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Beautifully frosted lemon cake with fresh lemon slices on an ornate stand, perfect for a delicious lemon cake recipe.

The BEST Lemon Cake Recipe with Cream Cheese Frosting

This delightful recipe creates a moist and flavorful lemon cake, perfectly complemented by a rich and tangy cream cheese frosting. It’s ideal for celebrations or a special dessert.
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 45 minutes
Servings: 12 slices
Calories: 550

Ingredients
  

Lemon Cake
  • 1 cup Oil (canola, vegetable, coconut, or olive)
  • 3 large Eggs
  • 1 1/3 cups Buttermilk or Whole Milk
  • 2 Tablespoons Fresh Lemon Zest
  • 1 Tablespoon Fresh Lemon Juice
  • 2 cups Sugar
  • 2 cups Flour
  • 1 teaspoon Baking Powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon Baking Soda
  • 1 teaspoon Salt
  • 8 ounces Lemon Curd
Cream Cheese Frosting
  • 1 cup Salted Butter (softened)
  • 1 (8-ounce) pkg. Cream Cheese (softened)
  • 4 1/2 to 5 cups Powdered Sugar
  • 1 teaspoon Fresh Lemon Zest
  • 1 to 2 Tablespoons Fresh Lemon Juice
  • 1 teaspoon Vanilla Bean Paste

Equipment

  • Oven
  • Large mixing bowl
  • Cake pans (9-inch or 8-inch)
  • Nonstick cooking spray
  • Toothpick
  • Scraper

Method
 

Lemon Cake
  1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. In a large bowl, combine oil, eggs, milk, lemon juice, and zest; cream for 2 minutes. Separately, stir together sugar, flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt, then fold into the wet mixture.
  2. Generously spray two 9-inch or three 8-inch cake pans with nonstick cooking spray.
  3. Divide batter into prepared pans. Bake 8-inch pans for 20-26 minutes, or 9-inch pans for 30-36 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool completely.
Cream Cheese Frosting and Assembly
  1. For the frosting, cream softened butter and cream cheese in a large bowl for 4-5 minutes until light and fluffy. Add powdered sugar, lemon juice, vanilla, and lemon zest, then cream until combined. Chill the frosting.
  2. To assemble, place one cooled cake layer on a plate. Spread lemon curd on top, followed by a layer of frosting. Repeat with the subsequent cake layers, spreading lemon curd and frosting, then frost the entire cake.
  3. Chill the assembled cake for 20-30 minutes to allow the frosting to set. Store any leftover cake covered in the refrigerator.

Notes

Refer to the original blog post for specific tips on properly spraying cake pans and safely removing cakes once baked. Chilling the assembled cake is crucial for the frosting to set properly. Store any leftover cake covered in the refrigerator.