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Best Lemon Cake from Scratch
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4.89 from 9 votes

The Best Lemon Cake from Scratch

The Best Lemon Cake from Scratch is a homemade yellow cake with a luscious lemon flavor, topped with tangy lemon buttercream frosting.
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 25 minutes
Total Time 45 minutes
Servings 20 servings
Calories 435kcal

Ingredients

For the cake

For the frosting

  • 1 cup vegetable shortening (or softened butter) I used Crisco
  • 16 ounces powdered sugar or 4 ½ cups
  • 2 tablespoons lemon juice Note: I used 1 large lemon for this recipe, zest and juice
  • 2 tablespoons water

Instructions

For the cake

  • Preheat oven to 350°F. Line 3 (9-inch) round pans with parchment paper. Spray with non-stick cooking spray. Set aside.
  • In a medium bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients (cake flour, baking powder and salt). Set aside.
  • In a large bowl, beat butter with an electric mixer on medium until creamy. Add sugar and oil. Beat until combined. With mixer on low, add eggs, one at a time. Beat on medium until incorporated. Turn mixer on low, then alternate adding milk and flour mixture. Once it's mixed together, turn mixer up to medium and beat for one minute. Add lemon oil, lemon zest and food coloring. Stir.
  • Pour batter into prepared pans. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Let cool.

For the frosting

  • Beat vegetable shortening on medium speed with an electric or stand mixer. Beat for 3 minutes until smooth and creamy.
  • Add powdered sugar, lemon juice and water with the mixer running on low. Increase to high speed and beat for 3 minutes. Fill and frost cooled cake layers. (Add lemon zest for extra lemon flavor.)
  • Note: If the frosting is too thick, you can add a little more water. Just add one tablespoon at a time, then mix thoroughly until you get the consistency you like.

Notes

This recipe calls for lemon zest in the cake batter. If you want it to be extra lemony, add some lemon zest (1-2 teaspoons) to the frosting as well.

Nutrition

Calories: 435kcal | Carbohydrates: 58g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 22g | Saturated Fat: 11g | Cholesterol: 51mg | Sodium: 120mg | Potassium: 117mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 43g | Vitamin A: 216IU | Vitamin C: 3mg | Calcium: 51mg | Iron: 1mg