Lemon Buttermilk Cake with Lemon Glaze

Lemon Buttermilk Cake with Lemon Glaze — An easy buttermilk cake with big lemon flavor!! Soft, fluffy, and foolproof if you like puckering up!!

Easiest From-Scratch Lemon Buttermilk Cake

My daughter loves lemon desserts and I had a ton of lemons and some buttermilk to use. Lucky for her, I made a buttermilk lemon sour cream cake. And lucky for me too because in the past couple years, lemon desserts have really been growing on me.

If you’re a lemon lover, you’ll love the perfectly tart yet just sweet enough big pop of lemon flavor this soft and fluffy buttermilk cake has. 

I used my favorite, foolproof, no mixer, buttermilk cake recipe and worked in lemon three ways: lemon juice, lemon zest, and lemon extract.

If I’m eating a lemon dessert, I want to know it’s there. Hint-of-lemon isn’t really my style. Go big or go home.

I love this cake base because it’s fast and easy to make, and the cake always turn out supremely moist, springy, and fluffy thanks to buttermilk, sour cream, and oil. That trifecta of moisturizing and tenderizing ingredients makes it impossible to have a dry cake.

The lemon glaze really helps boost the overall lemon profile of the cake. It’s zingy, tangy-yet-sweet, and after pouring the glaze over the warm cake, it seeps into the cake, and makes it even moister, softer, and more lemony.

What’s in Lemon Buttermilk Cake? 

To make the lemon buttermilk cake itself, you’ll need:

• All-purpose flour
• Granulated sugar
• Baking powder
• Salt
• Lemon zest
• Egg
• Buttermilk
• Sour cream
• Lemon juice
• Canola oil
• Lemon extract

And to make the lemon glaze for the cake, you’ll need:

• Confectioners’ sugar
• Lemon juice and zest

How to Make Lemon Buttermilk Cake

This truly is such a simple lemon buttermilk cake recipe! Here’s how you’ll make the scratch lemon cake and the lemon cake glaze: 

1. Stir together the dry ingredients in one bowl and the wet in another.
2. Then, combine the two and turn the batter into a greased 8×8-inch baking pan. 
3. The lemon buttermilk cake needs to bake until the center is set and a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
4. Once the homemade lemon cake comes out of the oven, set it aside to cool while you make the lemon glaze. 
5. The lemon glaze for the cake is whisked together in under a minute and is poured over the still-warm (but not piping hot) cake.
6. The lemon buttermilk cake then needs to rest on your countertop for at least an hour before slicing and serving. 

Is There a Buttermilk Substitute I Can Use? 

This lemon buttermilk cake should be made with real buttermilk for the best results.

I suppose potentially you could sour regular milk with 1/2 tablespoon lemon juice or white vinegar mixed with 1/2 cup of 2% or whole milk, let it stand for 5 to 10 minutes, and then use it in the recipe.

You can use powdered buttermilk instead and prepare it as instructed on the package. 

Can the Lemon Extract Be Substituted? 

You could technically substitute the lemon extract with vanilla extract, but I don’t recommend doing so as that would seriously diminish the lemony flavor of this cake. 

Also, do NOT substitute lemon oil for the lemon extract. They’re two different products and can’t be used in place of each other!

Can I Double This Lemon Cake Recipe? 

Yes, you can double this lemon cake recipe from scratch and bake it in a 9×13-inch pan instead. Note that the baking time may need to be increased. 

Can I Use Cake Flour Instead of All-Purpose? 

Possibly, but I’ve only made this lemon buttermilk cake recipe as instructed so I can’t speak to whether cake flour would deliver the same results and if you’d have to alter other things in the recipe.

Tips for Making Lemon Buttermilk Cake

Lemon Juice – Freshly squeezed lemon juice is a must when making this homemade lemon cake. The pre-bottled stuff just doesn’t taste the same and since this is a lemon cake you really should use real lemon juice for best results and flabor.

Glaze – When making the lemon glaze for the cake, you may need to add a little extra lemon juice or powdered sugar to get it to the right consistency. The glaze should be on the thicker side, but easily pourable. 

Don’t Need to Wait – Note that it’s fine to pour the lemon glaze onto the still-warm cake. You don’t want the cake to be super hot, but warm is fine. It’ll actually cause the glaze to penetrate into the cake a bit more.

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4.44 from 148 votes

Lemon Buttermilk Cake with Lemon Glaze

By Averie Sunshine

An easy buttermilk cake with big lemon flavor!! Soft, fluffy, and foolproof if you like puckering up!! This is the easiest from-scratch lemon cake EVER!

Prep Time: 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes minutes

Cooling Time: 1 hour hour

Total Time: 1 hour hour 45 minutes minutes

Servings: 9

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Ingredients 

Cake

• ▢ 1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
• ▢ ¾ cup granulated sugar
• ▢ 2 teaspoons baking powder
• ▢ pinch salt, optional and to taste
• ▢ 1 tablespoon lemon zest
• ▢ 1 large egg
• ▢ ½ cup buttermilk
• ▢ ⅓ cup sour cream, lite is okay (plain Greek yogurt may be substituted)
• ▢ ¼ cup lemon juice
• ▢ 3 tablespoons canola or vegetable oil
• ▢ 2 teaspoons lemon extract, vanilla extract may be substituted

Glaze

• ▢ 2 cups confectioners’ sugar
• ▢ ⅓ cup lemon juice, or as necessary for consistency
• ▢ 1 tablespoon lemon zest, or to taste

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Instructions 

• Preheat oven to 350F. Line an 8-by-8-inch baking pan with aluminum foil, spray with cooking spray; set aside.

For the Cake:

• In a large bowl, whisk together flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, optional salt.
• Whisk in zemon zest; set aside.
• In a separate small bowl, whisk together the egg, buttermilk*, sour cream, lemon juice, oil, and lemon extract.
• Add the wet mixture to the dry, mixing lightly with a spoon or folding with a spatula until just combined. Small lumps will be present, don’t overmix or try to stir them smooth.
• Turn batter out into prepared pan and bake for about 28 to 31 minutes, or until center is set and not jiggly, and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs, but no batter.
• Place pan on a wire rack and allow cake to cool. While cake cools, make the glaze.

For the Glaze:

• In a medium bowl, add 2 cup confectioners’ sugar, 1/3 cup lemon juice, and whisk until smooth. As necessary, add additional lemon juice (or sugar) to reach desired glaze consistency. I used slightly over 1/3 cup lemon juice. Glaze should be easily pourable.
• Evenly pour glaze over cake (doesn’t have to be fully cooled), smoothing it lightly with a spatula if necessary, but glaze will likely just slide into place.
• Allow cake to cool in pan uncovered for at least 1 hour (or overnight and cover with a sheet of foil) before slicing and serving so glaze can set up. Cake will keep airtight at room temperature for up to 5 days, or in the freezer for up to 4 months.

Notes

*This lemon buttermilk cake should be made with real buttermilk for the best results.

You could sour regular milk with 1/2 tablespoon lemon juice or white vinegar mixed with 1/2 cup of 2% or whole milk, let it stand for 5 to 10 minutes, and then use it in the recipe.

You can use powdered buttermilk instead and prepare it as instructed on the package. 

Nutrition

Serving: 1, Calories: 297kcal, Carbohydrates: 57g, Protein: 3g, Fat: 7g, Saturated Fat: 1g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 5g, Cholesterol: 26mg, Sodium: 164mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 42g

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

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Originally published October 14, 2014 and republished March 17, 2023 with updated text.