Lemon Velvet Cake. Our most popular cake to date, for its real lemon flavour and incredible light, airy texture, while still staying moist and delicious.
Lemon Velvet Cake
Before this Lemon Velvet Cake, it all started with me trying to develop the best Red Velvet Cake recipe I could.
It was such a success and I loved the moist, tender texture of that cake so much that I just had to try a White Velvet Cake and then an Orange Velvet Cake.
Those turned out to be a couple of the most popular cake recipes ever on Rock Recipes so I couldn’t stop there. Keeping the lemon lovers like me in mind, a luscious lemon version was inevitable.
Lemon Velvet Cake
The creamy, tangy lemon buttercream frosting goes particularly well with this beautiful lemon cake too.
Am I done with Velvet Cake recipes yet? Maybe not, I have an idea that might work out for yet another version. Here’s a clue… think pink. 🙂
Raspberry Velvet Cake
Update: That pink version is now posted as Raspberry Velvet Cake!
Lemon Velvet Cake
Looking for more Velvet Cakes?
Be sure to check out all of the other recipes in the Velvet Cake Collection too!
The Velvet Cake Collection
I generally bake this cake in round 8 inch pans or 9 inch Aluminum Cake Pans but the recipe can also be made as a sheet cake in a 9 x 13 baking pan
I’ve found that the 9 inch pans may bake up a little quicker so be sure to check it 5 minutes early.
Depending on whether you use glass or not, the 9×13 size could take a few minutes longer. Just let the toothpick test be the final judge.
Lemon Velvet Cake as a birthday cake, anniversary cake or wedding cake.
2018 update: Since this recipe was first developed several years ago, I have heard from countless people who have made this cake for every possible occasion from an Easter Cake to a Mother’s Day Cake. Wherever you find lemon lovers, this cake is sure to to be a hit.
Fresh lemons bring bright fresh flavour to so many desserts.
However, I’ll give one word of caution about fondant and wedding cakes. This is a very light textured cake, so if using fondant icing on a celebration cake be sure to use the thinnest layer you can.
Minimal stacking is also recommended unless you are using a weight supported stand. Too much weight can compress the light airy crumb structure of this cake.
How to zest a lemon, to maximize flavor.
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Lemon Velvet Cake
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Lemon Velvet Cake
Developed from an outstanding Red Velvet Cake recipe, this lemon cake is a perfectly moist and tender crumbed cake with a lemony buttercream frosting. An ideal birthday cake for the lemon lover in your life.
Ingredients
- 1 1/4 cups sifted all purpose flour
- 1 1/2 cups sifted cake flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/2 cups sugar
- 2/3 cup vegetable oil
- 1/3 cup vegetable shortening at room temperature
- 1 tsp good quality vanilla extract
- 2 tsp pure lemon extract
- 3 large eggs
- 1 1/2 cups buttermilk
- zest of two small or one large lemons, grated and finely chopped
For the Frosting
- 4 cups icing sugar, powdered sugar
- 1 cups unsalted butter
- 1 tsp pure lemon extract
- 1 tsp minced lemon zest, optional
- 2 tbsp milk, approximately
Instructions
- Grease and flour 2 nine inch round cake pans and line the bottom with 2 circles of parchment paper. Sift together both flours, baking soda. baking powder, salt and sugar, Set aside.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer beat together the vegetable oil, shortening, vanilla and lemon extract. Beat well at high speed with whisk attachment until light and fluffy
- Beat the eggs in one at a time.
- Fold in the lemon zest.
- Fold in the dry ingredients alternately with the buttermilk.
- I always add dry ingredients in three divisions and liquid ingredients in 2 divisions. It is very important to begin and end the additions with the dry ingredients. Do not over mix the batter. As soon as it has no lumps in the batter, pour into the two prepared 9 inch cake pans.
- Bake at 325 degrees F for 30-35 minutes or until a wooden toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow the cake to cool in the pans for 10 minutes before turning out onto wire racks to cool completely.
To prepare the frosting
- Mix together the icing sugar, lemon zest and butter until it becomes sort of crumbly.
- Add the lemon extract and a little of the milk.
- Beat until smooth and fluffy, adding only enough milk to bring the frosting to a creamy spreadable consistency.
- Fill and frost the cake. Garnish with candied lemon zest if desired.
To make candied lemon zest
- Remove the zest with a sharp vegetable peeler in long strips, avoiding as much of the white pith as possible.
- Bring one cup of water and one cup of sugar to a slow boil.
- Add the pieces of lemon zest and boil for about 15 minutes. Drain the lemon zest on a wire rack.
- When cool, cut them in strips and roll in fine sugar.
The nutritional information provided is automatically calculated by third party software and is meant as a guideline only. Exact accuracy is not guaranteed. For recipes where all ingredients may not be used entirely, such as those with coatings on meats, or with sauces or dressings for example, calorie & nutritional values per serving will likely be somewhat lower than indicated.
Notes
Previous versions of this recipe have included twice the amount of frosting. In this recent update I've halved that to provide enough frosting for the middle and top as many people seem to prefer. If you want to frost the entire sides of the cake as well. please feel free to make one and a half or even two times the recipe. It depends on how much frosting is your personal preference.
The nutritional information provided is automatically calculated by third party software and is meant as a guideline only. Exact accuracy is not guaranteed. For recipes where all ingredients may not be used entirely, such as those with coatings on meats, or with sauces or dressings for example, calorie & nutritional values per serving will likely be somewhat lower than indicated.
Recommended Products
Rock Recipes a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites. Our product recommendations are almost exclusively for those we currently use or have used in the past.
Nutrition Information
Yield
16Serving Size
gAmount Per Serving Calories 538Total Fat 26gSaturated Fat 10gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 15gCholesterol 69mgSodium 278mgCarbohydrates 73gFiber 1gSugar 54gProtein 4g
The nutritional information provided is automatically calculated by third party software and is meant as a guideline only. Exact accuracy is not guaranteed. For recipes where all ingredients may not be used entirely, such as those with coatings on meats, or with sauces or dressings for example, calorie & nutritional values per serving will likely be somewhat lower than indicated.
Gina
Monday 10th of July 2023
Do you know how many cups of batter this recipe makes?
Jasmine
Monday 6th of December 2021
I do not have lemon extract so would there be a substitute I could use or should I just by it?
Lynn Parsons
Tuesday 7th of December 2021
It’s worth buying to get the nice lemon flavour
Dee
Sunday 18th of April 2021
This is the best lemon cake I've ever had. It's so moist and amount of lemon flavor is just right. The oil and shortening gave it the perfect texture I baked it in a 9" x 13" pan and it came out absolutely perfect. I will be making this one often...next time as a layer cake. Thanks for sharing the recipe!
Melinda
Thursday 12th of September 2019
Are you using regular milk for the icing or the same buttermilk that you used for the batter?
Barry C. Parsons
Saturday 5th of October 2019
Regular milk.
Paula
Tuesday 3rd of September 2019
I just made this for mini Bundt cakes. I tried one and it is so good! I think I might up the lemon a bit or maybe use a lemon oil in addition to the zest and emulsion. But the cake was soft, tender, and so good.