Lemon Buttermilk Cake with Lemon Glaze – 🍋🥛🍰 An easy buttermilk cake with big lemon flavor! Soft, fluffy, and foolproof if you like puckering up!
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Easiest From-Scratch Lemon Buttermilk Cake
My daughter loves lemon desserts, and I had a ton of lemons and some buttermilk to use. Lucky for her, I made a buttermilk lemon sour cream cake. And lucky for me too because in the past couple of years, lemon desserts have really been growing on me.
If you’re a lemon lover, you’ll love the perfectly tart yet just sweet enough big pop of lemon flavor this soft and fluffy buttermilk cake has.
I used my favorite, foolproof, no mixer, buttermilk cake recipe and worked in lemon three ways: lemon juice, lemon zest, and lemon extract.
If I’m eating a lemon dessert, I want to know it’s there. Hint-of-lemon isn’t really my style. Go big or go home.
I love this cake base, because it’s fast and easy to make, and the cake always turns out supremely moist, springy, and fluffy thanks to buttermilk, sour cream, and oil. That trifecta of moisturizing and tenderizing ingredients makes it impossible to have a dry cake.
The lemon glaze really helps boost the overall lemon profile of the cake. It’s zingy, tangy yet sweet, and after pouring the glaze over the warm cake, it seeps into the cake and makes it even moister, softer, and more lemony.
What Readers Are Saying
This cake was extremely moist and full of lemon flavor! The lemon glaze seemed to sink into the cake, making it even denser than I expected.
Rick
Thank you so much for this recipe! I made it over the weekend and it was everything! The perfect amount of lemon flavour and sweetness! I’m sure I’ll be making this frequently, as it was such a great hit!
Caroline
What’s in Lemon Buttermilk Cake?
To make the lemon buttermilk cake itself, you’ll need:
- All-purpose flour
- Granulated sugar
- Baking powder
- Salt
- Lemon zest
- Egg
- Buttermilk
- Sour cream
- Lemon juice – Freshly squeezed lemon juice is a must when making this homemade lemon cake. The pre-bottled stuff just doesn’t taste the same and since this is a lemon cake you really should use real lemon juice for best results and flavor
- Canola oil
- Lemon extract
And to make the lemon glaze for the cake, you’ll need:
- Confectioners’ sugar
- Lemon juice and zest
Note: Scroll down to the recipe card section of the post for the ingredients with amounts included and for more complete directions.
How to Make Lemon Buttermilk Cake
This truly is such a simple buttermilk and lemon cake recipe! Here’s how you’ll make the scratch lemon cake and the lemon cake glaze:
- Stir together the dry ingredients in one large mixing bowl and the wet in another. Then, combine the two, and turn the cake batter into a greased 8×8-inch baking pan.
- The lemon buttermilk cake needs to bake until the center is set, the top is light golden brown, and a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
- Once the homemade lemon cake comes out of the oven, set it aside to cool while you make the lemon glaze.
- The lemon glaze for the cake is whisked together in under a minute and is poured over the still-warm (but not piping hot) cake.
- The lemon buttermilk cake then needs to rest on your countertop for at least an hour before slicing and serving.
Tip
When making the lemon glaze for the cake, you may need to add a little extra lemon juice or powdered sugar to get it to the right consistency. The glaze should be on the thicker side, but easily pourable.
It’s fine to pour the lemon glaze onto the still-warm cake. You don’t want the cake to be super hot, but warm is fine. It’ll actually cause the glaze to penetrate into the cake a bit more.
Recipe FAQs
This lemon buttermilk cake should be made with real buttermilk for the best results.
I suppose potentially you could sour regular milk with 1/2 tablespoon lemon juice or white vinegar mixed with 1/2 cup of 2% or whole milk, let it stand for 5 to 10 minutes, and then use it in the recipe.
You can use powdered buttermilk instead and prepare it as instructed on the package.
You could technically substitute the lemon extract with vanilla extract, but I don’t recommend doing so as that would seriously diminish the lemony flavor of this cake.
Also, do NOT substitute lemon oil for the lemon extract. They’re two different products and can’t be used in place of each other!
Yes, you can double this lemon cake recipe from scratch and bake it in a 9×13-inch pan instead. Note that the baking time may need to be increased.
Possibly, but I’ve only made this lemon buttermilk cake recipe as instructed. So, I can’t speak to whether cake flour would deliver the same results and if you’d have to alter other things in the recipe.
Leftover cake will stay fresh in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days. Or, you can freeze it for up to 4 months. Thaw in the fridge overnight when you’re ready to serve.
Lemon Buttermilk Cake with Lemon Glaze
Equipment
- 3 Mixing Bowls
- 1 Wire Rack
Ingredients
Cake
- 1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- pinch salt, optional and to taste
- 1 tablespoon lemon zest
- 1 large egg
- ½ cup buttermilk
- ⅓ cup sour cream, lite is okay (plain Greek yogurt may be substituted)
- ¼ cup lemon juice
- 3 tablespoons canola or vegetable oil
- 2 teaspoons lemon extract, vanilla extract may be substituted
Glaze
- 2 cups confectioners’ sugar
- ⅓ cup lemon juice, or as necessary for consistency
- 1 tablespoon lemon zest, or to taste
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F. Line an 8-by-8-inch baking pan with aluminum foil, spray with cooking spray; set aside.
For the Cake:
- In a large bowl, whisk together flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, optional salt.
- Whisk in zemon zest; set aside.
- In a separate small bowl, whisk together the egg, buttermilk*, sour cream, lemon juice, oil, and lemon extract.
- Add the wet mixture to the dry, mixing lightly with a spoon or folding with a spatula until just combined. Small lumps will be present, don’t overmix or try to stir them smooth.
- Turn batter out into prepared pan and bake for about 28 to 31 minutes, or until center is set and not jiggly, and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs, but no batter.
- Place pan on a wire rack and allow cake to cool. While cake cools, make the glaze.
For the Glaze:
- In a medium bowl, add 2 cup confectioners’ sugar, 1/3 cup lemon juice, and whisk until smooth. As necessary, add additional lemon juice (or sugar) to reach desired glaze consistency. I used slightly over 1/3 cup lemon juice. Glaze should be easily pourable.
- Evenly pour glaze over cake (doesn’t have to be fully cooled), smoothing it lightly with a spatula if necessary, but glaze will likely just slide into place.
- Allow cake to cool in pan uncovered for at least 1 hour (or overnight and cover with a sheet of foil) before slicing and serving so glaze can set up. Cake will keep airtight at room temperature for up to 5 days, or in the freezer for up to 4 months.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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More Easy Lemon Desserts:
Lemon Lemonies — Like brownies, but made with lemon and white chocolate! Dense, chewy, not cakey and packed with big, bold lemon flavor!
Lemon Cupcakes with Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting – Soft, fluffy, moist, very lemony cupcakes from scratch! Easy one-bowl, no-mixer recipe for cupcakes that taste like they’re from a bakery!
Soft and Chewy Lemon Cookies — Packed with big, bold lemon flavor for all you lemon lovers! They’re soft, chewy and not at all cakey!
The Best Lemon Bars – Truly the best classic lemon bars!
Strawberry Lemonade Bars — Imagine crossing lemon bars with a strawberry pie. These easy bars taste like strawberry lemonade! Sooo good!
Blueberry Lemon Cake with Lemon Glaze — The cake is packed with sweet, juicy blueberries and while there’s lemon in the batter, it’s the lemon glaze that really brings out the tartly-sweet lemon flavor that complements the blueberries so well.
The Best Lemon Loaf (Better-Than-Starbucks Copycat) – Took years but I finally recreated it! Easy, no mixer, no cake mix, dangerously good, and SPOT ON!
Lemon Olive Oil Cake – My new FAVORITE lemon dessert of all time! Lemon zest, juice, extract, and Limoncello add so much AMAZING lemon flavor to this EASY, ridiculously moist no-mixer cake that’s unique and INCREDIBLE!
Lemon Coconut White Chocolate Gooey Bars — The lemon base is soft and chewy, there’s coconut and white chocolate chips for extra texture, and sweetened condensed milk peeks through the top.
Originally published October 14, 2014 and republished March 17, 2023 with updated text.
Hello Averie, can I bake this in a bundt pan?
You probably could and it will be fine in terms of taste, it will be smaller/shorter bundt unless you have a small-ish Bundt pan.
I also have this recipe https://www.averiecooks.com/blueberry-lemon-cake-with-lemon-glaze/ which is very similar but with blueberries (you can omit). Note that the Bundt it calls for is a smaller pan, see Step 1 of the recipe card directions.
What a lovely little cake!
I was going to try and make a Starbucks copycat lemon loaf when this easier, less calorie-laden gem of a recipe pop up.
It was very simple to put together and came out so light, fluffy and lemon-y. I did use fresh lemon juice with a little extra zest and a full tablespoon of lemon extract.
It was the perfect birthday cake for my 3-year-old miniature dacshund. Too bad he didn’t get any!
Thanks for the 5 star review, Dara, and I am glad you loved the cake! Yes it’s light, fluffy, and lemony indeed!
For a truer Starbucks copycat, THIS is the one! Took me years to get it right and it’s been a reader fave for close to a decade now!
https://www.averiecooks.com/best-lemon-loaf-better-starbucks-copycat/
I sometimes have hundreds of comments to sort through, it’s just one aspect of my job. And I don’t get to them all the day they are left. Sometimes it takes a bit of time as it’s not the most pressing thing on my plate many days.
It’s unfortunate you didn’t like the cake and found it “too lemony”. However, what did you expect with a lemon cake + lemon glaze, that is titled as such? Plus all the ways lemon is used in the cake (zest, extract)? And I was very explicit in the post about how lemony it is. There should be no surprise there. Most people have really loved it. You did not, okay it happens. Now you can move on and try something else.
Hi Averie,
It was tasty although it didn’t rise. I don’t know what could have gone wrong? I did it to the T except that I used El Salvadorian Sour Cream and I accidentally used 1/8 more of sugar than i should have because I miss took my 1/3 cup for 1/4 cup
My guess is this is could be your your culprit: El Salvadorian Sour Cream for why it didn’t rise but I don’t know. It’s not the sugar, that’s irrelevant here.
However the bigger culprit could be expired or just a bad batch of baking powder since 2 full teaspoons is significant here and my hunch it’s this.
Thanks for trying the cake. Replace the baking powder with new and I bet you will be fine!
OMG AVERIE! You are correct – my baking powder expired in August 2019! I am so sorry and thanks for finding my issue – I will def try again!
Yep haha! Just a wee bit old. Yes try again with new fresh products!
This cake was extremely moist and full of lemon flavor! The lemon glaze seemed to sink into the cake, making it even denser than I expected.
This cake was extremely moist and full of lemon flavor! The lemon glaze seemed to sink into the cake, making it even denser than I expected.
Thanks for the 5 star review and glad it wasextremely moist and full of lemon flavor!
Must the lemon juice be freshly squeezed? I’m going to try this recipe for a layer cake since 8” square is equivalent to 9” round, so 3 batches for a 3-layer cake.
No. but it’s 1/4 cup in the batter and since you need to zest a lemon, you may as well then use the juice. Since this is a lemon cake, I do recommend fresh lemon juice and not bottled but you can decide.
Excellent! This cake is very tasty and moist! I waited about 30 minutes before pouring the glaze on top. I used less than 1/3 c. of lemon juice in the glaze – – closer to 1/4 c. The directions didn’t indicate when to add the zest, so I just added it a few minutes after pouring on the glaze. I took this dessert to a dinner party and it was a big hit!!
Excellent! This cake is very tasty and moist! I waited about 30 minutes before pouring the glaze on top. I used less than 1/3 c. of lemon juice in the glaze – – closer to 1/4 c. The directions didn’t indicate when to add the zest, so I just added it a few minutes after pouring on the glaze. I took this dessert to a dinner party and it was a big hit!!
Thanks for the 5 star review and glad the cake was a big hit at your dinner party!
great
Can I use cake flour for this recipe?
I have only made it with all purpose so don’t know how cake flour will behave here.