Lemon Butter Cake
Nov 02, 2021, Updated May 17, 2022
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This sweet little lemon butter cake is quite simple but don’t let that sway you from baking it as sometimes simple desserts are the best type of desserts. She may not be the life of the party but she always modestly steals the show with her light batter, tart lemony flavours and golden colour from the butter. You can dress her up with a dollop of cream or buttercream icing but in my opinion, she is perfect just the way she is.
This cake has been loved by so many of you and was my first recipe that shot to stardom. The batter is made with lemon juice and zest with the zest being whipped together with the sugar to give it that extra element of lemon flavour throughout. The recipe also calls for milk that when combined with the lemon juice creates buttermilk.
Due to the recipe’s simplicity, it’s important that you use high quality ingredients when making this cake which is why I have chosen to use butter by Westgold.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I make this cake in a loaf or bundt tin?
While I think it looks much prettier in a 23cm / 9inch round cake tin, you absolutely can bake it in a bundt or loaf tin. Just make sure you grease the bundt tin very well so the cake does not stick to the tin when removing it.
Do my eggs and butter need to be at room temperature?
Yes. If your eggs are cold there will curdle. You can still bake the cade if curdling occurs however it’s best if this does not happen.
What do I do if I forgot to take my butter out to bring it to room temperature?
If you did not take your butter out overnight to bring to room temperature, place a bowl of water into your microwave and bring to the boil. Carefully take the bowl of water out and place the butter into the microwave (do not turn the microwave on) for several minutes until it softens.
What eggs do you use?
I use large eggs from a 700g egg carton.
If you make this recipe, please tag me on Instagram, Tik Tok or Pinterest so I can see your wonderful creations!
If you have any questions or would like to leave a review, please do so here! I always love answering your food and recipe related questions and hearing your feedback on my recipes.
Lemon Butter Cake
Ingredients
- 200 g Westgold unsalted butter, at room temperature and cut into cubes
- 1 cup caster sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tbsp lemon zest, + extra to serve
- 4 eggs, at room temperature
- 1/2 cup lemon juice
- 1/2 cup full cream milk
- 2 cups all purpose flour, sifted
- 2 tsp baking powder
- icing sugar , for dusting
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 170 degrees Celsius conventional / 150 degrees Celsius fan forced and grease a standard round 23cm / 9inch cake tin.
- In an electric mixer on a medium speed, beat the butter, sugar, lemon zest and vanilla extract until pale and smooth. Slowly add the eggs one by one, scraping the side of the bowl with a silicone spatula in between until the batter is smooth. Add the milk to the batter and mix through and then the lemon juice.
- Sift the baking powder and flour into a separate bowl. On a low speed, add one third of the flour and baking powder into the batter and mix through. Repeat this step two more times ensuring you do not overbeat the batter.
- Place your batter into the cake tin. Smooth out the top of the cake with a spatula and bang the tin onto your kitchen bench several times to remove any air bubbles and to smooth out your batter. This will ensure your cake bakes evenly. Bake for 50 - 55 minutes.
- Leave your cake to cool in the cake tin for 10 minutes and then carefully remove and leave to cool on a cooling rack. Dust your cake with icing sugar and lemon zest and enjoy on its own or with cream or ice cream.
Video
Like this? Leave a comment below!
I cannot find large eggs here , will small eggs do ?
I use 700 – 800g size eggs for reference!
I cannot find large eggs where I live . Will four small eggs do ?
I use 700 -800g size eggs (the carton size they come in at the stores in Australia).
Can you use this mixture for muffins
I have never tried but I am sure it would work out! let me know if you do try this.
Has a one tried this with GF flour?
I haven’t! I do have some Gluten Free cake recipes on my website though 🙂
This cake is absolutely delicious! I used self-rising flour, so I omitted the baking powder, and regular confectioners sugar. Also used my favorite Kerrygold butter, and brought it to room temp with your method in the micro. Great technique! The cake is light, fluffy and fresh.. definitely one of the yummiest cakes I’ve made. Admittedly, I had to use conversion calculators for the butter (it’s 14 tbsps), and the oven temp (it’s 340F). This cake recipe is a treasure. Love it. 🙂 Thank you!
What beautiful feedback! I am so glad you loved it!
I replaced the lemon with orange and put dark chocolate chunks in the mix and it is seriously the best cake I’ve had. Thank you so much for this recipe! Greetings from México City 😀
I’m so glad to hear you liked it! The cake will work with most ctirus flavours 🙂
Made this today and it was DELICIOUS!!!! Thank you for the recipe and guidance😘
My batter was also clumpy – not sure what went wrong
My batter became clumpy after adding eggs. They were room temperature so not sure what happened.