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.
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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.
May I substitute Hi Ratio shortening instead of butter in the frosting? I live in Tx and have a wedding cake request for this cake.
thanks!
Stacy
I've used vegetable shortening in a similar recipe but I don't know what high ratio shortening is. I'd do a small test batch if I planned on using it on a wedding cake. I'm not a cake decorator, I'm afraid.
Is it normal for the cake to not rise very much?
For baking your soda powder and baking powder need to be fresh. I write on the can the date of purchase and make sure it's less than a year old. This makes a difference in rising. The baking soda I use a lot of but the powder I find needs replacing before I use it all but I'm not a big baker and live alone thus low usage. I hope this helps someone.
I haven't had a problem with this cake rising. First time someone has mentioned that so no, I would say it is unusual.
My cake did not raise much either, maybe it was the freshness of the powders, not sure. Vi followed the recipe very carefully. It's still cooling so I don't know how it tastes yet. I also halved the frosting, but that takes great .
Is this cake firm enough to hold the weight of another tier? What about fondant?
I'd say no. It is very light and not dense. I'd definitely use plates and dowels for a decorated cake.
Hi Barry,
Have you used this recipe be used to make cupcakes? If so, what was the yield and baking time, approximately, since everyone's ovens are different? Thanks!
I haven't used it to make cupcakes but it's worth a try. Everyone's oven is different and the smaller the item the bigger the impact of baking them too long. My oven takes about 15 minutes but watch them closely and use the toothpick test to be sure. I always write baking times for my oven on the page if they vary from the recipe I'm using. That way you'll be ahead of the game and won't be guessing next time you bake anything.
Hi Barry!
This looks great! I recently bough lemon infused cooking oil. The instructions on the oil say to use in place of butter. Seeing as there's butter AND oil in this recipe, should i just use my infused oil in place of butter, and leave out the oil?
I'd try using it in place of the oil. You need a combination of liquid and solid fats for this recipe to work.
Hi Barry, thanks for sharing this recipe. Can the cakes be made a couple days in advance of serving? If yes, how should they be stored? Thank you!
Sure. I store ours in a plastic cake dome container.
Can you clarify the sifting before or after measuring. You have given two different answers. Thanks
Most flour I buy is presifted. If unsifted, I sift and measure, if presifted, I measure and sift.
Thanks, Barry! I tried the recipe for cupcakes this morning, & it made 24 cupcakes. I pulled them out after 17 minutes, but 15 would probably have sufficed. They were lovely!! I added some lemon juice to the icing cuz I like a little tang to offset the sweetness. Could I add some to the batter too & reduce the buttermilk next time? Thanks for the yummy recipe! 🙂
I also made cupcakes and mine took 22 minutes. I thought they were a little muffin-y, maybe I shouldn't have cooked them so long.
I'm going to have to try them as cupcakes. Ovens vary but mine wouldn't take 22 minutes I don't think.
Hi Barry
What's the purpose of using vegetable oil and vegetable shortening in this recipe.
I made this recipe into cupcakes and it was full of flavor ( I did use juice from half of the lemon as well as the zest) and it was delicious. Moist, light and full of lemon flavor. I will make this again!
I have made this cake twice in 1 week. It is very good. The 2nd time, I added more lemon zest in the icing and also the juice of a whole small lemon. It made the icing have a little more tartness and it tasted much better the 2nd time. I thought the cake itself was very crumbly, so the 2nd time, I put a dollop of sour cream or 2 in the batter.
I baked this cake last weekend. The only addition I made was to squeeze some fresh lemon juice in the frosting. It was really wonderful. I'm making it again today for someone's birthday. Oh, I did cut the frosting in half for a 2 layer cake. Delicious!
I made this recipe for a birthday cake for my mother in law this weekend. Everyone loved it! This will now be my go to recipe for lemon cake.
The cake was tender in texture and flavourful. I did substitute the lemon extract with a lemon baking emulsion though. I multiplied the recipe 1.5 times and got two 2" high 8" rounds. The cake held up well to being covered in ganache and fondant. I'm looking forward to trying to stack cakes with this recipe, and the other variations.
I made this cake yesterday and it was a hit !! Very moist cake and tasty. Thanks for sharing....