Moist Lemon Cake Recipe (9x13 pan)
This Moist Lemon Cake Recipe is a bakery-style sheet cake packed with fresh lemon flavor - no extracts, just real lemons. The crumb is light, tender, and super fluffy, and it’s all topped off with the dreamiest lemon cream cheese frosting that’s smooth, creamy, and full of tangy goodness. The best part? It all comes together in one bowl and bakes up perfectly in a 9x13 pan. Easy, delicious, and perfect for any occasion!
Servings: 15
Calories: 469kcal
Equipment
- stand mixer or hand mixer
Ingredients
Cake Batter
- 1 ¾ cups sugar
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 3 eggs room temp
- 1 cup buttermilk room temp, shaken
- ½ cup neutral oil canola, avocado, etc
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 tablespoon lemon zest 2-3 lemons
- 2 ¼ cups all purpose flour
Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting
- 12 tablespoon butter softened
- 1 ½ oz cream cheese softened
- 3 ¾ cups powdered sugar sifted if it looks lumpy
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 teaspoon lemon zest
- ¼ cup heavy cream plus more if needed
Instructions
Cake Batter
- Preheat oven to 350. Grease a 9x13 nonstick pan.
- Combine sugar, salt, baking powder, and eggs in a stand mixer or large bowl with hand beaters. Mix on medium speed for 1 minute, then scrape the bowl.1 ¾ cups sugar, ½ teaspoon salt, 1 tablespoon baking powder, 3 eggs
- Add the buttermilk, oil, vanilla, and zest. Mix on low for 1 minute and scrape.1 cup buttermilk, ½ cup neutral oil, 1 teaspoon vanilla, 1 tablespoon lemon zest
- Add the flour. Mix on medium speed for 2 minutes and scrape, getting the bottom really well.2 ¼ cups all purpose flour
- Pour into pan. Bake for 25-30 min minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs.
- Cool in the pan completely.
Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting
- Once cool, make the frosting. Beat the softened butter and cream cheese on medium speed until fluffy.12 tablespoon butter , 1 ½ oz cream cheese
- Reduce speed to low and add half the powdered sugar. Mix until just combined, then add the remaining powdered sugar. Beat on medium for 1 minute.3 ¾ cups powdered sugar
- Add vanilla, lemon zest, and 2 tablespoons of cream. Beat for 2 more minutes or until light and fluffy. Add additional cream if needed until the frosting is loose enough to pipe, but stiff enough to hold its shape.1 teaspoon vanilla extract, 2 teaspoon lemon zest, ¼ cup heavy cream
- Spread the frosting onto the cooled cake with an offset spatula, You can add designs if desired. Sprinkle with lemon zest for an extra pop of color.
Notes
Tips & Tricks
- The butter and cream cheese for the frosting should be genuinely softened, not firm, so it whips well.
- Choose lemons with a vibrant, healthy peel.
- Refrigerating cake results in a more moist cake.
- Decorating: Use a large offset spatula to make lines back and forth diagonally from corner to corner. Then add thinly sliced lemon circles to opposite corners. For a final touch, we sprinkled lemon sugar, shimmer sanding sugar, and a little lemon zest in a linen from the lemons out about 3 inches on each side.
Nutrition
Serving: 1 | Calories: 469kcal | Carbohydrates: 69g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 21g | Saturated Fat: 8g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 8g | Trans Fat: 0.4g | Cholesterol: 66mg | Sodium: 275mg | Potassium: 67mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 54g | Vitamin A: 451IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 83mg | Iron: 1mg
