

Cake layers should be thawed in the refrigerator and brought to room temperature before frosting. If making ahead, you can freeze the cooled cake layers by wrapping each layer in plastic wrap and storing in an airtight container or freezer bag for up to three months. Store any leftover frosted lemon cake covered in the refrigerator for up to a week. A few edible flowers would also be lovely. Though the cake looks pretty with frosting alone, you can garnish it with fresh or candied lemon slices or fresh berries. Remove the cake from the refrigerator about 15 minutes before serving. Top the first layer with the second and spread the cream cheese frosting on the top and sides of the cake.Place that layer (trimmed side down) on your cake stand and evenly spread the top with cream cheese frosting. Use a serrated knife to trim the top off the first cake layer to create a flat surface.Add the lemon zest and beat until incorporated. Add the cream or milk, lemon juice, and vanilla extract. Beat for another minute then add one cup of confectioner sugar at a time.Using your mixer, beat the cream cheese and butter on medium-high speed until smooth.Run a knife around the edges of the pan and turn out the cake layers onto the racks to cool completely. Transfer the cake pans to wire racks to cool for approximately 15 minutes.

Start checking at 30 minutes to avoid over-baking. Bake until a toothpick comes out clean, 30 to 35 minutes.

To help speed up the cake making time, you could make the cake layers a day ahead of making the frosting and serving the cake. You'll need full-fat, brick style cream cheese for this frosting. To make the lemony cream cheese frosting you'll need these ingredients: Four lemons should yield enough juice and zest for both the cake and frosting. You will need both fresh lemon juice and zest for the cake and frosting.
#Lemon cake with cream cheese icing recipe how to#
See the notes in the recipe card below for how to make a homemade buttermilk substitute. They are used in this recipe to give the cake a bit of texture, but they are not necessary if you don't like them or don't have any at home. Here's an overview of the ingredients, you can find the amounts in the recipe card below. This homemade Lemon Poppy Seed Cake is simple to make and requires basic baking ingredients. This really gives the cake an extra pop of fresh lemon flavour. In order to make the lemon flavour stand out, I added lemon juice and more zest to the cake batter. She layers her cake with lemon curd so the cake portion itself doesn't have a lot of lemon flavour. The cake portion of this recipe is adapted from Martha Stewart's recipe for this lemon cake. The cake is frosted with a luscious lemon-infused cream cheese frosting which tastes amazing with this cake and makes this dessert worthy of special occasions. This lemon flavoured cake hits all the musts, it's moist, tender, perfectly lemony and sweet but not overly so.
