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This Italian Lemon Cake is delightfully sweet and tart with a tender, moist cake topped with a homemade glaze and lemon cream cheese frosting. The perfect dessert for spring!
Lemon desserts always taste so bright and refreshing. Along with other favorites like white chocolate lemon truffles, lemon thumbprint cookies, and lemon lasagna, we love a good lemon cake. This Italian Lemon Cake does not disappoint. In addition to the dense lemon cake, lemon glaze coats the outside of the cake and then a lemon cream cheese frosting is piped over that, creating a really lovely presentation.
Why I Love This Italian Lemon Cake Recipe
Here are a few reasons why I love this cake so much.
- Moist and dense. The texture of this Italian lemon cake is pretty similar to a lemon pound cake. It’s moist and dense, thanks to ingredients like sour cream and buttermilk, but the crumb is still so tender.
- Loaded with lemon flavor. Lemon flavor is layered through this cake, with a generous amount of lemon juice and zest in the cake batter itself and more in the glaze and cream cheese icing.
- The glaze and icing. To balance out the tart lemon flavor and add a bit of decorative flair, I added both a lemon-infused glaze and a lemon cream cheese icing on top. It makes the cake look so pretty and taste so great!
Recipe Ingredients
This Italian lemon cake is made with lots of lemon, of course, plus a handful of other ingredients. Scroll down to the recipe card below for the exact measurements and printable recipe.
- All-purpose flour
- Baking powder
- Salt
- Unsalted butter – I like to use unsalted butter to fully control the flavor of the cake.
- Granulated sugar
- Eggs
- Buttermilk – Buttermilk adds moisture, helps create a tender crumb, and adds a bit of tangy flavor to the cake.
- Sour cream – Like the buttermilk, sour cream adds moisture and tangy flavor to the lemon cake.
- Lemon juice & zest – A nice amount of both fresh lemon juice and zest adds a bright lemon flavor to the cake. I recommend zesting the lemons first.
- Vanilla extract
- Powdered sugar – Sweetens the drizzle.
- Cream cheese – For the cream cheese frosting.
How to Make the Italian Lemon Cake Recipe
This cake comes together in just a few basic steps! The hard part is waiting for it to cool. The printable version of the instructions can be found in the recipe card below.
- Sift the dry ingredients. Sift the flour, baking powder, and salt. This helps to ensure a smooth cake.
- Mix the wet ingredients. Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time then mix in the sour cream, lemon juice, vanilla extract, and lemon zest.
- Make the batter. Add half of the flour mixture to the wet ingredients. Gently mix in the buttermilk then add the remaining dry ingredients.
- Bake. Generously spray the bundt pan with baking spray. Scoop the cake batter into the pan. Bake at 325F for 60-70 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. The top of the cake may crack and that’s okay.
- Remove from the pan. Invert the Bundt pan onto a cake plate. Lift the pan away.
- Make the glaze. Combine the powdered sugar and lemon juice for the glaze. Brush over the cake while it is hot.
- Add the frosting. Beat the cream cheese frosting ingredients together. Scoop into a piping bag and pipe onto the cake.
Tips for Success
While this Italian lemon cake is pretty easy and straightforward, there are still a few important things to keep in mind.
- Don’t overmix the batter. When adding the second half of the flour mixture, mix just until the ingredients are completely combined. Overmixing can make the cake tough and dense.
- Grease the pan well. It’s important to grease all the crevices of the bundt pan well so that the cake easily releases from the pan. I like to use baking spray because it contains both oil and flour. It worked so perfectly for this recipe. The cake didn’t stick to the pan at all!
- Add some food coloring. To ensure the cake cake has a nice yellow color, add a small amount of yellow food coloring at this point in the recipe. There will be a natural yellow hue to the cake from the egg yolks, but for a distinct pop of yellow, you’ll need to use some food coloring.
- Glaze while hot. I make the glaze as soon as the cake comes out of the oven. Unlike some recipes where it’s best to wait for the cake to cool, it’s best to add the glaze while the Italian lemon cake is still hot. It helps to seal in the moisture of the cake, while adding a bit more sweetness.
How to Store Leftovers
- Room temperature. This Italian lemon cake can be stored at room temperature for 3-4 days. Just keep it tightly covered with plastic wrap to prevent it from drying out.
- Freezer. Slices of this cake can also be frozen. Just wrap them tightly in two layers of plastic wrap. Freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw on the counter.
Italian Lemon Cake
This Italian Lemon Cake is delightfully sweet and tart with a tender, moist cake topped with a homemade glaze and lemon cream cheese frosting. The perfect dessert for spring!
Servings: 12 slices
Ingredients
Lemon Cake
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 3 eggs
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup unsalted butter softened
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup buttermilk
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 1/4 cup lemon juice fresh squeezed
- zest of 2 lemons
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2-3 drops yellow food coloring optional
Lemon Glaze
- 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
- 1/4 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice
Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting
- 4 ounces cream cheese softened
- 1 Tablespoon lemon zest
- 1/4 cup lemon juice fresh squeezed
- 2 cups powdered sugar
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325F. Prepare a bundt pan by spraying generously with non-stick cooking spray or baking spray.
- Sift the flour, baking powder, and salt into a medium mixing bowl; set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then mix in the sour cream, lemon juice, vanilla extract, and lemon zest. If desired, you can also add 2-3 drops of yellow food coloring for extra yellow color to the cake.
- Mix half of the flour mixture into the cake batter, then add the buttermilk. Mix in the second half of the flour mixture just until incorporated (do not over mix).
- Pour the cake batter into the prepared bundt pan. Bake at 325F for 60-70 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool the cake in the pan for 5 minutes, then invert onto a cake plate.
Lemon Glaze
- Whisk together the ingredients for the lemon glaze until smooth. Brush the glaze all over the cake while it is still hot. Set the cake aside to cool completely to room temperature before adding the cream cheese frosting.
Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting
- Beat the cream cheese until smooth. Add the remaining frosting ingredients and beat until smooth and creamy.
- Scoop the frosting into a piping bag or a zip top baggie with the corner snipped off. Pipe the frosting onto the completely cooled cake.
Last Step:
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Notes
Store the cake at room temperature for up to 3-4 days.
Nutrition
Calories: 573kcal | Carbohydrates: 95g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 20g | Saturated Fat: 12g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 5g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 91mg | Sodium: 121mg | Potassium: 162mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 69g | Vitamin A: 633IU | Vitamin C: 7mg | Calcium: 71mg | Iron: 2mg
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2 comments on “Italian Lemon Cake”
Excellent cake. Best lemon cake I’ve had before. You will notice the recipe does not list eggs in the ingredients, but does list to beat the eggs in. I added in 4 eggs and seemed to turn out well.
I had the same issue, no eggs in the recipe! I used 3. It’s a mystery. Everyone loved it, however.