Because Lemons are in Season . . . Lemon Cake!

Beautiful picture by Amy Lashelle Beckler

This past Summer, one of my loveliest girlfriends married her long-time (and very talented) photographer boyfriend. I was lucky enough to do the cakes for their wedding. Although I did 5 different kinds of cake, the pictures of the lemon cakes were some of my favorite. I was resistant to post this summery-like cake until my friend Becky put up her monthly list of seasonal produce in Utah . I was pleased to see that lemons made the list!


So, my Utahan friends (and the rest of you), stop on by the grocery store where lemons are sure to be 3 for $1 and use them to make this beautiful lemon cake with cream cheese frosting. Enjoy!

Beautiful picture by Amy Lashelle Beckler

Lemon Cake
Yields one 2-layer 9" round cake


1 cup salted butter, softened
2 cups sugar
3 eggs, at room temperature
2 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
Juice from one lemon
Zest from the same lemon
1 cup buttermilk (if you don't have buttermilk, put 1 tablespoon lemon juice in a measuring cup and fill the rest of the cup with whole milk. Wait 5 minutes)


1 cup lemon curd


Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour two 9" round cake pans


Cream together softened butter and sugar on medium-high speed for 30 seconds. Add lemon peel and juice and mix a few seconds more. Add eggs, one at a time and mix until each is combined.


Combine flour, baking powder, and baking soda in a small bowl. Add half the flour mixture to the creamed-butter mixture and mix until combined. Then, half the buttermilk and mix. Repeat until all of the ingredients have been incorporated but do not over-mix.


Divide the batter evenly between 2 pans. Bake 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pans. Cool completely before frosting.




Cream Cheese Frosting:

1/2 cup salted butter, softened

3 (8 oz) packages cream cheese, softened

5 cups powdered sugar

1 teaspoon good quality vanilla

1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest

Mix softened butter, cream cheese, vanilla, and zest in a bowl fitted with a paddle attachment on medium speed until smooth and well-combined. Scrape down bowl. Add powdered sugar, one cup at a time and mix in between each addition until well-combined.

Candied Lemons:

One large lemon

1 cup sugar

One cup water

Slice lemon into 1/4 inch thick slices. Remove seeds. Cut slices in half. 

Combine water and sugar in saute pan over high heat and stir until sugar is dissolved. Reduce heat to medium and place lemon slices in pan in one layer. Cook without stirring 45-60 minutes until the rinds start to dull in color. Remove slices with a fork and place on a sheet lined with parchment. Cool.

Spread the lemon curd over one layer of cake and top with the second layer. Cover the outside with cream cheese frosting and assemble candied lemon slices on top of the cake.