By Yossy Arefi
- Total Time
- 1 hour 30 minutes
- Rating
- 4(1,093)
- Notes
- Read community notes
This is a big, bold lemony cake that uses the zest, juice and flesh of lemons for an extrapuckery bite. A thin layer of crackly lemon glaze coats the whole cake for a beautiful and delicious finish. Serve this cake as is, or add some berries and whipped cream to dress it up. It tastes even better the next day, so feel free to make it ahead. Since it makes use of the lemon skins, use organic or unwaxed lemons if you can.
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Ingredients
Yield:12 servings
- ¾cup/170 grams unsalted butter, softened, plus more for greasing the pan
- 3cups/384 grams all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting the pan
- 1teaspoon baking powder
- ½teaspoon baking soda
- 4lemons (preferably organic or unwaxed), scrubbed and dried
- 2¼cups/450 grams granulated sugar
- ¼cup/60 milliliters neutral oil
- 5large eggs, at room temperature
- 1cup/230 grams sour cream, at room temperature
- 1teaspoon kosher salt (such as Diamond Crystal) or ½ teaspoon fine salt, plus more for the glaze
- 2cups/200 grams sifted confectioners’ sugar
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (12 servings)
541 calories; 22 grams fat; 11 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 8 grams monounsaturated fat; 2 grams polyunsaturated fat; 81 grams carbohydrates; 1 gram dietary fiber; 55 grams sugars; 7 grams protein; 281 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
Step
1
Heat oven to 350 degrees, and butter and flour a 12- to 15-cup Bundt pan. Make sure to apply a thin layer of butter and flour on every nook and cranny of the pan to ensure that the cake doesn’t stick.
Step
2
In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder and baking soda.
Step
3
Zest the lemons into the bowl of a stand mixer or large mixing bowl.
Step
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Remove the remaining peel and pith from 3 of the lemons by cutting off the top and bottom tip of each lemon. Stand each lemon up on one end, and use a sharp paring knife to follow the curve of the fruit and cut the peel and white pith away; discard it. Chop the lemon flesh into small pieces and remove the seeds and any large pieces of membrane. Transfer the chopped lemons to a bowl if the juice is running off of the board. (You should have about ⅓ cup.) Set aside.
Step
5
Add the granulated sugar to the bowl with the zest and rub the mixture together with your fingers to release the oils in the zest. Add the softened butter and oil to the mixture, and mix on medium speed with the paddle attachment or using an electric hand mixer until light and fluffy, about 4 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Scrape down the sides of the bowl occasionally to ensure even mixing.
Step
6
Add the sour cream and salt, and mix on medium speed until hom*ogeneous. Add the lemon flesh and juices, and mix until well combined; the mixture may separate a bit, but don’t worry.
Step
7
Add the flour mixture and mix on low speed until just combined. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula to make sure everything is well mixed and no pockets of flour remain.
Step
8
Spoon the batter into the prepared pan, smooth the top and tap the pan on the counter a few times to release any large air bubbles. Bake the cake for 50 to 60 minutes or until the cake is golden and puffed, and a toothpick inserted comes out with a few moist crumbs.
Step
9
Let the cake cool on a rack for 10 minutes. Then carefully turn it out onto a rack or serving plate to glaze and finish cooling.
Step
10
While the cake cools, make the glaze: Juice the remaining lemon. (You should have about 4 tablespoons.) Add the confectioners’ sugar, a pinch of salt and about three-quarters of the lemon juice to a bowl. Whisk until smooth, adding more lemon juice as necessary to make a thin but opaque glaze.
Step
11
Immediately brush a thin layer of glaze over the warm cake, and let the glaze set until the cake has cooled to almost room temperature. When the cake is mostly cool, brush the remaining glaze over the top. Cool, slice and serve. Store any leftovers covered at room temperature for up to 4 days; the glaze may get a bit sticky as it sits.
Ratings
4
out of 5
1,093
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Cooking Notes
Peter H
I’ve made this many times. It’s excellent, I’ll leave it at that. One error in the recipe - it says servings 12. It’s a mistype, expect servings: 1.
William
would non-fat Greek yogurt be a good sub for sour cream?
Katrin
I’ve baked this kind of cake before, and it’s very important to use real butter and real sour cream for the best flavor. If you want a diet cake, choose something else.
Kristan
Heresy: I took the three small lemons, deseeded them and chucked them in the food processor. No zesting, no pithing and fabulous lemon taste.
Kate
I used nonfat greek yogurt and it seems fine - moist, tender and very lemony. Baked a half recipe in a loaf pan (2 eggs.)
Sharon
This cake is moist and flavorful. It's the best lemon cake recipe I've tried. I baked as described using Meyer lemons and lavender. I put a teaspoon of culinary lavender in the chopped lemons and let it set while I prepared the mise in place. Delicious. Rubbing the sugar and zest together was a gamechanger. The zest didn't stick to the mixer paddle. Used infused lemon juice for glaze and sprinkled some lavender on the glazed cake. This recipe is a keeper.
YiaYia
William, some brands of Greek yogurt are thicker than others. Use the thicker varieties as their moisture content will be closer to sour cream. I’ve successfully used full fat Greek yogurt as a substitute for sour cream in baked goods but confess I’ve not tried nonfat. This is a cake after all …
Fran
If the one lemon for the glaze yields 1/4 cup of juice, how can the three lemons for the batter yield only 1/3 cup of pieces and juice? Something is off.
Julie Boesky
Anyone made this with gluten free flour and dairy free sour cream?
Jane Eyrehead
Great cake. I followed the suggestion to rub the zest into the sugar, and wow, the zest was evenly distributed throughout the cake and the flavor was great. I didn’t put the glaze on—it’s good for preserving a cake for leftovers, but I knew there wouldn’t be any. I served it with whipped cream and strawberries with lemon verbena leaves. Rave reviews, no leftovers. By the way, when using s bundt pan I always paint it with a lot of melted butter and a brush.
luckyDuck
GF and lemon orange versions ! I’ve made this twice in a month using Bob’s Red Mill 1:1 gluten free flour instead of regular flour. The first was per recipe and the second was orange and lemon - using two lemons and 1.5 oranges in place of 4 lemons - and reduced OJ and confectioners sugar in the glaze and a sprinkling of orange zest shavings and pecans on top. Both were delicious a) warm from the oven b) the next morning .
phalgal
For me, this was a total thumbs down. First, it's extremely labor intensive - probably spent over half an hour on prep alone, and another 20 minutes or more on all the mixing. Second, the cake is huge and third, extremely sweet. I don't know how much you could reduce the sugar without affecting the texture but reduce all you can - by half if possible.
Pat N
Ditto on the something’s off regarding the lemon. The instructions say three lemons should yield about 1/3 cup. And one lemon 4 tablespoons of juice alone.My three lemons yielded almost a cup of juice and flesh, and I included no membrane. I dared not add it all to the cake, but I would have been grateful to have saved the time I spent prepping unused lemons…
Ellen
For anyone seeking a perfect lemon cake -- well, here it is. I made this cake according to the directions and it was AMAZING. Lemony, and just the right amount of sweet to tart ratio. I had 22 people for a dinner party and served this cake for dessert. This cake feeds a big crowd and there were still a few pieces (which I quickly wrapped and hid in a corner of the fridge so my husband doesn't eat it before I do ;-). Every guest raved about how delicious it was.
Steve Robertson
This is the most delicious thing that I've put in my mouth ever. I want to devour this entire cake, but I do have my vanity and pride. It delicious. I don't know how I made the glaze but its so sweet on the parts that did not get glazed. Thank you, as I was having a MAJOR lemon cake emergency!!!!
Alexandra E.
This was a bit of work, but it was so worth it. Best lemon cake ever! I did substitute out 1/2 cup flour for 1/2 cup cornstarch as it makes it more tender and the crumb finer. This recipe is definitely going into the rotation.
Nancy Serrurier
turned out dry. cook less time.Wasn’t dense as hoped given the ingredients
laura
I have just devoured an embarrassingly large portion of this moist, tender crumbed, flavour packed cake. I cannot understand the comments about lemon portion or labour intensity. I did this with my 7 year old nephew and everything came out perfectly - no trouble or fuss. Raves from everyone.Do make sure you make the glaze ‘wet’ enough or it will come out gloopy on the cake. Whilst it tastes amazing, a more uniform glaze gives a nicer finish.
Joy
Sectioning the lemons is a bit time-consuming but adds incredible flavor. Otherwise largely followed directions. It was lemon punchy with a crusty, puckery glaze (most of the glaze drips off, so you are not adding a significant amount of sugar to the cake). I wonder about the necessity for adding 1/4 oil though. Why not just use butter?
JKH
The mix of oil and butter makes cakes less dry than using one or the other alone.
CC in DC
I like this but I can taste the sour cream in it, which I don’t like. If I make it again I’ll try using Greek yogurt as some here have suggested or cream cheese.
modifications
Used whole fat yogurt instead of sour cream
Claire
My grandmother said that this was the best cake ever. It was so good and it was pretty simple.
Erin H
Subbed King Arthur's gluten-free Measure for Measure flour by weight (120 g per cup). No one could tell that it was gluten-free. Served with creme fraiche and strawberries.
Nancy
What type of oil is used for this cake?
Maria B
4 stars because it's so labor intensive, but end result is delicious, moist and lemony. I followed the recipe except cut sugar down to 1 1/4 cups and it was more than enough. Also don't need as much glaze as the recipe states, and my 3 lemons yielded way more than the recipe stated, but I used it all. Couldn't find bundt pan so used a regular cake tin with an upside down shot glass in the middle :-), worked fine but obviously doesn't look quite the same.
Fran Rounds
It stuck to the pan, although I greases thoroughly and then floured
Cheryl D
Moist and lemony
Uncertain
Question: my scale measures 3/4 C butter as 84 grams, not 170 grams. Which measurement is correct?
Snickers And Snodder
While I thought the cake was very good and looked beautiful, I was disappointed that the texture was much closer to a pound cake than a crumb or coffee cake that I was hoping for. Is that the intended texture or did I do something wrong? I did use lactose free sour cream in case that changed anything.
Jessica
Amazing texture and really nice flavor, but just a bit too sweet. Will try to reduce sugar if I ever make again, but super labor intensive, so not sure if I will.
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