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.
Omg....This cake was awesome. I baked it twice in one week.
Do you actually "fold" ( by hand) in your ingredients? I have only done this with egg whites .
Yes Folding by hand is best but if you have a paddle attachment on your mixer you could possibly do it on low speed.
Folding - When I fold ingredients into batter I don't use a paddle attachment. I use a wooden spaon and very gently stir. You can look online like Youtube and it will show you how to fold. Hope this helps!
Thank you for sharing this lovely cake recipe!! I am making my second one into cupcakes. The first cake was a huge hit.
Have followed the recipe as written 'cause it works so well.
This was one of the best cakes I have ever made. Delicious. My entire family, including my father, also said the same. THANK YOU. Made me look like a star 🙂
Could this be made with gluten-free flour? They do not have a cake flour .
I'm afraid I can't speak to that, I've never tried it but if you do try it, please let us know the results. Barry.
I made it with gluten free flour (the pillsbury and great value versions). For the cake flour, I followed an online recipe about putting 1 tbsp cornstarch in a 1/2 cup and filling the rest of the 1/2 cup with gluten free flour. The cake turned out soft, fluffy, and delicious!
@Joan, I’ve made this using just King Arthur cup for cup flour for both the AP and cake flour. It turned out great!
Is parchment paper needed? Or can I just grease and flour?
Not necessary. I just like to line the bottoms at least for easy release from the pan.
barry ,i have looked for a long time for a lemon cake using oil no butter or crisco and i would like to use fresh blueberries , so it would be a lemon blueberry cake , i hope you can help me i had a beautiful recipe but lost it somehow thank you for your time
All my lemon blueberry recipes use either butter or shortening I think. Is there a reason you just wanted an oil based recipe?
I'm planning on making this for a birthday this week. Is it easy to pipe/decorate with the buttercream?
It pipes well but you may want to omit the minced zest if using very small tips.
Hello Barry ,thank you for answering so fast, the reason I use veg. Oil is because I bake for my son once a week and his cakes have to last at least 2 - 3 days ,it seams butter and Crisco just gets to stale , the recipe I. Had I can't find ,and Don't remember where I got it on the net , I tried using pistachio recipe and using lemon pudding ,lemon zest ,and the cakes Did rise nicely but flattened out as they cooled maybe I should try ,white cake mix and lemon pudding ,adding blueberries to the recipe , thank you again for answering me so quickly
I can't comment on cake mixes or pudding mix recipes. I never use mixes, I always bake strictly from scratch. I think You'd find that he mixture of shortening and oil in this cake will not dry out. One of the things people comment on about this recipe is that it stays moist for a few days. You might want to try it with blueberries.
thank you so much Barry , i will try your recipe and see how it works , i am sure i will love it , thank you for your time , have a good day .
Good luck. I may try a quick recipe of my own soon using just oil. Stay tuned.
Barry I made this cake and it was delicious. I have looking for a moist delicious lemon cake and now I'm set. This is by far the best lemon cake I have ever made. Thank you for sharing. Soon I'm going to try the red velvet. Hopefully that's a hit as we'll.
Glad it was a success!
Hi
I live in the UK and don't know what our equivalent of cake flour would be? Any suggestions? We have plain flour which is the general purpose and self-raising flour which could be the same as the cake flour.... ?
Hi Debby,
Self raising flour is very uncommon over here, I've actually never seen it sold here at all. What you folks call plain flour is what gets labelled as all-purpose flour here. Cake flour is actually much finer and softer than plain or bread flour. That's why it makes such tender, soft cakes but I like to mix it with plain flour to get a bit if a firmer structure in the cake. It's sold here in Canada often as "Cake and Pastry" flour. I did find this post from "Joy the Baker" which gives suggestions. Joy is a remarkable baker who really knows her stuff. http://joythebaker.com/2013/12/baking-101-the-best-cake-flour-substitute/
Hope this helped. Oh...and one more thing....CHETNA TO WIN ON BAKEOFF!! LOL!
thanks Barry, I will do some research and let you know how the cake turns out. I purchased some measuring cups last time I visited the states so I should be fine with the quantities.
Oh.... and I think she may lose out to Richard the Builder!! Glad you're enjoying the GBBO show -I am addicted! 🙂
Hi Debby I to live in the U.K.i buy my cake flour on line from international foods. It sells all American products. Can you tell me if you use the the lard in the cake. Not sure I want to use it. Can I use butter thanks.
The shortening in the cake contributes to the final soft texture. I've never tried all butter.
You can buy cake flour from asda
Hello Barry I just want to make sure I'm on the same page, when it saids sift flours, baking soda etc and your saying even the sugar. I never had a recipe to sift the sugar as well.
Yup. It's a method that I developed that helps create a very light, tender crumb to the cake. Good luck.
I just made this cake and I followed it to a T but I'm sad to say the cake didn't rise. I'm a little disappointed.
Not sure what went wrong for you but as you can see from the comments, it has been made successfully by many. Maybe it's worth another try.
If the cake didn't rise I do have an idea what could have happened. If the baking powder is old than that could have been the problem.
Absoultely. Old baking powder loses its lift.
Hello Barry I did icing the cake and it was delicious. So I'm not sure what happened but I will try it again. I want to know could I just use cake flour.