Double Lemon Cream Cake

Is there any flavor more cool and refreshing that lemon? Maybe cucumber. Cucumber, mint, lemons and limes. Those are the first things that come to mind when I think about refreshing flavors. Perhaps that’s why so many summer drinks use those ingredients over and over. But I don’t want to make a cucumber cake, or even a mint one. And I realized that, considering all the lemon desserts and pastries I’ve made, I’ve never made just a straight-up lemon cake.

Surprising because lemon cake is my favorite kind of cake. Add lemon icing to that lemon cake? Even better. Put a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top of that lemon-iced lemon cake? Forget it. Mini Me’s first birthday cake was lemon. Come to think of it, so was The Prince’s! Springtime babies get springtime cakes. So yeah, it’s time for a lemon cake. And I’m so happy that this Double Lemon Cream Cake came out as good as it did!

I got this really cool Nordicware bundt pan for Christmas and this was my first time using it. I’ve seen so many beautiful bundt cakes on social media that use this pan, so I wanted to throw my hat in the ring, you know? I sketched the recipe, put it all together, pour the batter into my new bundt pan, carefully placed it into the hot oven and hoped for the best.

About 11 minutes into the baking time, it hit me like a bus – I didn’t spray the pan. I sprinted to the oven, grabbed it out and poured the chunky batter (cause it was already starting to cook) into a bowl. The Big Guy was like, “Well, it says it’s a nonstick pan, I think you’re overreacting.” Um, no. Not overreacting. This cake needed to be perfect and there was no way it was going to release from this “nonstick” pan without being greased. So… I sprayed the pan, poured the half-cooked batter back in, and once again hoped for the best.

And hey, I got lucky! This Double Lemon Cream Cake is truly all that I hoped it would be. It’s moist (I know, I hate that word too), a little creamy and just puckery enough that it balances the sweeter vanilla glaze perfectly.

How much lemon is actually in a Double Lemon Cream Cake?

But in order to get that sufficiently lemony flavor, you’re going to have to zest quite a few lemons. That’s really the only annoying part about making this cake. You’ll need a full 3 tablespoons of lemon zest, which doesn’t sound like a lot until you start zesting. I’ll just say that we had quite a few naked lemons after I made this cake.

Depending on the size of your lemons, you’re looking at about 6 lemons, maybe more. Good news is, you can juice those lemons for the cake and have enough leftover to make some cocktails.

What makes this Double Lemon Cream Cake “Double”?

Cause the glaze. A simple vanilla glaze would have been really good too, but remember when I said that a lemon-iced lemon cake is like, my fave? Case in point. This glaze is still mostly vanilla-flavored, but the extra kick of lemon zest just makes it extra. And when it comes to lemon anything, I want extra.

What makes this Double Lemon Cream Cake creamy?

My go-to ingredient for a moist (I know) cake is sour cream. It’s not just the creaminess, it’s the awesome bit of tang that sour cream adds to any baked good. More and more often, I’ve been substituting Greek yogurt. It’s healthier, and it mimics the flavor of sour cream closely enough that you can’t tell the difference when its baked into a cake.

What if I don’t have a fancy bundt pan?

If you don’t have a fancy bundt pan, not to worry. A regular bundt pan or even a loaf pan will work just fine. You could even make a two-layer cake with the measurements below, using two 9-inch round pans.

We ate half and froze half of this Double Lemon Cream Cake, because I wanted to save some for my mom’s visit. She and my dad are flying in from Florida for Mother’s Day, and I cannot WAIT to share this cake with them. I hope you love it too! Enjoy!

Double Lemon Cream Cake

Moist, creamy and bursting with fresh lemon flavor, this springtime cake is drizzled with a lemon-vanilla glaze

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Prep Time 40 mins

Cook Time 40 mins

Total Time 1 hr 20 mins

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Servings 10

Ingredients

  

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The Cake

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 sticks unsalted butter room temperature
• 4 large eggs
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 1 cup milk
• 1/4 cup sour cream
• 4 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup lemon juice
• 3 Tbsp. lemon zest
• 1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. salt

The Glaze

• 1 1/3 cups confectioner’s sugar
• 3 Tbsp. milk
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 tsp. lemon zest

Instructions

 

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
• In a second bowl, combine the lemon juice, vanilla, milk and sour cream.
• In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream the butter and sugar until fluffy. Beat in the eggs and lemon zest. Blend the dry ingredients into the creamed mixture alternately with the sour cream mixture until fully combined.
• Spray a bundt pan with nonstick cooking spray. Pour the batter into the pan and bake 40 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean. Allow cake to cool completely before turning out onto a serving dish.
• To make the glaze, whisk all ingredients together. Pour over cooled cake.

Keyword cake, dessert, lemon

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