Lemon Velvet Cake
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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.
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.
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. 🙂
Update: That pink version is now posted as Raspberry Velvet Cake!
Looking for more Velvet Cakes?
Be sure to check out all of the other recipes in the Velvet Cake Collection too!
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 9x13 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.
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.
Like this Lemon Velvet Cake recipe?
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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 ¼ cups sifted all purpose flour
- 1 ½ cups sifted cake flour
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 ½ teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 ½ cups sugar
- ⅔ cup vegetable oil
- ⅓ cup vegetable shortening at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon good quality vanilla extract
- 2 teaspoon pure lemon extract
- 3 large eggs
- 1 ½ 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 teaspoon pure lemon extract
- 1 teaspoon minced lemon zest, optional
- 2 tablespoon 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.
Thanks for another delicious recipe. Made it for a co=workers birthday. The lemon flavour was great. Will definitely make again, easy to make.
I liked the fact that the cake when baked was level when it came out of the oven. I recently made a cake that didn't come out level. Does anyone know why this comes out level, is it the sifting, the way the buttermilk and dry ingredients are added?
I personally attribute it to the lightness of the batter. I find the denser a batter, the more the cake will dome.
I made these into cupcakes and substituted coconut oil for the vegetable oil and butter for the shortening. Also used just all purpose flour because my daughter is allergic to corn and there is corn starch in cake flour. Baked at 325 for about 18-20 min. These tasted wonderful and my guests loved them.
Hello I’ve made this cake many times and it’s wonderful! I beat you the oil/shortening for about 17 minutes on med-high until it almost looks like whipped cream. Makes the cake super moist. I would like to make an orange variation of this cake. How much orange zest should I use and do you think I’d be able to use some fresh OJ in place of some of the buttermilk or would it change the texture?
Depends on the oranges but about the same as the lemon. I would not add a lot more juice/acidity than the lemon version. It may rise too quickly and then fall.
Thank you. I will post my results.
Excellent cake. This cake rose high and was very fluffy. I wish I could post my picture. Thank you.
Hello. This recipes calls for lemon extract. Can I substitute it with lemon juice? and what ratio?
Sure.
I followed the recipi and wow!!! What an amazing cake!! Love the texture, the flavour, everything!! Deffinetely best lemon cake recipi Ive ever tried (and I had just tried one the previous day which failed miserably!!)
I am counting my lucky stars for having come accross this page!!
I just have a question. Have you tried to use it for multiple tiers? The cake is so soft that I worry it may fall apart if I try to stack it up.
Also, if I omit the lemon extract and lemon zest, would that make it a decent vanilla cake? ...It is so hard to find a good vanilla recipi.
Thank you soooooo much!!!
Hi Barry! I’m so thrilled I stumbled upon your site. I baked your white velvet cake two weeks ago and had the greatest success with that. Finally I had found a white cake recipe that was absolutely perfect. It was probably the longest search I’ve made for any proper recipe! Delicious. So when I saw your lemon velvet I headed straight to my kitchen with the highest hopes, and sure enough, another gorgeously moist and scrumptious result! I could not be happier! Bravo Barry!!!
Thanks! Glad it was such a success.
Hey Barry! Cake looks amazing. Quick question, all that's available is the Butter vegetable flavoring shortening, think it will affect the flavor and/or texture of the cake?
Never used it. The lemon should still be quite dominant though.
Hello me again! If I wanted to use this for cupcakes, would I still bake at 325?
Thanks again!
Yes indeed. Let the toothpick test be your guide for when they are done.
Man, I got three words for this cake...A-MA-ZING! lol
Man this recipe is awesome! Thank you for sharing!
Hi can I replace shortening to butter for the cake ?
You can but it will not be as tender a crumb to the cake.
I followed the recipe but mine didn’t come out very moist. Is ther something else I can do to help it out? Taste was amazing but kind of dry
Hola, se puede cambiar el aceite por mantequilla y en que cantidad, soy de Venezuela y aqui usamos mas la mantequilla para hacer pasteles.
Este pastel tiene una textura única que requiere aceite.
I made this cake as a surprise for my husband's birthday and he absolutely adored it!
Thank you so much for sharing it Barry!
Wow-this cake is amazing (and I've only tried the cake scraps so far!). Light, moist, perfect balance of sweet to lemon. I frosted mine with vanilla Italian merengue buttercream, and filled with alternating rings of pomegranate raspberry jam and IMBC. I had to use a fan oven so dropped the temp to 140c and baked for 33mins in an 8" tin (had to do the cakes one at a time and no issues w the batter sitting out). The flavors work so well together! Plus-It's going to look so pretty when we cut into it. Thank you for a great recipe! Will try the other flavors soon I'm sure. Is there a coconut version yet? If not, do you think the white velvet w coconut extract would give it enough flavor?
There is a coconut version if you search for it.
Made this for a dinner party where we didn’t know anyone prior to going. So I wanted to be sure I took a very good cake to share. This was the perfect choice. The cake was moist and delicious. The frosting was outstanding. I added lemon juice in addition to the lemon extract and a little more zest. It was just enough frosting for two layers. I will never use a lemon cake mix again!