This lemon sour cream cake is ultra moist and has a wonderful lemon flavor! I absolutely love lemon desserts, and we’ve added several lemon cakes, fillings, and frostings to our recipes section over the years– this lemon layer cake is sure to be a new favorite!
Not only does this lemon cake taste amazing, but it is really versatile also. It would hold up well to fondant, many choices of frostings or fillings, and it works great for cupcakes too! We have another popular scratch lemon cake in our recipes section, but I love to have options whenever possible. I love them both!
How Does Sour Cream Make Cakes Better?
Like buttermilk, sour cream adds an acidity to the batter that interferes with gluten formation, yielding a softer, more tender cake.
Sour cream also adds just a hint of tanginess which works perfectly in this lemon cake! The thick batter makes it ideal for add-ins like blueberries (as with our Lemon Blueberry Cake recipe)! Trust me, you are going to love this ultra moist, lemony cake!
How to Make Lemon Sour Cream Cake
( Find Recipe Card at bottom of post- This lemon sour cream cake recipe uses the traditional creaming method of mixing.)
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees, grease/spray and flour three eight inch pans.
- In a medium sized bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
- In another bowl or measuring cup add the sour cream, lemon juice and zest, vanilla and lemon extract. Blend with a fork and set aside
- In the bowl of your mixer, beat the softened butter until smooth. Gradually add the sugar and beat on medium speed for 3 to 5 minutes until light and fluffy!
- Add the eggs one at a time, mixing until the yellow of the yolk disappears.
- Add the flour mixture and the sour cream mixture alternately, beginning and ending with flour mixture (This will mean 3 additions of dry ingredients and 2 of wet). Mix until combined and smooth, do not mix above medium speed or over mix.
- Bake at 350 degrees for 25 to 28 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean or with just a few crumbs attached. Let the cakes cool 5 to 10 minutes then turn out.
Lemon Seven Minute Frosting
There are many fillings and frostings that would go perfectly with this lemon sour cream cake (from lemon curd to lemon cream cheese frosting to homemade lemon buttercream). Today, we decided to go with a fantastic Lemon Seven Minute Frosting.
Seven Minute Frostings are so billowy and light, and taste a bit like marshmallow fluff! To me, it has just the right amount of sweetness and I love the fluffy consistency that is created from whipping up a simple combination of sugar, water, egg whites, corn syrup, and flavoring over heat.
We have another version of seven minute frosting which is called Fluffy White Frosting– in that recipe, our method is a little different as we slowly pour a stream of our heated sugar mixture into whipped egg whites and continue mixing until the desired stiff-peak consistency is reached.
The method in today’s recipe is more traditional, and involves mixing the ingredients all at once over a double boiler (or makeshift double boiler).
Either method will give wonderful results, and each has it’s advantages. If you are using a hand mixer, you may prefer today’s recipe’s method so that you don’t have to juggle holding the mixer with one hand and pouring a stream of hot sugar with the other!
Assembling our Lemon Layer Cake with Lemon Frosting
Once the frosting is made, you’ll want to use it immediately to frost your three eight inch lemon cake layers.
I filled and frosted the cake with our lemon seven minute frosting, getting it fairly smooth around the sides with my spatula/bench scraper. Then, I used an 8B french tip (use any large star tip for a similar effect) and piped dollops all over the top of the cake! I love this look and the frosting is so pretty!
Keep in mind that this frosting isn’t the thick consistency of a buttercream frosting and so I frosted the cake fairly quickly, not worrying too much about making it perfectly smooth. With seven minute frostings, more of swirly or at least slightly rustic look is the best bet ;0)
Helpful Tips for Seven Minute Frosting
If you are new to seven minute frostings, take a quick look at these helpful hints. This isn’t a difficult frosting to make, but these quick tips will ensure success!
- For the egg whites: cold eggs separate more easily than room temperature eggs. (We crack our eggs and separate the egg whites rather than using pasteurized egg whites from a carton. The consistency of the frosting holds up better this way!)
- It is a good idea to use a separate bowl when separating the egg whites. If any yolk gets into the whites the recipe will not work. So, crack your egg and separate the white into a small bowl, empty that into your mixing bowl, and repeat.
- There can be no trace of oil/grease in your bowl or beaters or the frosting will not whip up properly.
- When using flavorings, essential oils or oil based extracts can cause the frosting to deflate.
- Use a double boiler or a stainless steel/heatproof bowl over a pot of simmering water (it should be a snug fit). Make sure the simmering water does not touch the bottom of the top bowl, if it does the frosting could become grainy.
- On humid days, the frosting may take longer to whip up.
- This frosting cannot be made in advance, so have your cake or cupcakes ready to frost.
- This frosting is best the first 12 to 24 hours after frosting the cake. After that, it still tastes good but will begin to deflate and absorb into the cake.
Don’t miss these other Great Lemon Recipes!
We’ve made lots of delicious lemon recipes over the years! Make sure to put these on your list of recipes to try!
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Lemon Sour Cream Cake
This moist Lemon Sour Cream Cake is amazing! It pairs well with so many fillings and frostings, but in this recipe we've chosen a delightful Lemon Seven Minute Frosting. Enjoy!
Ingredients
For the Lemon Sour Cream Cake
- 2 sticks (226g) unsalted butter, slightly softened
- 2 cups (400g) sugar
- 3 large eggs
- 1 cup (242g) sour cream
- 1/3 cup — juice and zest of 2 lemons
- 1 teaspoon (4g) vanilla extract
- 1 Tablespoon (10g) lemon extract
- 3 cups (342g) cake flour (plain in the UK) — if you do not have cake flour see substitution below
- 1 1/2 teaspoons (7g) baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon (3g) baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon (3g) salt
For the Lemon Seven Minute Frosting
- 2/3 cup (150g) water
- 2 cup (400g) sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon (2g) Cream of Tartar or 2 Tablespoons (30g) white corn syrup
- 4 egg whites
- 2 teaspoons (8g) lemon extract
Instructions
For the Lemon Sour Cream Cake
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees, grease and flour three 8x2 inch round cake pans. Three layers will give you slightly shorter layers but more filling per slice.
- In a medium sized bowl add the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Whisk to blend, set aside.
- In another bowl or measuring cup add the sour cream, lemon juice and zest, vanilla and lemon extract. Blend with a fork and set aside
- In the bowl of your mixer, beat the softened butter until smooth. Gradually ad the sugar and beat on medium speed for 3 to 5 minutes until it is lightened in color and fluffy.
- Add the eggs one at a time, mixing until the yellow of the yolk disappears.
- Add the flour mixture and the sour cream mixture alternately, beginning and ending with flour mixture (3 additions of dry ingredients and 2 of wet). Mix until combined and smooth, do not mix above medium speed or over mix.
- Bake at 350 degrees for 25 to 28 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean or with just a few crumbs attached. Let the cakes cool 5 to 10 minutes then turn out.
- Makes 7 cups cake batter
(This recipe works well for cupcakes too)
For the Lemon Seven Minute Frosting
- In the top of a double boiler (see note below if you do not have one), combine the sugar, water, egg whites, and corn syrup or cream of tartar.
- Beat with an electric mixer at low speed for 30 seconds, then set the pan over simmering water. Continue beating at high speed for about 7 minutes, or until it's stiff and glossy. It may take longer than 7 minutes depending on humidity, etc.
- Remove from the heat, add the lemon extract and yellow coloring gel (optional), and beat for another 1 to 2 minutes. Do not over-mix.
- Frost the cake immediately as it will begin to set up/change consistency.
Cake Assembly
We filled and frosted our three layer, 8 inch cake with the Lemon Seven Minute Frosting. I smoothed it around the sides of the filled cake, and piped billowy "stars" using an 8B french tip (any large star tip is good), all over the top of the cake.
Notes
If you do not have a double boiler, use a stainless steel or heatproof bowl that can fit snugly into a saucepan.
Substitution for Cake Flour:
For each cup of flour in the recipe, remove 2 Tablespoons of flour and replace with 2 Tablespoons cornstarch. This recipe has 3 cups of flour, measure out 3 cups of all purpose flour, remove 6 Tablespoons and replace with 6 Tablespoons cornstarch, whisk to blend.
Looks and sounds delish! :-)
Where are the measurements?
Hi Dee, You should be able to see the ingredients and measurements. What are you able to view?
I just made this and it turned out lovely. Pro tip: halve the batch of frosting as it makes twice as much as this cake would need, or have something else ready to frost—it doesn’t store well.
Will the cake still turn out if I just do one layer and not three?
Hi Peaches, This recipes makes 7 cups batter. Below are 2 links to batter amounts charts. One is for 2 inch deep pans and the other for 3 inch deep pans. If using a 11 inch pan or larger you will need a heating core for the center of the pan so you will have more even baking.
http://www.fromkarenskitchen.com/tips/party_cake_batter_amounts_baking_times_2inch_pan.php
http://www.fromkarenskitchen.com/tips/party_cake_batter_amounts_baking_times_3inch_pan.php
This looks absolutely luscious. Glad to see your note about cupcakes. I really appreciate you posting the ingredient weights. I have been weighing everything lately and find I am much more successful in my baking.
Thanks for your post, Barbara, I’m happy that you have had more baking success. Weighing is the way to go.
How many cups is 226 grams ?
@C: Hello, 2 sticks of butter (which is 226 g) is one cup of butter.
Can you store the fridge in an airtight container in the kitchen or does it have to be stored in the fridge ?
Hi Karen, I think it is fine to store on the countertop for 24 hours. I would refrigerate under a cake cover on the second day. The frosting does begin to gradually deflate over time as it begins to sink into the cake. It is best eaten by the second day.
How soon after icing it can one eat it?
Hi CC, It can be served as soon as it is completed.
I doubled this cake recipe and made 4 – 8” layers……perfect!! Filled and decorated it with lemon buttercream. All my girlfriends loved it!
I had trouble with this recipe, came out dense and flat, did not raise AT ALL. I noticed the batter was very thick, I don’t know if I did something wrong :(
look yummy
Extremely heavy and dence. I even bought fresh baking powder and baking soda for this cake. I wasted a beautiful batch of lemon curd.. Not trying to insult but it was horrible.
Hi Sheryl, I am sorry you had this problem. Very often, if your cake is heavy and dense it is due to improper creaming of the butter and sugar. The butter should be slightly softened (not in the microwave) so that when pressed with a finger you will leave an indentation but the overall butter holds its shape. Mix the butter until it is smooth then gradually add the sugar. Creaming until fluffy and lightened in color can take 3 to 5 minutes, maybe longer if using a hand mixer.
Creaming the butter and sugar will capture air that will be released later when mixed with the baking powder and/or baking soda and flour mixture. This gives the cake a lighter texture.
Hello, I’d like to make a smaller version of this cake using about a 6-7” pan. I only have the one pan but it’s fairly deep so my plan is to bake it as a single cake and then cut the layers afterward. Wondering if cutting this recipe by a third would do the trick?
Hi Amy, I am sorry but I cannot say for certain how the recipe will perform cutting by 1/3.
Hi BeBe! It’s me again!! Thought I would put a comment on this recipe, as I did on the vanilla bean recipe. This lemon sour cream cake is wonderful. I made a 1/2 recipe to try it out, and for me because I like taller layers, I put 2 1/4 cups of batter into a 6″ x 2″ pan. It rose to 1 3/4″ tall. Fluffy and so tasty. Not dense, but not super airy. Just how I like cake! In reading some of the comments, I especially read your reply to Sheryl. As it is kind of chilly in my house, my aluminum mixing bowl gets chilly, and butter doesn’t always cream easily. I let the butter mix for several minutes on it’s own, scraping down the bowl a few times, and only when the butter was lighter and as fluffy as I could get it, then I added the sugar in increments, and let my mixer go…and go…and go. I probably let it go for 10 minutes. Just the nature of butter and cool weather. If there was flour in the bowl, I would not have done that due to overmixing. Just butter and sugar. My cake layer and the 1/2 dozen cupcakes I made came out light and fluffy. Thank you for your advise and recipes!!
Hi BeBe and Melissa-I was going to make this recipe today and wondered if you think it would be successful if I took the 3 cups of cake flour and used 1/2 all purpose and 1/2 cake flour to equal the 3 cups. Thank you.
I went ahead and tried my above question; made the full recipe with 1/2 of each; cake and a/p flour. Came out fluffy; not too dense but not too fluffy. Very good recipe!
Hi Paula! I’m sorry that we didn’t get to your question- lots of Father’s Day things happening ;0) But I’m happy to hear that it worked well for you! xoxo
No problem Melissa! Hope you are doing well. :-)