Lemon Layer Cake with Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting

Supremely moist and fluffy lemon layer cake with homemade lemon cream cheese frosting. Every bite bursts with fresh lemon flavor! The perfect cake for any occasion.

This was the best new years cake I’ve ever baked! Was my first try with lemons and it was absolutely divine! The frosting was everything lemon and everyone loved it! I had no cake flour but it turned out fine with superfine flour too (what a relief)! Definitely will be making this cake again and again 😍! Happy New Year from Malaysia to you lemon cake goddess!

Wonderful cake really light and fluffy. I baked the cake 25 min and it was perfect, but all ovens are different and times vary even the with the same cake so I always go 5 minutes less you can always add time but you can’t unbaked it.  This cake has the exact right amount of lemon.  I will definitely bake this cake again. I know it’s really late so I am wishing your 30’s. were as great as mine.  Enjoy and thanks for the recipe 

I made this cake for my niece’s 18th birthday. She LOVES lemon, so I had a feeling it would be a hit with her, but EVERYONE loved it. I followed your recipe, baking for 30 minutes and that was just right. It had a very strong, but natural, lemon flavor, a delicate crumb, it rose beautifully and was in every way a perfect cake. I copied your flower and numeral decorations and added a small written message on the cake, which was simple, beautiful, and very easy to do. One thing that I did different was that I only leveled the bottom layer. That was because when I trimmed off the dome from one layer I tasted it and found that the golden crust was amazing tasting. I thought that it really added to the flavor of the cake, so I left the cake top with a dome on it, rather than making it completely flat. Thank you for this recipe. It is one I will make over and over.

Today was my second time making this cake. I made it for my 30th birthday! It turned out great! It was amazing the first time. I accidentally put 4 whole eggs in it instead of egg whites, but it still tasted good. This is definitely a go to cake as it is very simple to make.

My sister made this cake for our mom’s 80th birthday! It was an absolute hit! Mom likes lemon anything and everyone loved this cake. Needless to say, it didn’t last. In my opinion, it rivals the lemon cake at Olive Garden!! Best lemon cake I have EVER tasted!

It’s official. BEST LEMON CAKE RECIPE IN THE WORLD, THANK YOU!

Happy Birthday Erin. I baked this for my mom’s 65th birthday and she loved it. It was my first cake. My father died two years ago, so I try to come up with ideas to brighted her day. It was denser than inexpected and it wasn’t too rich or sweet, so there wasn’t a plate unfinished. I even got piping tips to decorate it. I was able to achieve a thicker frosting by folding in the powdered sugar. Thank you again for this recipe.

Hi Erin,I wanted to make a birthday cake for a friend’s 50th birthday at work, who’s favorite cake was lemon. Not having made a lemon cake from scratch before, I googled it. Your cake looked manageable and turned out to be “the bomb!” Not only was it a hit with my friend, but everyone at the office raved about it! It was surprisingly moist. Thank you for this delicious recipe! I enjoy your site and am looking forward to trying more or your recipes throughout the coming years, as I specifically wanted to practice and expand my novice cooking skills this year. Best wishes, and thanks again! ;)

This is THE best lemon cake recipe. I was looking for a lemon cake that was not a bunt or pound recipe. This is amazing. Looks like an angel food cake but is much fancier. So delicious. I used just a whipped cream frosting since my daughter does not like cream cheese. I though about making a whipped cream/cream cheese frosting but opted for just whipped cream. I layered the cake with lemon curd from Trader Joes and thinly sliced strawberries. I am now making the exact recipe for a bake sale.

Just made this last night, and it was an absolute hit! Perfectly moist and fluffy. I used two nine inch square pans, and reduced the bake time to 20 mins. Thanks for the recipe :)

I only made the frosting and it was so delicious!! Next time I’ll make the cake to go with it.

I made the vegan version of this cake and it was perfect.  I made an egg substitute out of cornstarch and instead of the buttermilk, I used almond milk with a tbsp. of ACV.  The was perfectly moist and fluffy.  Great recipe.  

Fabulous cake!  My family loved it!  Nice and fluffy, light, with just the right amount of lemon.  Frosting also deliciously creamy – not too cheesy.   Thanks for this tasty, perfect cake recipe!     I’d love to alter this cake/frosting recipe for yellow cake, Chocolate, etc. it’s that good!  Any tips  on altering ingredients for other flavors  would be greatly appreciated.  

Thank you, Erin, for the quick reply!  Your suggestions make sense!   I may try lime or orange for a change or one of your other cake recipes.  The lemon is truly a fabulous cake; my family’s quickly devouring!  Have a great day!😋

Lemon cake is my favorite! love the idea of the cream cheese frosting. Happy birthday, have a wonderful day (:

I made this cake today however I did not make the frosting. The cake is excellent. I’ve made hundreds of cakes and this is a good recipe. Cake came out perfect.  I will have some of my  testers  try this tomorrow. Thank you. 

Can I just use lemon extract? Lemons are kind of expensive and unless I’m doing it wrong it takes several to get enough zest, then I have no use for the actual lemon. I didn’t use enough zest so my lemon flavor wasn’t as strong as I’d prefer, but I’d like to try it again. Also, my cake had sort of a “tough” top skin even though it wasn’t overbaked. Might be my oven runs 5-10 degrees warm, but I’m not sure….

The flavor of this cake is out of this world and it was super moist. The only problem I had with the cake was that my cake’s texture turned out to be like an angel food cake, very close air cells. I’d prefer a much lighter texture like pictured. Erin, do you have any tips for me? Im not sure what happened!

Hi Erin,  my family is crazy about this recipe & says it’s the best ever.  I’ve made it 2x with the cream cheese frosting and the frosting is not as thick as it should be (top layer could almost slide off).   I hate to add more sugar as it’s sweet enough.  Perhaps my cream cheese & butter is too soft?   I only added 1 tsp of lemon juice. Any tips  would be greatly appreciated.  Best cake recipe — ever!  Thanks so much!  

I made this cake to bring to a dinner party and it was a huge hit! It’s absolutely perfect for Spring and I could eat that cream cheese frosting with a spoon! The only sad thing was I let the hostess keep what wasn’t devoured at the party, so I only had one slice! Guess I’ll just have to make another one…. Thanks for the recipe Erin, and happy birthday!

This recipe was delicious! I did mix in strawberries and a little more lemon extract into the middle layer of icing and it turned out wonderfully! Thank you so much!Alexis 

Very dense cake, but taste was good.

It’s my Moms 40th birthday so I wanted to make her something special. I’m really picky when it comes to bread-like desserts. Everything from pancakes to cakes to donuts HAVE to be perfect. This cake is NOT dense at all. It’s airy and fluffy with a mild sweet lemon taste. I’m so happy I used this cake recipe. After it was done baking I poked holes in it and filled the holes with lemon custard to intensify the flavor on the bottom layer (this is a 4 layer cake!) and between each layer added a white chocolate mousse and finished it off with a lemon zested white chocolate buttercream frosting. I’m REALLY happy with the way it turned out! Thank you for the amazing recipe!

I followed the instructions exactly, and the cake turned out perfectly! The cake was light and fluffy. The lemon cream cheese frosting was perfect, with just the right amount of lemon flavor. I topped the cake with a sliced lemon as pictured above, and next time I might also add blueberries [on top] for an extra pop of color!My husband, kids, friends, and co-workers raved about this cake, and it was devoured in less than 24 hours. I can’t wait to make this again for my son’s First Communion party next month! Go make this cake as soon as you can, you won’t regret it!

My grandson David called me to ask if I would make him a birthday cake. I asked what kind of cake? He told me he wanted a lemon cake. I told him that I didn’t have a recipe so he got on line and sent me yours. It was delicious! The cake was the hit of his 21st birthday.

Love this recipe! I made a lemon curd for the filling & a raspberry sauce as a topping. The perfect sweetness & perfect dessert for Easter.

OMG – I am a chocolate cake addict but this sponge was so delicately fragranced with lemon, light,fluffy & absolutely gorgeous!!!!  One of the loveliest cakes EVER!!!!  Struggled with icing – had to add xtra icing sugar

Erin,I have never been a fan of lemon “anything”, but your cake looked so good and I wanted to make something different for my 60th birthday (coming up in a few months) so I thought I would try yours out in advance. The recipe and warning notes were spot on. I used exactly what you said in the amounts you prescribed and voila a perfect cake. I was also pleasantly surprised at the flavor and texture of the butter cream cheese frosting (the second tablespoon of lemon juice made it so fluffy). I will definitely make this cake for my 60th and any other opportunity I have to make a cake for anyone else.Thank you so much for posting the recipe and reminding me to use cake flour it would have been such a shame if I mistakenly used APF. I hope you enjoyed your 30th and have many more to follow. Let me know if you post any other recipes, I would love to give them a try.