment. You say to add the egg white and three batches. But I don’t see in the instructions to whip the egg whites before you add them. Are the egg whites whipped or do you just put two egg whites in each time?