A delicious lemon cake with zesty lemon cream cheese icing is a wonderful treat and beautiful to serve. This cake comes together very easily and is perfect for birthdays, baby showers, and even weddings. 

Ingredients Needed:

Scroll down for complete recipe with measurements and instructions.
Cake:

• all purpose or bread flour, sifted
• baking powder
• baking soda
• granulated sugar
• salt
• eggs, room temperature
• vanilla extract
• sour cream
• buttermilk
• olive oil
• fresh lemon juice
• lemon zest

Icing:

• butter, out of fridge for 10 minutes
• cream cheese, straight from the fridge
• vanilla extract
• Zest and juice of one lemon
• Heavy Cream or half n half or milk (cream is my first choice)
• powdered sugar

Tips for a Good Cake:

• To ensure that cakes don’t stick to the pan use this easy and fail proof method for all your cakes. Using a napkin or pastry brush, oil the bottom and sides of your pan evenly with vegetable shortening. Then sprinkle with flour, coating the entire surface evenly, and tap off the excess flour. 
• After putting the batter in the pan, pick it up and let it drop gently on the counter. This helps remove air bubbles and gives the cake better texture.
• You will know a cake is done baking when the sides start pulling away from the pan and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. 
• Wait until the cake is completely cooled before assembling and icing it. Otherwise it will be a melting mess. 

Can I Bake the Cake in Advance?

Yes! You can bake the cakes ahead of time and freeze the layers until you’re ready to assemble and ice them. Wrap them in plastic wrap really well and you’re good to go. Just make sure to take them out of the freezer the night before and let them thaw in the refrigerator, not on the counter, to keep them from getting soggy. Once thawed, take them out of the refrigerator and let them come to room temp, and then assemble and ice. If you bake a cake, let it cool completely, and then promptly freeze it, it will taste nice and fresh when thawed. You can freeze cake layers for up to three months. 

I got the inspiration for this cake from A Farmgirl’s Kitchen’s yellow cake. 
Enjoy this yummy cake! I hope you like it. 
~Rachel Ballinger☕️🍰

”A lot of living happens in the kitchen.”     ~Rachel

Print

Lemon Cake with Lemon Cream Cheese Icing

A light lemony cake with a zesty cream cheese icing. Beautiful and delicious!

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Keyword Cake, dessert, Lemon

Servings 24 Servings

Author Rachel Ballinger

Ingredients

Cake:

• 3 cups all purpose or bread flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 ½ cups granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 5 eggs room temperature
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• ½ cup sour cream
• 1 1/2 cups buttermilk
• ¾ cup olive oil
• 1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
• 1 tbsp lemon zest

Icing:

• 1 stick butter out of fridge for 10 minutes
• 1 8 oz. bar of cream cheese, straight from the fridge
• 2 tsp. vanilla extract
• Zest and juice of one lemon
• 4-8 tbsp. Heavy Cream or half n half or milk cream is my first choice
• 2 lb. bag of powdered sugar

Instructions

For the Cake:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
• Grease and flour two 9 inch round baking pans. Tap out any excess flour and set aside.
• Sift the flour, baking powder, and baking soda into a large mixing bowl. Add the sugar and salt and mix to combine.
• Add the eggs, vanilla extract, sour cream, buttermilk, oil, lemon zest, and lemon juice. Use an electric hand mixer or stand mixer with beater attachment and beat together on low to medium speed just until combined. Scrape bottom and sides of the bowl occasionally with a rubber spatula.
• Divide the batter evenly between prepared cake pans. Pick the pans up and drop them gently onto the counter a couple times to remove air bubbles.
• Bake for 45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle of the cake comes out clean and the sides of the cake are slightly pulling away from the pan.
• Remove from the oven and let cool in the pans for 10 minutes. Turn out of cake pans and cool completely on wire cooling racks or on parchment paper. Let cool completely before frosting.

For the Icing:

• In a mixer, blend the butter till smooth.
• Add the cream cheese and blend till smooth.
• Add vanilla, lemon zest and juice, and 4 tbsp. cream. Slowly add the powdered sugar. Add more cream if needed for the right consistency. You’ll know it’s thick enough when you can stick a spoon in the icing and it doesn’t fall over.

To Assemble the Cake:

• To ice the cake, smear a little icing on the cake stand and place the first layer on that. It helps it stick and not move around. Spread a layer of icing on the first cake. Place the second layer on top of that and ice the whole cake evenly.

The post Lemon Cake with Lemon Cream Cheese Icing appeared first on My Everyday Ordinary Life.

Ok, am I the only one that sees this dessert and immediately thinks of the cute little cartoon Strawberry Shortcake? My little girls love watching it and I enjoy all the creative names of the characters. They’re always up to something. 😄

This cake mixes up fast and bakes almost as fast. This is a quick dessert to throw together and serve to guests and it’s so pretty! Personally, I love my strawberry shortcake to be more of a cake than a biscuit and this is perfect. Also great to make when feeding a crowd (or just my family haha). Each cake is 24 servings. 

I bake the cake in a half sheet pan. I have a bunch of these pans in my kitchen and use them for so many different things. My favorite ones are from USA Pans. Here’s the link for them. USA Half Sheet Pan

Happy Summer y’all and enjoy the recipe! 

~Rachel Ballinger ☕️🍓

”A lot of living happens in the kitchen.”    -Rachel 

 

Print

Strawberry Shortcake

Serve up this delicious strawberry shortcake with freshly whipped cream and sliced strawberries for a quintessential summer dessert!

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Keyword Sheet Cake, Shortcake, Strawberry

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 25 minutes minutes

Total Time 35 minutes minutes

Servings 24 Servings

Author Rachel Ballinger

Ingredients

• 8 tbsp butter - 1 stick
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 3 tsp baking powder
• 2 cups flour
• 1 cup milk
• Sliced strawberries
• Whipped cream

Whipped Cream

• 2 cups heavy whipping cream
• 6 tbsp sugar
• 2 tsp vanilla extract

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease a half sheet pan (12”x17”).
• In a mixing bowl, cream the sugar and butter together till creamy. Beat in the eggs and vanilla. Add the dry ingredients and mix. Pour in the milk and beat for a minute or too till nice and fluffy.
• Scrape into the greased pan and bake in preheated oven for 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Whipped Cream

• Put all ingredients in a large mixing bowl and beat with a whisk attachment on your hand mixer until thick and creamy.
• Use immediately for best results. Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge. 

The post Strawberry Shortcake appeared first on My Everyday Ordinary Life.

This Italian whole orange cake is moist and bursting with flavor. What makes it unique is that you use a whole orange to make it, the peel and all! It’s perfect for a light dessert after dinner or pair with your morning cup of coffee.

Why I Think You Should Make This Cake:

• Because it tastes amazing! Not too sweet and heavy, just a light cake with excellent citrus flavor.

• Because it’s fun and unique! Using the whole orange, peel and all, is so interesting. The end result is a moist cake that’s bursting with fresh orange flavor. 

• Because it’s fast and easy to mix up and get in the oven. It literally takes only 10-15 minutes to mix up this cake and get it in the oven. It bakes for almost an hour but that gives you time to finish making dinner while it’s baking. 

Ingredients Needed to Bake This Cake:

(Scroll down for full recipe with measurements) 

• white sugar
• salted butter
• eggs
• vanilla extract
• sour cream or plain greek yogurt
• baking powder
• all-purpose flour
• large orange, washed, cut into pieces, and pureed
• orange juice

Directions for Baking This Cake: 

For the cake:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Prepare an 8 or 9 inch round pan by greasing it evenly with vegetable shortening and dusting with flour or lining the bottom with parchment paper and buttering the sides. In the pictures on this page I used an 8” pan except for the picture of me glazing the cake, that is a 9” pan. Both work great, the 8 inch is just a little taller. 
• In a mixer, combine sugar and butter and mix till smooth.
• Add eggs and vanilla extract and beat.
• Next mix in the sour cream.
• Then add the baking powder and flour and mix till smooth.
• Add the puréed orange and mix to combine.
• Pour batter into prepared pan and bake in preheated oven for 50-60 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
• Let rest in pan for 15 minutes and then take a knife and loosen the outside edge of the cake. Flip cake out onto a plate. Peel off parchment paper on the bottom if using and flip cake right side up on a cake platter or stand.

For the glaze:

• Mix the orange juice and sugar together in small pot and heat on the stove. Bring to a simmer and let simmer for 5-10 minutes until it becomes slightly thickened like syrup. Spoon over top of cake. If desired you can poke holes in the top of the cake with a kabob skewer and then pour the glaze on so it’s absorbed by the cake more. That’s what I do and it’s so good! 
• Let the cake cool completely and then slice and enjoy!

I hope you make this cake and enjoy it as much as we do. 

Happy Baking!

~Rachel Ballinger ☕️💕

”A lot of living happens in the kitchen.”    ~ Rachel 

Print

Italian Whole Orange Cake

This Italian whole orange cake is moist and bursting with flavor. What makes it unique is that you use a whole orange to make it, the peel and all!

Course Dessert

Cuisine Italian

Keyword Cake, dessert, Orange

Prep Time 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time 1 hour hour

Total Time 1 hour hour 15 minutes minutes

Servings 12 Servings

Author Rachel Ballinger

Ingredients

Cake:

• 1 1/4 cup white sugar
• 1/2 cup salted butter softened
• 3 eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup sour cream or plain greek yogurt
• 2 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 2 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 large orange washed, cut into pieces, and pureed

Glaze:

• 1/3 cup orange juice
• 1/3 cup white sugar

Instructions

For the cake:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Prepare an 8 or 9 inch round pan by greasing it evenly with vegetable shortening and dusting with flour or lining the bottom with parchment paper and buttering the sides.
• In a mixer, combine sugar and butter and mix till smooth.
• Add eggs and vanilla extract and beat.
• Next mix in the sour cream.
• Then add the baking powder and flour and mix till smooth.
• Add the puréed orange and mix to combine.
• Pour batter into prepared pan and bake in preheated oven for 50-60 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
• Let rest in pan for 15 minutes and then take a knife and loosen the outside edge of the cake. Flip cake out onto a plate. Peel off parchment paper on the bottom if using and flip cake right side up on a cake platter or stand.

For the glaze:

• Mix the orange juice and sugar together in small pot and heat on the stove. Bring to a simmer and let simmer for 5-10 minutes until it becomes slightly thickened like syrup. Spoon over top of cake. If desired you can poke holes in the top of the cake with a kabob skewer and then pour the glaze on so it’s absorbed by the cake more.
• Let the cake cool completely and then slice and enjoy!

The post Italian Whole Orange Cake appeared first on My Everyday Ordinary Life.