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This Lemon Layer Cake is tender, moist, and bright with citrus, making it an easy centerpiece for spring and summer gatherings. The layers can be baked ahead and assembled when ready.
After the holidays, I often reach for recipes that feel fresh and light. Citrus is at its best in winter, and this lemon layer cake is an easy way to add a little brightness while we wait for spring.
Ingredients You’ll Need for Lemon Layer Cake
Fresh lemons – Both the zest and juice are used to give the cake a clean, natural citrus flavor without tasting sharp or artificial.
All-purpose flour – Provides structure while still allowing the cake to stay tender and slice cleanly.
Butter – Adds richness and helps create a soft, moist crumb that holds up well in layers.
Sugar – Sweetens the cake and balances the acidity of the lemon, keeping the flavor bright but not sour.
Egg whites – For a lighter, airier cake texture.
Cream cheese – Creates a tangy, smooth frosting that balances the sweetness of the cake.
For the rest of the ingredients, please refer to the recipe index card below!
How to Make Lemon Layer Cake
Prep the pans and oven. Preheat to 350°F. Grease and line two round 8-inch baking pans. Mix the dry ingredients together. And infuse the sugar with the lemon zest.
Cream the butter and sugar together. Beat the lemon sugar mixture with the butter until light and fluffy. Optional: add yellow food coloring for a sunny hue.
Combine wet and dry ingredients. In a measuring cup, mix milk, egg whites, and strained lemon juice. Rotating between the liquid and dry ingredients, add them in two batches to the butter mixture.
Divide batter evenly between the baking pans, smooth the tops, and bake 25–32 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool in pan 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack until room temperature.
Make frosting by beating cream cheese until smooth. Beat in the butter, then add in powdered sugar, salt, vanilla, and heavy cream until fluffy.
To decorate with lemons, take out some of the frosting (1/4 cup into two bowls). And add food coloring. Yellow to one bowl and green to the other.
Frost the cake with remaining frosting. Start with the first cake layer, 1/2 cup white frosting, then the next layer, and a crumb coat over the whole cake. Chill for 20 minutes and then add a second layer over white frosting.
Decorate with lemons. Pipe yellow frosting into small rounds and add a green “V” on top for stems. Smooth as needed with a damp fingertip. Chill briefly if desired, slice, and serve.
Tips and Tricks
Make this recipe ahead! Bake the cake a day in advance, let it cool completely and then wrap it in plastic wrap. Frost and decorate how you like the next day.
Storage – Store this cake covered at room temperature for 2-3 days.
Decorating shortcuts – Skip piped lemons for a simple frosting finish, or add sprinkles for a playful touch.
Food Coloring – I recommend using about 5-6 drops of food coloring gel which is thicker with a stronger pigment. If you’re using food coloring, I would say to use about 3-4 drops so it doesn’t affect the consistency of the cake.
Egg yolks – Use your leftover egg yolks for my homemade lemon curd! Which would honestly be perfect layered in between this cake.
More Cozy Lemon Recipes
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Vanilla Cream Cheese Frosting:
To Make the Layer Cake:
Preheat oven to 350F. Grease and line three 8-inch baking pan.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
In the bowl of a stand-up mixer with the paddle attachment (alternatively you can do this in a large bowl with an electric mixer), add the sugar and lemon zest. Beat the two together. This will release all of the fragrant oils in the lemon zest and infuse them in the sugar. We want this, we need this.
Add the butter and vanilla extract; beat until light and fluffy, about 2 to 3 minutes. Add in the oil and beat until smooth. If you want the cake to be yellow in color, add the yellow food coloring gel. This is of course optional.
In a measuring cup, pour in the milk, egg whites, and add the strained lemon juice.
Turn the mixer to low speed and, alternating between the dry ingredients and the liquid ingredients, add them to the butter/sugar mixture, until the batter is relatively smooth.
Pour the batter evenly into the three prepared baking pans and smooth it out until it reaches the sides. Transfer the cakes to the oven to bake for 22 to 25 minutes, until a skewer inserted into the center comes out clean.
Allow the cakes to cool in the pan for about 10 minutes and then invert onto a cooling rack and cool to room temperature. It’ll probably take a good hour.
To Make the Vanilla Cream Cheese Frosting:
In the bowl of a stand-up mixer with the paddle attachment (or a medium bowl using an electric hand mixer), add the cream cheese and beat it until smooth. I like to do this or else the cream cheese frosting will have little clumps of cream cheese. Next, add the butter and beat it until smooth, about 15 seconds.
Add the powdered sugar, salt, vanilla and heavy cream. Beat for a full 2 minutes to ensure fluffy, delicious frosting.
To Make the Lemons for Decoration:
To two small bowls, add about 1/4 cup of frosting to each. You can eyeball this. One will be our lemons (yellow) and another will be our stems (green). Add a drop or two of yellow food coloring to one frosting bowl. And add a drop or two of green food coloring gel to the second frosting bowl. Mix until smooth. Transfer the yellow frosting to a piping bag fitted with a #3 round piping tip.
Transfer the yellow frosting to a piping bag fitted with a #1 round piping tip.
To Decorate the Cake:
Place one cooled cake layer on a cake board. Add about 1/2 cup of white frosting to the top of the first layer and smooth out into a thin even layer. Place the second cake layer on top. Repeat with the third layer. Add a thin crumb coat of white frosting to the cake and smooth the top and sides. Transfer the cake to the fridge to chill for about 20 minutes. Then add a second layer of white frosting to the cake.
To add the lemons, pipe on rounds of frosting; they’ll end up looking like lemons once we add the tops. Add as many as you like. Make them any size you like, too. Dip your finger in a bit of water and tap the tops of the lemons to make them appear smoother.
Pipe on a small “V” shape at the top of each of the lemons. This will make it appear like they have a stem.
Tips and Tricks:
Make this recipe ahead! Bake the cake a day in advance, let it cool completely and then wrap it in plastic wrap. Frost and decorate how you like the next day.
Storage – Store this cake covered at room temperature for 2-3 days.
Decorating shortcuts – Skip piped lemons for a simple frosting finish, or add sprinkles for a playful touch.
Food Coloring – I recommend using about 5-6 drops of food coloring gel which is thicker with a stronger pigment. If you’re using food coloring, I would say to use about 3-4 drops so it doesn’t affect the consistency of the cake.
Egg yolks – Use your leftover egg yolks for my homemade lemon curd! Which would honestly be perfect layered in between this cake.
Serving: 8g | Calories: 350kcal | Carbohydrates: 23g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 2g | Saturated Fat: 12g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3g | Trans Fat: 2g | Cholesterol: 21mg | Sodium: 23mg | Potassium: 12mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 14g | Vitamin A: 190IU | Vitamin C: 10mg | Calcium: 14mg | Iron: 2mg
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
