This simple southern Lemon Buttermilk Layer Cake is a classic dessert that is perfect for the spring and summer months. Light and fluffy with a tangy lemon cream cheese frosting, it’s a delightfully refreshing dessert that your friends and family will love!
This delicious cake is perfect for the lemon lovers in your household, and although I don’t make it often enough, it’s one of my all-time favorite cake recipes.
If you love lemon desserts, my Lemon Cheesecake and Lemon Gelato are must-try recipes!
Lemon desserts always seem so refreshing and the lemon flavor makes a delicious after-dinner treat. It’s the perfect cake for dinner parties, brunch or showers.
What ingredients do I need to make a Lemon Buttermilk Cake?
Let’s start by gathering the ingredients we need to make Lemon Buttermilk Cake. In Chef Speak this is called the “Mise en Place” which translates to “Everything in its Place”.
Not only does setting your ingredients up ahead of time speed up the cooking process, it also helps ensure you have everything you need to make the dish.
How do I make a Lemon Buttermilk Cake?
- Place the butter and sugar into a large mixing bowl,
- Using an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar until well blended and a pale yellow in color (4-5 minutes).
- Whisk the eggs, buttermilk, fresh lemon juice, vanilla extract, and lemon extract together in a bowl and set aside until needed.
- In another mixing bowl whisk together the all-purpose flour, baking powder, and salt.
*Buttermilk and eggs should be at room temperature.
- Add ⅓ of the dry ingredients to the butter mixture and mix in until just combined.
- Add in half of the buttermilk mixture and combine.
- Repeat this process until all of the flour and milk have been added in, adding the lemon zest with the last addition of the flour.
- Use a rubber spatula to scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl during the process to make sure everything is mixed in.
- Divide the cake batter among the three prepared pans.
- Bake at 350 for 25 -30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let the cakes sit in the pans for 5 minutes and then remove them from the pans and transfer to a wire rack to cool.
*Allow layers to cool completely before assembly and frosting.
How to make lemon cream cheese frosting
- Place the butter and cream cheese into the bowl of a stand mixer (or a large mixing bowl)
- Beat together butter and cream cheese until creamy, about 2-3 minutes.
- Add the lemon juice, vanilla extract, and salt
- Mix until just combined. Don’t be tempted to overwhip at this stage.
- Slowly mix in the powdered sugar, 1 cup at a time until you have the desired consistency for the frosting.
- beat mixture until smooth and creamy. Don’t over-mix!
How to assemble a lemon buttermilk cake
- Place the first layer of cake upside down on a cake stand or serving plate. Add about 1 cup of the cream cheese frosting to the layer and spread it evenly on top of the cake.
- Place the second layer of cake right side up onto the frosted layer. Repeat the process from the first layer. Add the final layer of the cake with the pan side down, onto the frosted cake layers. Top with cream cheese frosting, creating a thicker layer. Add a very light layer of frosting on the sides as a crumb coat.
- When the crumb coat has dried finish frosting the sides of the cake and using a pastry bag add swirls of frosting around the outside edge of the top of the cake. This is optional.
- Add a ring of lemon slices cut in half around the outside of the bottom of the cake for decoration. This is optional.
There is something special about Southern Style Cakes; the overall flavor and texture is what all cakes should aspire to. Wouldn’t your friends and family love to sit down to a slice of this delicious Lemon Buttermilk Cake?
Try out my delicious red velvet cake recipe for another Southern favorite.
Recipe FAQs
Buttermilk acts as a tenderizer of sorts, helping to make cakes and baked goods moist right from the start.
Buttermilk is tangy, and although you might not notice its flavor in a buttermilk cake, it keeps the cake from being too sweet and gives it a rich, buttery taste.
Buttermilk also helps the cake rise.
A crumb coat is a very thin layer of frosting used to seal in the cake’s moisture and provide an even base for the additional frosting. Allow the crumb coat to dry and you’ll be able to finish frosting the cake without any visible cake crumbs.
Sitting out at room temperature, this cake will last 3 days. Refrigerated the cake will last for 7-10 days in the refrigerator. Make sure the cake is well covered.
More Cake Recipes You’ll Love!
Lemon Buttermilk Cake
Equipment
- 3 9-inch round cake pans
Ingredients
Lemon Cake
- 8 oz butter
- 1 ½ cups granulated sugar
- 3 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 4 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 3 large eggs room temperature
- 1 ½ cups buttermilk room temperature
- ¼ cup lemon juice
- ½ teaspoon lemon extract
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon lemon zest
Cream Cheese Frosting
- 8 ounces butter softened
- 12 ounces cream cheese room temperature
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- 5-6 cups powdered sugar
Assembly
- 2 lemons cut into slices for garnish – optional
Instructions
Lemon Cake
- Grease three 9-inch pans with butter and line the bottom with parchment paper. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- Using an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar until well blended and a pale yellow in color (4-5 minutes).
- Whisk the eggs, buttermilk, lemon juice, vanilla extract, and lemon extract together in a bowl and set aside until needed.*Eggs and buttermilk should be at room temperature
- In another mixing bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt.
- Add ⅓ of the dry ingredients to the butter mixture and mix in until just combined.
- Add in half of the milk mixture and combine. Repeat this process until all of the flour and milk have been added in, adding the lemon zest with the last addition of the flour.
- Use a rubber spatula to scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl during the process to make sure everything is mixed in.
- Divide the batter among the three prepared pans.
- Bake at 350 for 25 -30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Let the cakes sit in the pans for 5 minutes and then remove them from the pans and transfer the layers to a wire rack to cool. *Allow layers to cool completely before assembly and frosting.
Cream Cheese Frosting:
- In a large mixing bowl using an electric mixer beat together butter and cream cheese until creamy, 2-3 minutes.
- Add lemon juice, vanilla extract, and pinch of salt and mix until just combined,
- Slowly mix in the powdered sugar, 1 cup at a time until you have the desired consistency for the frosting.
Assembly
- Place the first layer of cake upside down on a cake stand or serving plate. Add about 1 cup of frosting to the layer and spread it evenly on top of the cake.
- Place the second layer of cake right side up onto the frosted layer. Repeat the process from the first layer.
- Add the final layer of the cake with the pan side down, onto the frosted cake layers. Top with cream cheese frosting, creating a thicker layer.
- Add a very light layer of frosting on the sides of the cake to act as a crumb coat.
- When the crumb coat has dried finish frosting the sides of the cake.
- Using a pastry bag add swirls of frosting around the outside edge of the top of the cake. This is optional.
- Add a ring of lemon slices cut in half around the outside of the bottom of the cake for decoration. This is optional.
- Refrigerate the cake for at least one hour before serving.
JANELLE ALARID says
Wouldn’t cake flour make this a more tender cake than all purpose flour
Chef Dennis Littley says
Yes, cake flour will make a lighter cake.
Philip Jameson says
I made your Lemon Butter Cake today, followed recipe exactly with exception of using an electric mixer, hand whisked. Finished batter volume looked short to me but continued following recipe. Divided batter between 3 – 9 inch cake pans and batter was very short. Depth of batter in pans was about 1/4 inch deep. Thought perhaps the amount of baking powder and acid would create a large rise, it did not. Baked cakes were about 1/2 inch high. Your opinion
Chef Dennis Littley says
Either you didn’t measure the ingredients right or you have 10-inch cake pans. There is no other reason it should have come out that low. If the cakes didn’t rise, I would tell you to check the date of the baking powder, but it sounds like there wasn’t enough batter.
Mitchell says
Your recipe looks amazing and I will try it…. I love any cake that uses buttermilk. A question… are each of the 3 layers fairly low and could I spread the batter across two 9-inch pans instead, or would that be too much batter?
Chef Dennis Littley says
That would be too much batter and would also affect how they baked. The outside of the cake would be done before the center.
Janelle says
To make this a Lemoncello cake can I substitute the lemon juice with Lemoncello?
Chef Dennis Littley says
I’m not sure using lemoncello in the cake would work, because the cake needs the acidity of the lemon juice. But you could use lemoncello in the frosting.