Lemon cake
Lemon cake is a cake flavored with lemon zest or lemon juice. The lemon flavor can come from fresh lemons or lemon extract. Lemon cake is often baked as a layer cake with lemon buttercream or frosting. It can also be made into a sheet cake, cupcakes, or Bundt cake.
Lemon cake recipes have been around for centuries. One of the earliest known recipes comes from an English cookbook from 1390. The recipe is for a “Lemonade Cake” and calls for the zest of two lemons, eggs, butter, sugar, and flour.
In the 18th century, lemon cake recipes began to appear in American cookbooks. One of the most popular was “Lemon Cake à la Reine” from The Virginia Housewife, published in 1824. This recipe calls for the juice and zest of two lemons, eggs, sugar, butter, flour, and cream of tartar.
Advice
When baking a lemon cake, it's important to use the freshest ingredients possible. Freshly squeezed lemon juice will give the cake the best flavor, making sure to use the zest of the lemon as well. Be sure to measure out the ingredients correctly, as too much of one ingredient could throw off the balance of your cake. If possible, let the cake cool completely before adding a glaze or frosting to get the best results. Lastly, be creative and enjoy the process of baking a lemon cake - you never know what new flavor combinations you'll come up with!
Jump to: Ingredient Breakdown Insights
Recipes
Blueberry, Almond and Lemon Cake
- almond flour
- lemon zest
- vanilla extract
- blueberry
- baking powder
- butter
- salt
- confectioners sugar
- all purpose flour
- egg
East 62nd Street Lemon Cake
- CAKE
- bread crumb
- butter
- milk
- salt
- sugar
- lemon zest
- baking powder
- all purpose flour
- egg
- GLAZE
- lemon juice
- sugar
Lemon Cake with Raspberries and Pistachios
- cooking spray
- raspberry
- lemon juice
- baking powder
- sugar
- salt
- all purpose flour
- lemon zest
- vanilla extract
- pistachio
- olive oil
- egg
Moroccan Lemon Cake (Meskouta)
- confectioners sugar
- vanilla extract
- sugar
- milk
- vegetable oil
- salt
- lemon juice
- all purpose flour
- lemon zest
- egg
- baking powder
Sour Cream Lemon Cake
- sour cream
- lemon
- salt
- butter
- all purpose flour
- confectioners sugar
- sugar
- lemon juice
- baking powder
- egg
Lemon Cakes
- egg
- all purpose flour
- confectioners sugar
- egg yolk
- lemon
- sugar
- butter
Flourless Italian Almond-Lemon Cake
- sugar
- confectioners sugar
- baking powder
- lemon
- almond meal
- egg
Glazed Lemon Cake recipe
- yoghurt
- lemon juice
- yogurt
- lemon rind
- sugar
- icing sugar
- lemon juice
- salt
- all purpose flour
- egg
- vegetable
- baking powder
Lemon Cake - with a secret Fluffy Lemon Frosting
- milk
- sugar
- caster white sugar
- milk
- butter
- lemon juice
- lemon extract
- salt
- all purpose flour
- baking powder
- lemon zest
- lemon zest
- vanilla extract
- vegetable
- butter
- lemon juice
- egg
- all purpose flour
Easy Homemade Coconut Lemon Cake
- vanilla extract
- milk
- vegetable oil
- salt
- confectioners sugar
- lemon juice
- lemon zest
- all purpose flour
- cream
- sugar
- egg
- baking powder
- sweetened coconut
Blueberry Lemon Cake
- butter
- lemon
- salt
- baking soda
- lemon extract
- confectioners sugar
- buttermilk
- sugar
- lemon
- blueberry
- egg
- cake flour
- lemon juice
Lemon Cake
- butter
- greek yogurt
- butter
- lemon zest
- vanilla extract
- lemon cake
- lemon pudding
- all purpose flour
- cake flour
- sugar
- buttermilk
- salt
- lemon juice
- baking soda
- lemon zest
- baking powder
- oil
- water
- egg
- egg white
- powdered sugar
Lemon Cake with Fruit
- powdered sugar
- butter
- egg yolk
- lemon
- salt
- sugar
- all purpose flour
- baking powder
- pear
- pear
- egg
Dairy-Free Lemon Cake
- sugar
- lemon
- olive oil
- all purpose flour
- almond milk
- baking powder
- egg
- soy margarine
- confectioners sugar
Sansa's Lemon Cakes
- cooking spray
- vanilla paste
- lemon
- butter
- buttermilk
- lemon juice
- sugar
- baking soda
- all purpose flour
- lemon zest
- baking powder
- egg
- salt
Easy One Bowl Lemon Cake
- cornstarch
- salt
- lemon
- almond flour
- olive oil
- yellow cornmeal
- baking powder
- egg
- sugar
- pine nut
Blueberry Lemon Cake
- yogurt
- lemon zest
- vanilla extract
- blueberry
- sugar
- cornstarch
- lemon juice
- all purpose flour
- baking powder
- egg
- butter
Lemon Cake
- baking powder
- vanilla extract
- egg yolk
- baking soda
- salt
- butter
- sugar
- buttermilk
- cake flour
- powdered sugar
- lemon juice
- lemon zest
- egg
- buttermilk
Gluten-Free All-Day Lemon Cake (With a Choice of Two Toppings) Recipe
- nonstick spray
- buttermilk
- lemons lemon zest
- syrup glaze
- brown
- vegetable oil
- salt
- tapioca starch
- baking powder
- egg
- sugar
- Option 2 Powdered Sugar Icing
- powdered sugar
- lemon juice
- Option 1 Simple Syrup Glaze
- zest
- powdered sugar icing
- sugar
Oil and Lemon Cake with Raspberries
- honey
- salt
- untreated lemon
- baking powder
- egg
- olive oil
- raspberry
- all purpose flour
- sugar
Lemon Cake With Lemon Glaze
- vanilla
- butter
- lemon pudding
- lemon zest
- lemon juice
- powdered sugar
- lemon juice
- egg
Sorrento Double Lemon Cake
- buttermilk
- confectioner sugar
- sugar
- all purpose flour
- salt
- almond flour
- lemon zest
- baking powder
- lemon juice
- limoncello liqueur
- egg
- butter
- lemon zest
Almond–Lemon Cake
- almond paste
- cake flour
- baking powder
- sugar
- lemon zest
- vanilla extract
- salt
- egg
- butter
The Best Damn Meyer Lemon Cake
- milk
- almond
- salt
- zest
- butter
- baking powder
- all purpose flour
- sugar
- bread crumb
- lemon extract
- egg
Luscious Lemon Cake
- pkg
- pkg
- water
- oil
- butter
- lemon extract
- confectioners sugar
- milk
- egg
- yellow coloring
- lemons zest
Lemon Cake
- cookie dough
- cream
- lemon glaze
- lemon liqueur
- lemon
- all purpose flour
- sugar
- sunflower oil
- lemon yogurt
- egg
- cream
Lucious Lemon Cake
- butter
- butter
- lemon zest
- buttermilk
- sugar
- lemon extract
- lemon extract
- salt
- lemon juice
- vanilla extract
- egg
- all purpose flour
- baking powder
- powdered sugar
- cream cheese
Meyer Lemon Cake Recipe
- Cake
- cooking spray
- baking soda
- vanilla extract
- salt
- sugar
- meyer lemons zest juice
- baking powder
- cake flour
- milk
- egg
- butter
- Meyer Lemon Curd
- salt
- butter
- confectioners sugar
- cornstarch
- egg yolk
- meyer lemons zest juice
- sugar
- egg
East 62nd Street Lemon Cake
- lemons rind
- salt
- lemon juice
- sugar
- milk
- sugar
- baking powder
- all purpose flour
- egg
- butter
Ingredient Breakdown
Insights
Correlated with Higher Ratings
- confectioners sugar
Staple Ingredients
- egg 76%
- sugar 69%
- baking powder 66%
Common Ingredients
- salt 59%
- all purpose flour 55%
- lemon juice 52%
Usual Ingredients
- butter 45%
- lemon zest 41%
- confectioners sugar 28%
- lemon 28%
- vanilla extract 28%
Rarey Ingredients
- buttermilk 21%
- powdered sugar 17%