Lemon Drizzle Layer Cake: a Bakery Recipe (2024)

Prep Time40 minutes mins

Cook Time28 minutes mins

Optional Decorations Prep/Cook Time1 hour hr

Dry Ingredients

• 200 grams (1 ½ cups) All-Purpose Flour (I use Gold Medal)
• 2 Tablespoons Instant Clearjel or 3 Tablespoons Vanilla or Lemon Instant Pudding Mix (See Note #1)
• 1 ½ teaspoons Baking Powder
• 1 teaspoon(s) Baking Soda
• ¾ teaspoon(s) Salt

Wet Ingredients

• ¾ cup Buttermilk
• ¼ cup Water
• 1 ½ teaspoons Vanilla Extract
• 1 Tablespoon(s) + 1 ½ teaspoons** Pure Lemon Extract (**Please see notes section--I use Durkee Pure Lemon )
• 1 ½ teaspoon Apple Cider Vinegar
• 6 g Lemon Zest, from about 1 ½ large Lemons (See Note #4)

Creamed Ingredients

• 200 grams (1 cup(s)) Sugar
• 1 stick(s) (4 ounces) Salted Butter (at room temperature)
• ¼ cup Vegetable Oil
• 2 Egg yolks

Whipped Ingredients

• 2 Egg Whites
• ¼ teaspoon Cream of Tartar

Lemon Glaze Drizzle Ingredients

• 3 Tablespoons Fresh Lemon Juice (from about 1.5-2 lemons)
• 131 grams (1 ¼ cups) Powdered Sugar

Lemon-zested Buttercream Ingredients

• 4 ounces Cream Cheese
• 1 ½ sticks (6 ounces) Salted Butter (at room temperature)
• 48 grams (¼ cup) shortening
• 455 grams (3 ½ cups) powdered sugar
• (optional) 1 Tablespoon(s) Instant Clearjel (see Note #1)
• 1 ½ teaspoons Pure Vanilla Extract
• 1 ½ teaspoons** Pure Lemon Extract (**Please see notes section--I use Durkee Pure Lemon)
• 4 g Lemon Zest, from about 1 large Lemon(s) (See Note #4)

Oven Dried Lemon Garnish Ingredients (optional)

• 1 Lemon, thinly sliced
• 2 Tbsp Sugar
• 1 Tbsp Instant Clearjel

Decorations (optional)

• prepared White Chocolate Ganache Drip
• prepared cake truffles (made from the lemon cake scraps)

Make the Lemon Cake

• Preheat Oven to 325 degrees. Line ¼ Sheet pan with parchment paper, and then spray the bottom (on top of the parchment) and sides of the sheet pan with cooking spray.

• Sift Dry Ingredients in a bowl and then whisk until well blended.

• Combine and stir Wet Ingredients and 6 g Lemon Zest in a separate bowl or pitcher.

• With a stand mixer (preferred) or handheld mixer, cream sugar and salted butter together until creamy and fluffy. Add oil and beat until incorporated. Add 2 egg yolks and cream until well blended, scraping sides of the bowl as needed.

• On low speed, alternate adding Dry ingredients and Wet ingredients to the Creamed Ingredients, a little at a time. I do ⅓ Dry, ⅓ Wet, and so on, adding one-third at a time and blending on low after each addition. Continue to mix just until the batter looks well blended and smooth (avoid overbeating). Scrape sides of the bowl as needed.

• Using a whip attachment and a clean bowl, whip the 2 egg whites and cream of tartar until stiff peaks form. (Make sure your bowl and beaters are clean and free from grease so that the whites will whip).

• Carefully fold the Whipped Whites into the cake batter, one-half of the whites at a time. The batter is ready when no egg white streaks remain and it should look smooth and uniform.

• Spread into prepared pan and make sure the batter is evenly distributed. An offset spatula works well for this.

• Bake on the middle or top rack (avoid bottom rack) of preheated 325-degree oven for 18 minutes, then turn the oven down to 300 degrees. Set the timer for an additional 5-8 minutes. Check the cake at this point. If it is jiggly at all when lightly touching the top of the cake, continue baking for 1-6 more minutes. The cake is done when a paring knife or toothpick comes out clean when stuck quickly in the cake. A couple moist crumbs stuck on the knife are fine, but they shouldn't look wet.

Make the Lemon Glaze and Drizzle the Cake

• While the cake bakes, whisk the Lemon Glaze Drizzle Ingredients together until smooth.

• With a sharp paring knife, repeatedly poke the baked cake all the way through to the bottom of the cake. Poke the entire sheet pan with cuts ½ inch apart (I recommend watching the recipe video). Drizzle the glaze over the hot cake and quickly spread it evenly with an offset spatula or silicone pastry brush. The glaze will soak into the hot cake.

• The delicate cake will be easiest to layer from cold or frozen--allow the cake to cool, then wrap and freeze the cake in the pan for at least 2 hours or up to 2 weeks ahead of time.

Make Lemon-Zested Cream Cheese Buttercream

• Whisk thepowdered sugar and Instant Clearjel(if using) together until well-blended. Set aside.

• Using a stand mixer (preferred) or handheld mixer and a large bowl, beat thecream cheeseuntil broken up and softened.

• Add the room temperaturesalted butter and continue to beat, scraping the sides of the bowl as needed.

• Add theshorteningand lemon zest and beat and scrape the sides until there are no lumps.

• While the mixer is on low, slowly add the powdered sugar mixture until it is completely incorporated

• Add thepure vanilla and lemon extract. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Then beat the buttercream on high for two-three minutes. This will add air into the buttercream and make it light and fluffy. The Instant Clearjel will cause the buttercream to thicken slightly during the next 10 minutes as it sits.

Make the Oven Dried Lemons (optional)

• Preheat oven to 250 degrees. Place a sheet of parchment paper on a sheet pan or cookie sheet. Slice the lemon into very thin (about ⅛ inch) slices. Pat them dry on both sides with paper towels.

• Whisk sugar and instant clearjel together and place on a plate or shallow bowl.

• Dip each lemon slice on both sides into the sugar mixture, pressing the mixture into the lemon slices on all sides.

• Place the lemon slices onto the lined sheet pan. Bake in the preheated 250-degree oven for 40-50 minutes or until they appear dried and shiny with a stained-glass appearance. Baking time will vary based on the thickness of the slices--keep an eye on them toward the end of baking so they don't overbrown. Move the baked lemon slices to a clean piece of parchment paper so they don't stick to the surface. Allow to cool. Leave at room temperature uncovered if serving within 24 hours. Otherwise, refrigerate the slices on parchment paper in Tupperware in a single layer. Refrigerated lemons will be stickier, but they still make a pretty garnish. Oven Dried Lemons are meant to be a decoration only, as they are quite tart.

Frost the Cake

• The easiest way to layer the cake is to layer the cake from frozen the day before you plan to serve it. If serving the cake the same day you are layering it, use refrigerated cake layers instead of frozen. Cut the cake layers with cake rings as described inHow to Bake and Layer Cakes Like a Pro (watch the Lemon Cake Recipe Video). The remaining cake scraps can be used forlemon cake trufflesif desired.

• Fill each cake layer with ¼ inch lemon-zested buttercream. Anoffset icing spatula(I use the small and medium-size on all my cakes) helps with this. I recommend frosting a thin crumb coat of buttercream on the outside of the cake which will catch all the crumby edges, then allow it to set up in the freezer for about 10 minutes until the buttercream is firm. Drizzle withSimple White Chocolate Ganache Drip, and decorate the top of the cake with lemon cake truffles and sugared lemons, if desired.

• Allow the cake set up in the fridge, but remove it from the fridge 1-3 hours before serving so it can come back to room temperature. This cake has the best texture at room temperature. Enjoy!