Lemon Buttermilk Cake with Lemon Glaze

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Lemon Buttermilk Cake with Lemon Glaze — An easy buttermilk cake with big lemon flavor!! Soft, fluffy, and foolproof if you like puckering up!!

Lemon Buttermilk Cake with Lemon Glaze - An easy little cake with big lemon flavor!! Soft, fluffy, and foolproof if you like puckering up!!

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 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 turn 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.

Lemon Buttermilk Cake with Lemon Glaze - An easy little cake with big lemon flavor!! Soft, fluffy, and foolproof if you like puckering up!!

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
  • Canola oil
  • Lemon extract

And to make the lemon glaze for the cake, you’ll need:

  • Confectioners’ sugar
  • Lemon juice and zest
Lemon Buttermilk Cake with Lemon Glaze - An easy little cake with big lemon flavor!! Soft, fluffy, and foolproof if you like puckering up!!

How to Make Lemon Buttermilk Cake

This truly is such a simple lemon buttermilk cake recipe! Here’s how you’ll make the scratch lemon cake and the lemon cake glaze: 

  1. Stir together the dry ingredients in one bowl and the wet in another.
  2. Then, combine the two and turn the batter into a greased 8×8-inch baking pan. 
  3. The lemon buttermilk cake needs to bake until the center is set and a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
  4. Once the homemade lemon cake comes out of the oven, set it aside to cool while you make the lemon glaze. 
  5. 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.
  6. The lemon buttermilk cake then needs to rest on your countertop for at least an hour before slicing and serving. 
Lemon Buttermilk Cake with Lemon Glaze - An easy little cake with big lemon flavor!! Soft, fluffy, and foolproof if you like puckering up!!

Is There a Buttermilk Substitute I Can Use? 

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. 

Can the Lemon Extract Be Substituted? 

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!

Can I Double This Lemon Cake Recipe? 

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. 

Can I Use Cake Flour Instead of All-Purpose? 

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.

Lemon Buttermilk Cake with Lemon Glaze - An easy little cake with big lemon flavor!! Soft, fluffy, and foolproof if you like puckering up!!

Tips for Making Lemon Buttermilk Cake

Lemon JuiceFreshly 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 flabor.

Glaze – 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. 

Don’t Need to Wait – Note that 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.

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4.43 from 145 votes

Lemon Buttermilk Cake with Lemon Glaze

By Averie Sunshine
An easy buttermilk cake with big lemon flavor!! Soft, fluffy, and foolproof if you like puckering up!! This is the easiest from-scratch lemon cake EVER!
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Cooling Time: 1 hour
Total Time: 1 hour 45 minutes
Servings: 9
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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
  • â…“ 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
  • â…“ 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

*This lemon buttermilk cake should be made with real buttermilk for the best results.
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. 

Nutrition

Serving: 1, Calories: 297kcal, Carbohydrates: 57g, Protein: 3g, Fat: 7g, Saturated Fat: 1g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 5g, Cholesterol: 26mg, Sodium: 164mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 42g

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

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Soft and Chewy Lemon Cookies â€” Packed with big, bold lemon flavor for all you lemon lovers! They’re soft, chewy and not at all cakey!!

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The Best Lemon Bars â€“ Truly the best classic lemon bars! 

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Strawberry Lemonade Bars â€” Imagine crossing lemon bars with a strawberry pie. These easy bars taste like strawberry lemonade! Sooo good!

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Blueberry Lemon Cake with Lemon Glaze â€” 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.

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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!!

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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!!

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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.

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Originally published October 14, 2014 and republished March 17, 2023 with updated text.

About the Author

Welcome to AverieCooks! Here you’ll find fast and easy recipes that taste amazing and are geared for real life. Nothing fussy or complicated, just awesome tasting dishes everyone loves!

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Please note: I have only made the recipe as written, and cannot give advice or predict what will happen if you change something. If you have a question regarding changing, altering, or making substitutions to the recipe, please check out the FAQ page for more info.

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Comments

  1. Made this last night cuz I was in the mood for tart-sweet, not sweet-sweet, and we needed (well, maybe “need” isn’t QUITE the right word … ) a dessert. Yum! The glaze makes the cake.

    1. One can always ‘need’ something sweet, or sweet-ish :) And glad you loved the glaze too! I know, I could drink that stuff!

  2. My brother must love lemon desserts as much as your daughter. Whenever I post one, it’s the only time he ever leaves a comment on my blog! ;) And it’s so true about lemon desserts this time of year. I’m almost (but not quite — that’d be impossible) getting a tiny bit tired of pumpkin, so its bright flavor is perfect to balance out all the spice!

    1. I get pumpkin’ed out too. I mean for like a day. Then I’m ready to see more of it. LOL But yea I totally understand and that’s too funny about your bro and the comments!

  3. This recipe is awesome! Growing up, I was ALWAYS the lemon head. I never went for chocolate anything, but give me lemon sorbet or lemon cake or yogurt any day of the week. Simeon, who seems to take after me in every way, is the same way. So, we made this tonight. He absolutely loved it and has asked for “3 or so pieces” to be put in his lunch tomorrow. LOL. Also, seriously, we made your pumpkin french toast this morning for breakfast. The boys both thought it was delicious. And tomorrow, we are going to whip up one of your donut desserts! Not sure which one yet, but thinking about this baby:
    https://www.averiecooks.com/2011/11/baked-vanilla-donuts-with-vanilla-glaze.html
    Your recipes are so fun to make with my kids. Thanks, Averie! Also, Simeon has dogeared a bunch of pages in the pumpkin cookbook! :-D

    1. Wow you have been busy in the kitchen and leave it to you to make a cake the same day I posted it and glad it was a hit so that 3 or so pieces were requested to be put into the lunchbox! Love that!

      And this is on the heels of pumpkin french toast for breakfast, while contemplating donuts…sounds about perfect to me! And happy donut making! Those are classic vanilla donuts and I think you guys will love them!

  4. Juice, zest and extract?! I am in!! this cake looks right up my lemon lovin alley :)

  5. a buttermilk cake alone is amazing let alone the addition of the zesty fresh sweet lemon flavor! YUM!

  6. Love lemony cake, and I am imagining some of that glaze soaking right into the warm cake- luscious!

  7. I was just telling myself it’s been too long since I made lemon. This is fabulous and your pics are gorgeous!

    1. Thanks, Dorothy, and for pinning too. And I know you love lemon stuff! And if nothing else, at least with light-colored cakes like this, it buys me one or two stops on my ISO settings. I’ll take a lemon cake over brownies just for that reason alone. lol

  8. Let me know if your adopting because that is one lucky daughter!!! I love lemon desserts too..I think because they are usually lighter and tart…I love the combination of sweet and tart just as much as sweet and salty…another great recipe.