Lemon zest and lemon juice guarantee this lemon cake recipe is bursting with lemon flavor! The cake batter bakes up light and fluffy. And once you slather the top of the cake with cream cheese frosting and lemon curd, it’s ready to serve. No fussing with multiple cake layers!

I Love Lemon Cake (And You Will, Too)

One thing you should know about me? I’m a die-hard lemon lover who takes her lemon desserts very seriously! I love lemon cake recipes in particular because they’re light, refreshing, and perfect for almost any occasion. And any time of year.

Sunday brunch… Mother’s Day… Easter… Christmas… or a casual picnic in the park. Lemon cake fits the bill! I use traditional lemons for this recipe, but if you’re lucky enough to have meyer lemons on hand, by all means, use them! They’ll work great and will give this cake an extra sweet and vibrant lemon flavor.

Why this Lemon Cake Recipe is a Winner

• Light and fluffy cake texture
• Sunshiny sweet lemon flavor thanks to lemon extract, lemon zest, and lemon juice
• Bakes in a 9×13-inch baking pan, making it perfect for serving a crowd
• The flat cake layer makes decorating a breeze!
• Topped with cream cheese frosting AND lemon curd, it’s delicious and beautiful
• A million times better than boxed lemon cake mix (ew)

How to Make Lemon Cake

1. Make the Lemon Cake Batter: Use an electric mixer to make the cake batter. Be sure not to over mix the cake batter. Pour the batter into the prepared baking pan and smooth the top.
2. Bake the Lemon Cake: Place the cake in the oven and bake until light and fluffy. And a toothpick inserted in the middle of the cake layer comes out clean. Take care not to over bake this cake! Over baked cakes will be dry and dense.
3. Cool the Lemon Cake: Place the whole cake – pan and all – on a wire cooling rack. Cool at room temperature. Once cool, you can decorate in the pan or remove the cake from the pan.
4. Make the Cream Cheese Frosting: About 15 minutes before you plan on decorating your cake, make the frosting. You’ll need an electric mixer for this step.
5. Decorate the Lemon Cake: Once the cake layer is completely cool, slather cream cheese frosting all over the tops of the cake. Then add dollops of lemon curd and swirl. You could even add some fresh blueberries or raspberries, to really make it extra.

Lemon Cake Batter

• You’ll need a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or a large bowl and an electric mixer for this recipe.
• Unfortunately, you can’t make this lemon cake batter without an electric mixer. You need to beat the granulated sugar and butter with this tool until light and fluffy.
• Unlike a lot of lemon cake recipes, there’s no need to combine the sugar and lemon zest together before use. Just add these ingredients separately, when the recipe calls for them.
• You’ll need a 9×13 baking pan and parchment paper for this recipe. Unlike a lot of lemon sheet cakes, I don’t use a sheet pan because this cake has so much batter.
• I don’t advise using this recipe to make layer cakes or cupcakes.
• I HIGHLY recommend using a kitchen scale to weigh your all-purpose flour. I tested this recipe 8 times and it’s not super forgiving. Too much and your cake will be bone dry.
• Make sure your flour, baking powder, and baking soda are all fresh and not expired.
• Your wet/solid ingredients are butter, eggs, lemon extract, vanilla extract, lemon juice, sour cream, and buttermilk. I know buttermilk is a pain, but it’s essential.
• You can always make a homemade buttermilk if need be. Simply combine one scant cup of milk and 1 tablespoon of lemon juice. Set aside for about 5 minutes. This will allow the mixture to curdle.

Flour Talk: Can I Use Cake Flour?

• Yes, you can use cake flour instead of all purpose flour if desired. This cake is light and fluffy without it. And since all-purpose flour is both cheaper and more easily available, I chose to use it in this recipe.
• But if you want the softest cake possible, cake flour is a great choice! You can simply sub cake flour for the all-purpose flour. That switch does not require any other changes in this recipe.
• I don’t suggest using any other variety of flour, such as almond flour, coconut flour, or whole wheat flour.
• A 1-for-1 Gluten free flour might work ok with this recipe. But I haven’t tested this, so it will be an experiment.

Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting: Yum!

• This lemon cream cheese frosting is to-die-for! Made with butter, cream cheese, lemon juice, lemon zest, and lemon extract. Plus, a ton of powdered sugar, which binds everything together and sweetness things up!
• I don’t suggest reducing the amount of confectioners’ sugar called for. Reducing the amount will result in a runny cream cheese frosting.
• You’ll need a large bowl and an electric hand held mixer or a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment for this recipe.
• If you don’t like cream cheese frosting, try a white chocolate frosting instead.

Decorate the Lemon Cake

• You know I love making things pretty, so obviously I had to doll this lemon cake up and make it a showstopper!
• To do that I simply added some dollops of lemon curd and fresh lemon slices on top! I used about 1/2 cup of lemon curd in total. Use more or less as you see fit!
• I made the swirls using a long wooden skewer, but a sharp thin knife or toothpick would also work well.
• Add thin lemon slices on top for even more pizzazz! Fresh lemon slices work great but so do candied orange slices.
• Of course, you can also skip all these steps and simply serve with the cream cheese frosting on top. This cake does not require any garnish or decorating!

How to Store Lemon Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

• Uncut, this cake will keep at room temperature for 3 days. Cover with a cake keeper or loosely cover with plastic wrap.
• As soon as you take a slice out of this cake, moisture begins to escape. This is what causes cake to get dry and stale. 
• Protect the sliced edges by pressing a piece of plastic wrap directly onto the sliced area of the cake. Make sure it clings firmly to the cut area. 

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More Lemon Cakes:

• Lemon Cake with Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting
• Lemon Drenched Lemon Cake
• Lemon Blueberry Bundt Cake
• Lemon Ricotta Cheesecake
• Lemon Pound Cake with Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting
• Lemon Raspberry Cake

Lemon Cake for a Crowd

Ashley Manila

My lemon cake for a crowd is moist, fluffy, and loaded with fresh lemon flavor! Topped with silky smooth lemon cream cheese frosting, dollops of lemon curd, and fresh lemon slices, this is one of my most popular lemon desserts. Bonus: this lemon sheet cake is so easy and feeds a crowd!

4.91 from 10 votes

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Prep Time 30 minutes mins

Cook Time 30 minutes mins

Inactive Time 1 hour hr

Total Time 2 hours hrs

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Servings 1 cake (9×13)

Ingredients

 

For the Lemon Sheet Cake:

• 2 and 3/4 cups all-purpose flour (343 grams)
• 2 and 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup (8 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 2 cups sugar granulated sugar
• 4 large eggs, at room temperature
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon lemon extract
• 1/2 cup buttermilk, at room temperature
• 1/2 cup sour cream, at room temperature
• 1 and 1/2 Tablespoons lemon zest, finely grated
• 1/2 cup fresh lemon juice

For the Cream Cheese Frosting:

• 8 ounces cream cheese, VERY soft
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, VERY soft
• 3 cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted
• 2 and 1/2 Tablespoons lemon fresh lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon lemon extract

Instructions

 

For the Lemon Sheet Cake:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 9×13-inch baking pan with parchment paper. Spray parchment paper, and any exposed pan, with non-stick baking spray. Set aside until needed. 
• In a large bowl sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside. 
• In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or in a large bowl using a handheld electric mixer, beat the butter and sugar on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula, then beat for another 30 seconds. 
• Add in the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition, and scraping down the sides and bottom of the bowl often to ensure all of the ingredients are being evenly incorporated. 
• Beat in the vanilla extract and lemon extract.
• On low speed, add in the sifted dry ingredients and beat until just barely combined, about 20 seconds here. Don’t over mix here or your cake will be dry! Stop mixing when you can still see lumps and streaks of dry ingredients. 
• Turn the mixer off. Add in the buttermilk, sour cream, lemon zest, and lemon juice. Turn mixer on lowest speed and mix just until all of the ingredients are combined. 
• Turn the mixer off and, using a rubber spatula, give the batter a gentle fold, scraping from the bottom of the bowl up. This is just to ensure the mixer blade didn’t miss anything! 
• Pour the batter into the prepared baking pan and use a spatula to gently smooth the top.
• Bake in preheated oven for 35 to 40 minutes, until the top is firm, golden brown, and a toothpick inserted in the middle of the cake comes out clean, or with a few moist crumbs attached. 
• Place cake pan on a cooling rack and cool completely before frosting. 

For the Cream Cheese Frosting:

• In the bowl of a stand-mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or in a large bowl using an electric handheld mixer, beat the cream cheese and butter on medium-high speed until completely smooth; about 2 minutes.
• Reduce the speed to low and gradually add in the sifted confectioners’ sugar. Once all of the sugar has been added, add in the lemon juice and lemon extract and beat until combined.
• Once combined, increase speed to medium- high-speed and beat for 2 minutes. 
• Once the cake has completely cooled, spread the frosting over the cake and decorate with lemon curd and fresh lemon slices, if desired. 
• Leftovers should be covered tightly and stored in the fridge for up to 3 days. 

Video

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