Easy Lemon Cake Recipe

Looking for an Easy Lemon Cake Recipe? This one is simple to follow and yields a delicious dessert. The cake is moist and tangy, with a subtle sweetness that pairs perfectly with a cup of tea or coffee. Give it a try!

Course Dessert, Snack

Cuisine American

Keyword cake, lemon

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 25

Chill 30

Total Time 1 10

Servings pieces

Calories 314kcal

Ingredients

Lemon Cake

2 ½ cups cake flour scoop and level method
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon lemon zest
½ cup unsalted butter softened
¾ cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon almond extract
½ cup sour cream
2 tablespoons lemon juice
Colorful sprinkles

Lemon Icing

1 cup confectioner's sugar sifted
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon heavy whipping cream

Instructions

Cake

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spray an 8x8 inch pan with nonstick baking spray. Set aside.
In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together the cake flour, baking powder, salt, and lemon zest. Set aside.
In a bowl of an electric stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
Add in the eggs one at a time, followed by the almond extract, sour cream, and lemon juice. Mix until combined.
Carefully, add the flour mixture into the wet mixture. Mix until just combined.
Pour batter into the prepared 8x8 pan.
Bake for 22 to 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Remove the cake from the oven and let cool for 20 to 30 minutes before removing it to a cooling rack.

Icing

Add the confectioner's sugar, lemon juice, and heavy whipping cream to a medium-sized bowl. Whisk until smooth. If you would like a thicker icing keep adding more confectioner's sugar. If the icing is too thick, add more lemon juice or heavy whipping cream to thin it out.
Spread the icing on top of the lemon cake and sprinkle with your favorite colorful sprinkles.
Serve immediately.

Notes

You may use vanilla extract instead of almond extract. I like the flavor of almond extract in certain baked goods, but it’s a personal preference. Almond extract enhances the lemon flavor in this recipe.
1 tablespoon of lemon zest is equal to about 1 lemon.
2 tablespoons of lemon juice is about half of a large-sized lemon.
You can use all-purpose flour in this recipe instead of cake flour. You will use 2 ¼ cups of all-purpose flour instead of 2 ½ cups as the recipe states above.
The scoop and level method is the process you will use to accurately measure your cake flour. All you need to do is take a spoon and scoop the flour into a dry measuring cup, and then using the back of a knife scrape the top to level it.

Nutrition