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Lemon Layer Cake

This layer cake is super moist and packed with natural lemon flavor!
Course: Dessert
Keyword: layer cake, lemon, vanilla buttercream
Servings: 10 slices
Author: Emily - My Messy Kitchen

Ingredients

For the cake:

  • 1 cup salted butter room temperature
  • 1 ¾ cups granulated sugar
  • zest of 2 large lemons
  • 1 tbsp vanilla extract
  • ⅓ cup lemon juice about 2 large lemons
  • 1 cup whole milk room temperature
  • 3 tbsp vegetable oil
  • 3 eggs room temperature
  • 3 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 tbsp corn starch
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • ½ tsp kosher salt

For the frosting:

  • 1 cup salted butter room temperature
  • 5 ½ cups powdered sugar
  • 1 tbsp vanilla extract
  • ¼ cup heavy cream room temperature

Instructions

For the cake:

  • Preheat oven to 350°F and grease and line three 8 inch cake with parchment paper rounds. This will ensure the cake easily comes out of the pans!
  • In a food processor pulse the granulated sugar and lemon zest for 15-20 seconds. This creates a more intense lemon flavor, however if you don't have a food processor you can skip this step and just add the zest in at the same time as the sugar!
  • In the bowl of a stand mixer or using a hand held mixer, beat the butter and lemon sugar together on high speed until smooth, about 3 minutes. Scrape down the sides and up the bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed. Add in the eggs and vanilla extract and mix on low until combined.
  • With the mixer on low speed, add the dry ingredients until just combined. With the mixer still running on low, add the milk, vegetable oil and lemon juice and mix just until combined. The batter will be thick!
  • Evenly distribute the batter into cake pans and bake for around 23-28 minutes or until the cakes are baked through. Remove from the oven and allow to cool in the pans for 10 minutes before flipping out onto a cookie rack to cool completely.

For the frosting:

  • Add all the ingredients to the bowl of. stand mixer and beat on medium high speed until smooth.
  • Once the cakes have cooled, add about ¾ cup of buttercream between each layer. Then add a thin crumb coat on the top and edges and chill for 20 minutes. Once cooled, ad the rest of the buttercream and evenly smooth. Slice & serve!