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

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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.

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