Lemon Sour Cream Cake

A super simple lemon sour cream cake that's light and fluffy, with bright lemon flavor. Top it with powdered sugar or a lemon glaze.

Method

Preheat the oven to 350°F/180°C, grease, and line an 8-inch round cake pan with parchment paper.

Combine flour, baking powder, soda, and salt in a small bowl. Set this aside.

In a large bowl, add the granulated sugar and lemon zest. Use your fingers or a fork to rub the zest into the sugar to release the lemon oils. Do this for around two minutes.

Add the lemon juice, eggs, oil, sour cream and vanilla, and beat well to combine.

Whisk through the dry ingredients until combined, but don't over-mix the batter.

Pour batter into the prepared pan and gently spread it out with a butter knife or offset spatula.

Bake the cake for around 40-45 minutes until a wooden skewer inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean, with a few moist crumbs.

Let the cake cool in the pan for 10 minutes before removing it and letting it cool to room temperature on a cooling rack.

The cooled cake can be dusted with icing sugar or drizzled with a lemon glaze to serve.

Glaze

Mix confectioners sugar, fresh lemon juice, and a splash of milk in a medium bowl to make a thick but pourable glaze.

Drizzle it generously over the top of the cooled cake.

Storing

Leftover lemon cake can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days. The cake can also be wrapped tightly in plastic wrap and frozen for up to 3 months.

Variations and substitutions

• The sour cream can be substituted with full-fat natural or greek yogurt
• Swap the lemon for fresh lime juice and zest, or use grapefruit!
• Fold through fresh blueberries for extra color and texture.
• If you want to make this a lemon layer cake, you can bake this in two 8-inch pans instead. The baking time will be less as they will be thinner.

More lemon recipes

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Full Recipe

Lemon Sour Cream Cake

Yield: 8-inch cake

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 45 minutes

Total Time: 55 minutes

A simple lemon sour cream cake that's light and fluffy, with bright lemon flavor.

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Ingredients

• 250g (2 cups*) all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• ¼ teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 200g (1 cup) granulated sugar
• 1 ½ Tablespoon lemon zest
• 60ml (¼ cup) fresh lemon juice
• 3 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla paste or extract
• 190g (¾ cup) full-fat sour cream
• 105g (½ cup) vegetable oil

Glaze

• 140g (1 ¼ cups) powdered sugar
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• Splash of milk

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F/180°C, grease, and line an 8-inch round cake pan with parchment paper.
2. Combine flour, baking powder, soda, and salt in a small bowl. Set this aside.
3. In a large bowl, add the granulated sugar and lemon zest. Use your fingers or a fork to rub the zest into the sugar to release the lemon oils. Do this for around two minutes.
4. Add the lemon juice, eggs, oil, sour cream and vanilla, and beat well to combine.
5. Whisk through the dry ingredients until combined, but don't over-mix the batter.
6. Pour batter into the prepared pan and gently spread it out with a butter knife or offset spatula.
7. Bake the cake for around 40-45 minutes until a wooden skewer inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean, with a few moist crumbs.
8. Let the cake cool in the pan for 10 minutes before removing it and letting it cool to room temperature on a cooling rack.
9. To serve, the cooled cake can be dusted with icing sugar or drizzled with a lemon glaze.

Glaze

1. Mix confectioners sugar, fresh lemon juice, and a splash of milk in a medium bowl to make a thick but pourable glaze.
2. Drizzle it generously over the top of the cooled cake.

Notes

*The cup sizes given are for US measuring cups. Note that these are smaller than metric cup sizes. For best results, use a kitchen scale and measure in grams.

Nutrition Information:

Yield: 10 Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 366Total Fat: 15gSaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 11gCholesterol: 63mgSodium: 262mgCarbohydrates: 54gFiber: 1gSugar: 34gProtein: 5g

This is an informational estimate only. I am not a certified Dietitian or Nutritionist