For all the lemon lovers this Sweet, Tart and Tangy Lemon Cake is for you. Baked golden brown with juicy lemon pieces baked in the batter, this cake is lemony delicious.
This year I have been blessed with an abundance of lemons. Years ago we planted two different kinds of lemon trees. One has been supplying us with lemons for eight years, and the other tree, maybe five lemons a year. I gave up on that tree; it’s nice and green, produces fragrant flowers but no lemons. That was until this year, and not only did it produce lemons, but really nice tart, juicy, yellow beauties. So now I have two trees and more lemons than I can handle. Even friends and family have nicely told me to stop bringing them lemons.
We have a constant pitcher of lemonade in the fridge and containers of frozen lemon juice and zest in the freezer for the time when I realize I have no more lemons. Even my family has grown a little tired of everything having lemons in it. We have a lot of baked goods from lemon bars, lemon meringue pie, lemon brownies, lemon shortbreads and our favorite this Sweet, Tart and Tangy Lemon Cake.
The Best Lemon Cake
What to do with lemons?
- Make lemonade
- Juice the lemons and pour into ice cube trays and freeze for later
- Zest the lemons and freeze in ziplock bags for adding to all kinds of recipes
- You can actually freeze whole lemons and grate them while frozen
Lately, I have been inundated with layered cakes covered in buttercream and I am glad to have a nice, simple cake with a lemon glaze.
What makes this cake so good is the different types of lemon flavors that are added to the batter and icing.
- lemon zest
- lemon pieces
- lemon juice
- lemon icing
This cake has pieces of lemon baked into the cake that adds some surprising lemon flavor.
How to make a lemon cake
Step 1. To get started zest the lemons first.
Step 2. Next, make the lemon pieces by slicing the peel off the lemon then supreme the slices which simply means to remove the membrane from the lemon slices so they end up nice and clean looking. Once you remove the membrane break up the slices into small pieces which will be added to the cake batter.
You need some tools to get the job done and I love my lemon zester and wooden lemon reamer.
With all this zesting and slicing your kitchen will have a wonderful citrus smell to it. I love that!
Step 3. Mix the sugar and lemon zest together until completely mixed. This step flavors the sugar and adds more of the lemon flavor to the cake batter.
Step 4. Make the batter by beating the softened butter, then add half the lemon/sugar mixture and beat until combined then add the other half of the lemon/sugar mixture and beat for four minutes.
Step 5. Add the eggs one at a time and mix well to totally combine.
Step 6. With the mixer on low add all the dry ingredients and mix well and scrape the bowl often. Next, mix in the sour cream.
Step 7. After the batter is mixed, add the lemons and the juice to the bowl, and mix by hand until incorporated.
Step 8. Pour the batter into a prepared bundt pan.
This is my tip for preparing a bundt pan, heavily butter the pan and then sprinkle sugar all over to cover the pan instead of using flour. Using sugar leaves a nice coating on the cake and you won’t have that flour coating left on the baked cake.
Step 9. You are now ready to bake and this cake for 1 1/4 hours. I know this is quite a long time but this cake is very dense and needs time to fully bake.
Step 10. Once the cake is baked let it cool completely before depanning. Once the cake is cooled it is ready for some lovely icing drizzle which is simply made by mixing powdered sugar lemon zest and lemon juice until combined and then drizzle this on top of the cake.
You can see the pieces of lemon in the cake. That is what makes this cake so good.
Lemon Cake with Icing Drizzle
After an afternoon of baking, it’s time for a slice of this tasty cake, along with a pot of tea and fresh berries.
For all, you lemon lovers here are a few favorite lemon recipes you can try
Crispy Lemon Short Bread Cookies
Lemon Ginger Sponge Cake with Raspberries
Don’t forget to Pin to your favorite dessert board.
Sweet, Tart and Tangy Lemon Cake
Equipment
Ingredients
- 4 lemons, washed and dried
- 3 cups cake flour
- 1/2 tsp. baking soda
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 2 cups sugar
- 6 eggs
- 1 cup sour cream
Lemon Glaze
- 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar, sifted
- 1 lemon
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees and thoroughly grease and sugar a bundt pan
- Zest four lemons.
- Remove the peel from the lemons by cutting it away vertically. Next holding the lemon over a bowl, supreme each lemon by cutting each segment on either side of the membrane to remove the flesh. When done make sure to remove any seeds and break up the lemon segments in the juice
- Combine the sugar and lemon zest in a small bowl and mix with your fingers until the sugar becomes moist and grainy.
- In a mixing bowl beat the butter for two minutes. Add half the sugar/lemon mixture, beat again for two minutes then add the remaining sugar/lemon mixture; beat for four minutes. Make sure to scrape the bowl occasionally.
- Add the eggs to the above mixture one at a time, beating each just until combined.
- On the lowest setting beat in the dry ingredients.
- Beat in the sour cream.
- Fold in the lemon segments and the juice.
- Pour the batter into your prepared pan. Bake about 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 hours until cake tester at the center of the cake comes out clean. Let cool for 15 minutes then turn out onto a cooling rack.
Making the glaze
- In a small bowl add the powdered sugar. Zest and juice one lemon and add this to the powdered sugar and stir until smooth.
- Drizzle the glaze over the cooled cake.
Notes
Nutrition
I hope you try making this cake, it mixes up fast and looks so pretty. Add some raspberries or strawberries on the side for some extra color. Enjoy!
The Ultimate Lemon Cake
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You can’t go wrong with a classic bundt pan for all types of cakes and desserts.
I can’t be without my lemon reamer and lemon zester, both come in handy for all types of citrus fruits.
Using the right knife makes cutting citrus so much easier. I love using a serrated knife to make the lemon slices.
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Blessings
I found this recipe under ip lemon tart, but it doesn’t have the directions for an instant pot. Was that a mistake
Linda Barreda
Hmmm, yes. The cake for the oven.
This looks like the perfect dessert to serve for Memorial Day! I love the flavors of lemon cake!
I still have so many lemons left I need to make another cake.
It must be so nice to have a lemon tree full of lemons, pick one in the morning and make a lemon cake, a lemon tea and maybe something else lemon… Fantastic dessert.
The lemon trees are the best part of my backyard.
The cake to fight for! I can only imagine all the lemon flavor that it has – it must give it so much zing… Delicious recipe, that’s for sure!
I would love a piece of this lemon cake with my morning coffee. That looks absolutely delicious.
If you lived nearby I would have you over for a piece.
Ohh I love lemon cakes and this looks gorgeous. I also love how the light flirts with the edg of the cake. Great shot!
Lucky you having lemon trees! It’s too cold here in Northern Italy for lemon tress, although I do have plum, pear and apricot trees! Lemon is my favourite summer dessert flavour. This cake sounds divine! Would love a piece right now!
6 eggs? I wonder if you can use egg whites instead of whole eggs. This looks delicious.
Yes, this cakes uses a lot of eggs. I think if you used egg whites you would have more of an angel food cake.
I tried this cake for Thanksgiving and it was what I’ve been looking for almost my whole life. My mom died when I was young and I was looking for a recipe close to the lemon cake she would make with some Sunday meals. This delicious cake brought back good memories.
Wow, this melts my heart. I am so glad you found this lemon cake recipe. My mom made a special bread and I lost her recipe. Seriously, it took me almost 40 years to find that recipe. It’s amazing how food brings back memories.
I love a good lemon cake and this one looks like the perfect balance of sweet, creamy, and tart! This would be perfect to eat while sipping a big mug of tea!
This cake goes great with a good cup of tea.
Your garden must be so pretty with all the lemon trees (and grapefruit tree)! I love all kinds of recipes using lemon, it’s so good both in savory and sweet dishes. This sweet, tart and tangy lemon cake looks like just my thing.
My garden is a work in progress, but I love my lemon trees the most.
This tastes like summer in cake form! I just love that citrus kick, but it has the perfect level of sweetness to balance it all out. Thanks for sharing!
This cake definitely has a kick to it.
every year i get tons and tons of lemons so I have a blog full of lemon recipes! however, i have not made lemon cake and this sounds incredible. Perfect way to use the lemons 🙂
I have read some of your lemon posts to get some ideas on how to use them up.
I love lemony desserts and this one sounds super tasty!!
Nothing beats a good homemade lemon cake, this looks delicious, love the fact the glaze adds an extra lemon hit too!
this is one delicious looking cake and I love how you garnished it with fresh lemon zest!
Thanks, I love the lemon zest on top too. Just adds some great color.
What a great recipe for the summer! So refreshing with great tangy flavors
Can this be converted to make it in my Instant Pot?
Hi Lynne,
I think I might be the only one without an Instant Pot. I so need to get one. I don’t know if it can be done.
You had me at lemon. I love anything with lemon and that cake looks amazing. Sharing this now!
Lemon is one of my favourite flavours. This cake looks so good!
I can’t wait to try this recipe! Question… for the glaze, when you say to “grate and juice 1 lemon”, do you mean to zest the lemon? Or do you really mean to grate the lemon? Since I’m a beginning baker, I want to make sure I’m 100% clear on the instructions before I attempt to bake this cake. Thanks in advance!
Yes, you are right you want to zest the lemon. I’ll make that change.
How wonderful to have your own supply of delicious lemons. So making this beautiful looking cake, comes as no surprise to me. I love a good tangy, moist lemon cake. Perfect for afternoon tea.
Ah, another tea lover. Afternoon tea is the best.
I absolutely LOVE a good lemon cake and this one looks so moist and sounds absolutely delicious! Can’t wait to try this recipe!
I haven’t had a good lemon cake in a while now, your version looks and sounds amazing and makes me want to go to the kitchen and bake my own.
What a wonderful problem to have. Perfect cake to have in the morning with a cup of tea.
I will be asking for this Lemon Cake for Mother’s Day! So much YUM!