Best Lemon Buttermilk Cake
The Best Lemon Buttermilk Cake Recipe ever! This simple southern lemon layer cake is soft and moist with a tangy-sweet frosting.
The Best Lemon Cake Recipe
Ok guys, so here’s my disclaimer… When I share a classic recipe like this, I see no point in adding another recipe to the chasm of the online world, unless I can state with some authority that it is the best I’ve ever made and tasted.
Therefore I’m very excited to share this lemon layer cake with you today.
It’s moist, pillowy, and ultra tangy, just as a perfect lemon cake should be.
Southern Lemon Cake
When I first moved to the south, I did not realize there is a difference between a southern cake… And all other cakes.
In fact, I might go as far as to say I never truly had a mind-blowing cake until I moved to North Carolina.
For those of you living anywhere else in the country (or world) a southern cake has nothing to do with the style or flavor of the cake. Instead, it has everything to do with the overall texture, moistness, and sweetness.
Good Southern Cakes Are:
- Delicate in texture. The kind you have to be careful about flipping out of the pan, so they don’t fall apart.
- Ultra moist. There is nothing “bready” about a southern cake. If you press down on a piece with your fingers, you can almost squeeze out the butter or oil.
- Very sweet. Although I tend to like desserts to be not-too-sweet, I make an exception when it comes to cake. The best cakes I’ve ever eaten have been powerfully sweet.
So What Makes This The Best Lemon Layer Cake?
I have eaten more than my fair share of cakes in my lifetime, and this one checks off all the boxes, plus some!
- It is super soft and light with a fine delicate crumb.
- It is very moist and tender, due to the addition of buttermilk. Plus, the moisture in the frosting protects the cake layers from drying out.
- It is in fact sugary-sweet. However, the lemon flavor balances the sweetness, so it doesn’t come off too overpowering.
Speaking of the lemon flavor, it is derived from three places… Lemon zest, lemon juice, and lemon extract. Therefore it offers both a bright fresh lemon flavor and a deeper underlying lemon essence.
How To Make The Best Lemon Buttermilk Cake Recipe
Don’t be intimidated by the number of steps in this lemon cake recipe.
You can totally do this!
In fact, in the recipe below I actually added steps, just to make sure you didn’t misunderstand an instruction and make a mistake.
The Key Factors In Making This The Best Lemon Cake You’ve Ever Tasted Are:
- Prep your pans. Make sure to grease your pans and add a circle of parchment paper in the bottom of each pan. This will guarantee the cakes come out in one piece.
- Cream the butter and sugar long enough. This is a step rookie bakers often skip. When you beat softened butter and sugar together on high speed, it fluffs the butter for a light airy cake texture and breaks down the sugar crystals. To do this properly, it usually takes a full 3-5 minutes. If you skip this step, your cake will be dense, instead of pillowy.
- Measure properly. Think of cooking as art, and baking as science. If you are heavy-handed with your measuring, or don’t add enough of an ingredient, the chemical reaction in your oven will be different than mine. Be exact. And don’t forget to sift, or at least stir, your flour before measuring.
- Scrape the bowl. Use a rubber spatula to scrape the mixing bowl in between steps, so all the ingredients are incorporated evenly.
- Don’t overbeat the batter. It’s easy to turn on the mixer, then go about doing other things, forgetting about the batter. However, cake batter can be overmixed! This leads to a tough texture or even a cake that sinks in the middle. Mix the batter until smooth, and no longer. Once all the ingredients are incorporated… TURN THE MIXER OFF.
- Don’t disturb the baking cake. Leave it alone guys! Don’t open the oven door fifteen times while it’s baking. I would even suggest you walk lightly through your kitchen while the cake is baking. It needs consistent heat, and no movement to rise properly. Opening the oven door and banging around the kitchen can cause your cake to collapse in the center before it’s fully baked. If you can be patient you will be thrilled with the results.
- Cool completely. Don’t rush the cake frosting. Make sure to give your cake ample time to cool. Even a little warmth will make the frosting slump down the sides as you try to smooth it.
Get the Full (Printable) Best Lemon Buttermilk Cake Recipe Below!
I’ve also included pro frosting tips to make this the easiest and most beautiful cake you’ve ever baked!
Learn How To Make Buttermilk Here.
If you are new to baking, check out our 100 Best Baking Tips Tutorial.
Frequently Asked Questions
How well does this cake keep?
You can let it sit out 3 days at room temperature, or it will last 7-10 days in the refrigerator. Make sure to wrap it well.
Can I freeze this cake?
Wrap the cake well with a layer of plastic wrap, then foil. Freeze for up to 6 months. Then thaw at room temperature.
To preserve the best possible appearance on the outside, you can “flash freeze” the cake, unwrapped, for about an hour so the frosting hardens. Then wrap well and freeze.
What if I want to make these into cupcakes
For cupcakes, I would increase the heat to 375 (for a higher dome) and bake for about 15-18 minutes. This recipe would make about 18-24 cupcakes.
Can I make this in a 9×13 pan?
Yes, you can! Bake it at 350 for 30-35 minutes.
Can I add in poppy seeds?
You sure could! I would start by adding 1 tablespoon of poppyseed to the batter and then add more as needed.
My cake came out spongy and rubbery? Any idea what I may have done wrong?
It sounds like you might have overmixed the cake batter. It’s important to stop mixing the batter once the ingredients are fully combined.
More Classic Southern Desserts:
- Strawberry Yogurt Bundt Cake
- Perfect Carrot Cake
- Chocolate Cupcakes with Strawberry Frosting
- Hummingbird Cupcakes
- Chocolate Mint Texas Sheet Cake
- Vegan Chocolate Chia Seed Pudding Recipe
- Fluffy Divinity Candy Recipe
- Scottish Shortbread (Easy Shortbread Cookie Recipe)
- The Easiest Candied Orange Peel Recipe
- Linzer Cookies (Cut Out Cookies Recipe)
Best Lemon Buttermilk Cake Recipe
Ingredients
For the Cake –
- 2 ¾ cups cake flour, sifted (or 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour + ¼ cup cornstarch)
- 2 teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 10 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
- 4 large eggs
- ¼ cup vegetable oil
- Zest of 1 lemon (save juice for frosting)
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon lemon extract
- 3-5 drops yellow food coloring *optional
- 1 ¼ cup whole-fat buttermilk
For the Frosting –
- 1 ½ cups unsalted butter, softened (3 sticks)
- 3 tablespoons buttermilk
- 1 ½ tablespoons lemon juice
- 5-7 cups powdered sugar
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spray or grease two 9-inch round cake pans. Cut out 9-inch parchment paper circles, and press down in the bottom of each pan. (Trace the pan for perfect circles.)
- For the Cake: In the bowl on an electric stand mixer, cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. (Cream: Beat on high approximately 3-5 minutes to break down the sugar crystals.)
- In a separate bowl, mix the cake flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
- Once the butter and sugar are well creamed. Scrape the mixing bowl with a rubber spatula. Then turn the mixer on low and beat in the eggs, oil, lemon zest, vanilla extract, lemon extract, and yellow food coloring.
- Scrape the bowl again. Turn the mixer back on low and alternate adding the flour mixture and buttermilk until both are well combined. Once the batter is smooth, turn the mixer off immediately.
- Pour the batter evenly into the two prepared pans. Bake on the middle rack, undisturbed for 30 minutes.
- If the center of the cakes are puffed up, check the cake by inserting a toothpick into the center. If it comes out clean, take them out of the oven. If the toothpick has batter on it, bake another 5-10 minutes and recheck.
- Allow the cakes to cool 10 minutes in the pans. Then carefully flip them out on a cooling rack. Remove the parchment paper and cool completely.
- For the Frosting: Once the cakes are room temperature, place the butter in a clean stand mixer bowl. Beat until fluffy. Then scrape the bowl and turn on low. Mix in the buttermilk and lemon juice. Then add the powdered sugar one cup at a time, beating to incorporate.
- After adding 5 cups of powdered sugar, turn the mixer up to beat out any clumps. Check the consistency of the frosting. If it is too loose, add another 1-2 cups of powdered sugar and beat until smooth.
- To Assemble:Move one cake to a cake stand or platter. Scoop about 2 cups frosting onto the cake. Use a large flat spatula to spread the frosting out evenly.
- Set the second cake on top of the frosting, being careful to center the cake. Gently press the cake a little to level the top. Then scoop all remaining frosting on top of the cake. Use the spatula to work the frosting over the top and down the sides.
- Turn the cake stand to smooth out the sides with the flat edge of the spatula. Once you are satisfied with the sides, use the spatula to make swooping marks on the top of the cake. Use a wet paper towel to clean up the cake stand.
- Cover and keep at room temperature for up to 4 days, or refrigerate for up to a week. When ready to serve, make sure the cake is at room temperature… All classic layer cakes taste best at room temperature!
Video
Notes
- Spread a thin “crumb coat” layer of frosting over the cake to catch and seal in the crumbs. Then spread on the final “pretty” layer of frosting on top.
- Or you can wrap the cakes in separate pieces of plastic and freeze them. Then a few hours later, you can unwrap, level, and frost the cake with a lot of added stability. Just be sure to do this at least 6 hours before serving so the cake layers have time to thaw.
Can I make a rosette cake out of this frosting? Will the frosting be to delicate to hold the rose shape? Love the recipe
Hi Alex,
You might need a little bit more powdered sugar to make the frosting stiff enough, but yes! :)
I made it. It tasted very nice after I made it but then I put it in the fridge and the next day it was no longer moist and soft. It became very hard. Was I supposed to store it at room temperature?
Hi Kevina,
Cakes do harden when you put them in the refrigerator. However, if you wrap them well, and then let them come to room temperature before serving, they will soften again. You cal also leave this cake out at room temperature for 3-4 days.
I made this cake 1 time and it was AMAZING. Since then, I’ve tried it 3 more times and each time, the center falls. I am following the recipe perfectly except for the food coloring and extract. I bought new baking soda and powder. The pans are the correct size and I have tested the temperature of my oven with a hanging thermometer. What is happening? This is so frustrating. I am not new to baking…I’ve been at it for at least 20 years. I have never been so puzzled.
Hi Kristen,
Wow, that’s so weird! Since you’ve addressed all the most common issues, I would suggest considering the weather when you are baking the cake. Soft delicate cakes HATE being baked in high humidity. (And so many of us love to bake on rainy days!) The only other thing that might be an issue is if you are letting the batter sit/rest too long before baking. Once it is mixed, it needs to go right in the oven. Could either of these things have come into play?
Note to new Baker’s like me, make sure you have the right sized cake pans it your cake will book over! Thought I was being so careful by pre measuring making sure I had all the right ingredients, eggs and milk at room temp and see salt. Well it did no good without first checking to see what size my plans were. Flopped this time. I but I’m better prepared for the next time I try this!
I made this for my daughter’s birthday. I did not have cake flour or corn starch so I used all All Purpose flour. I used extra lemon zest and added a few tsp of lemon juice. Also, I did not have buttermilk so I made my own. This cake was Ah-mazing! I used a lemon cream cheese icing (not what’s here on this page) and made a blueberry filling to go in my middle layer. This is the BEST cake I’ve ever made!! If you’re looking for a good lemon cake. You’ve found it!!
Hi there!
How can I make this into a 10 inch 2 layer cake?
Hi Jessica,
You’ve got a couple of options… You can use the recipe as-is to make two thinner 10-inch layers, and bake for 22-25 minutes. Or you can use our “servings slider” function in the recipe form to move the servings from 20 to 25. That will change the batter proportions to be close to what it would be for 9 inch pans. then bake for 30 minutes.
One last thing- the top of my cakes (when they fall) do not brown at all. Not sure if that helps narrow down what’s happening
Hi Tiffany,
Sorry that is happening to you… Most likely it is altitude related, OR your oven temperature is off. It sounds to me like your oven temperature is straying on the low side. You can check your oven accuracy by hanging an extra oven thermometer in it to see how far off it’s running. Then find a calibration tutorial on youtube for your oven model. It’s pretty easy to adjust.
Here is an article on high altitude baking that may also help you: https://www.wheatmontana.com/content/high-altitude-baking-how-make-your-recipes-work-mountains
I’ve made this cake 4 times now and it is SO delicious! I live in a high altitude area, so I’m not sure if that’s why my cake keeps falling in the middle. I read not to beat it as much, so I’ve tried tweaking that and it’s still falling. What am I doing wrong?
My first cake as an adult and it was divinely perfect. Thank you for this perfect recipe. God bless you I wish I could share a picture. I added flowers for presentation.
What changes are needed to use a bunt cake pan?
Hi Lisa,
This isn’t really a bundt cake recipe, because the cake is so light. However, here is a recipe that offers a fabulous lemon flavor. You can use or omit the strawberries. https://www.aspicyperspective.com/farmstand-fresh/
I like it. Cake rosse perfectly. Icing is justvtoo sweet. Added extra lemon juice to cut it. If you reduce sugar is too loose. Just loving the cake gonna try another type of icing three sticks of butter and 5 cups sugar is just alot. Maybe a whipped icing or cream cheese maybe. Yoi did say very sweet and it is. I do love the texture ans lemon taste of it.
Question! If I were to use two 6” pans for a 4-layer cake birthday cake, would this hold or would it cave in as the cake is light/fluffy? Thanks!
Hi Ashley,
This is a very soft cake, but as long as you are not topping it with heavy garnishes, four layers should hold. Just make sure to add enough powdered sugar, so the frosting is firm, not loose.
The best lemon cake! I made this for my birthday and it came out perfectly, so I decided to make an orange version too, just used orange zest and extract instead, came out great too! As they both turned out so well, I thought I’d then try to make a simple vanilla version, omitting the lemon zest and extract and adding an extra teaspoon of vanilla. For some reason, this one didn’t turn out very well, it didn’t have that lovely melt in the mouth texture and was a little rubbery with a ‘gluey’ streak and slightly sunk when cooled. Followed everything as per the recipe like the other two times so not sure what happened.. perhaps I over-mixed? This was the first time that this has happened to me with a cake, so disheartening! Would appreciate any feedback :)
Hi Melina,
I’m so glad you liked it! Yes, it sounds like maybe you let your mixer run a little too long on the vanilla cake batter. Overmixing can definitely change the texture. Omitting zest and extracts would not have changed the texture. However, here’s my favorite vanilla cake recipe if you are interested: https://www.aspicyperspective.com/the-best-homemade-vanilla-cake-recipe/
I made this cake twice. I’ve measured exactly and made sure all my ingredients were room temp, etc. Both times the cake didn’t rise. My baking soda and baking powder are new. I used cake flour and sifted it. Complete mess. When the first one came out bad I thought maybe it was something that was off, so I tried it again. Sorry but not happy
Hi Paula,
Hmmm… I’m so sorry about that! As you can see from the comments, plenty of people have had success with this cake recipe. I’m wondering if your oven needs calibration. Consider adding a hanging oven thermometer to your oven to see how accurate it is. (It is VERY common for ovens to stray 20-30 degrees in either direction.) If the temperature is low, that could account for the issue. You can find youtube tutorials on how to calibrate your oven for most models. Hope this helps!
Hi there,
I am so excited to make this cake today! I do not have lemon extract, though. I do have limoncello. Can I substitute the limoncello for the extract?
Thank you!
Hi Melissa,
Sure! The lemon flavor will be slightly more mellow, but still delish!
Amazing cake. Great texture great flavor. If your a real lemon lover you could add a little more to the cake but it is wonderful!
I just made this cake for my son’s birthday today and it was delicious! Rave reviews from all our guests! Super moist, light, and the lemon flavor is just perfect, not to overwhelming. I can’t thank you enough for your easy to follow recipe. I will definitely be making this again.
The cake turned out to be absolutely heavenly! So soft, moist and delicious. I substituted buttermilk for plain greek yoghurt. Not a difference.
OMG YOU HAVE TO TRY THIS RECIPE
I’m 15, and made this for my sister’s birthday, and it turned out to be one of the best cakes I ever made. Honestly the flavor, texture, and balance that this cake has is like no other. The texture is super moist, and didn’t turn out dense like other cake recipes I’ve tried. If you like lemon cake, you DEFINITELY have to try this recipe! Huge thanks to Sommer Collier, you made my sisters birthday so special❤️❤️❤️