This Easy Lemon Cake Recipe is soft, moist, and full of fresh lemon flavor, with plain yogurt in the batter and a thick lemon-yogurt glaze that drips beautifully over the sides. It’s a simple one-bowl cake that works just as well for brunch as it does for dessert.
This Is the Lemon Cake I Want With Coffee.There are lemon cakes that barely taste like lemon, and then there are the ones where you can smell the zest before the first slice even reaches the plate.
This is the second kind.
Fresh lemon zest and juice go straight into the batter, plain yogurt keeps the crumb soft, and vegetable oil makes the cake stay tender even after it has cooled. Then there’s the glaze: powdered sugar, yogurt, and another little hit of lemon juice, whisked until thick enough to slowly run down the sides.
It looks like a cake-stand kind of dessert, but the actual mixing is wonderfully uncomplicated.
If you’re in full lemon-dessert mode, my Creamy Lemon Cheesecake Bars are the richer, chilled option, while Lemon Posset Brûlée gives you a silky no-bake citrus dessert with a caramelized top.
For something to pour alongside a slice, make my Best Homemade Lemonade, or switch back to cake territory with my Blueberry Cake, which has a soft crumb, juicy berries, and a buttery streusel topping. The blueberry cake is currently live as another breakfast/brunch-or-dessert cake on The Foodie Blog.
Table of contents
Ingredients
How to Make Lemon Cake
- Mix the wet ingredients. Combine in a large bowl: the sugar, yogurt, oil, eggs, lemon juice and lemon zest until smooth and incorporated.
- Add the dry ingredients. Stir in the flour, baking powder and a pinch of salt. Stir just until you no longer see any dry flour (do not overmix).
- Fill the pan. Transfer the batter to a greased round cake pan and smooth the top.
- Bake and cool. Bake until golden, and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool before glazing.
- Make the glaze. Whisk the powdered sugar, yogurt, and lemon juice until smooth, then pour the glaze over the cake only after it has cooled. If the cake is still hot, the glaze can melt too quickly and run off instead of sitting thickly on top.
together the icing sugar, lemon juice and yogurt until glossy and pourable.
- Unmold the cake. Flip the cake out of the pan onto a plate/cake stand, then flip right-side up.
- Glaze the top. Pour glaze over the center and spread gently to let it run over the sides.
- Finish and serve. Top as you prefer (lemon slices/zest) then slice and enjoy.
Why This Easy Lemon Cake Works
The cake gets its moisture from two ingredients working together: yogurt and neutral oil.
Yogurt gives the crumb a little tang and richness, while oil stays liquid even after the cake cools, so you don’t end up with a firm refrigerated crumb the way some butter-heavy cakes can.
Then there is the lemon.
Use both the zest and juice. The juice adds brightness, but lemon zest brings a stronger fresh-lemon aroma, especially in cakes and glazes.
And because we’re using an oil-based batter, there is no butter to cream and no mixer required.
Just whisk, combine, bake, cool, and glaze.
Common Mistakes To Avoid
- Using cold eggs or cold butter, which can make the batter uneven.
- Overmixing the batter after adding the flour.
- Adding too much lemon juice, which can make the cake dense or too sharp.
- Skipping the lemon zest, which gives the cake its strongest fresh lemon flavor.
- Baking too long, which can make the cake dry instead of moist.
- Pouring glaze over a cake that is too hot, so it melts and runs off.
- Cutting the cake before it has cooled enough to hold its shape.
What To Serve With Easy Lemon Cake Recipe
Easy Lemon Cake is delicious served with fresh berries, whipped cream, vanilla ice cream, lemon glaze, or a light dusting of powdered sugar. It also pairs well with hot coffee, mint tea, fruit salad, yogurt, or a simple brunch and dessert tray for spring, summer, holidays, and afternoon snacks.
FAQs
Yes — thin it out with a little splash of milk so the batter is still easy to mix and the glaze pourable.
The top should be golden, the crumb inside the middle takes a toothpick to test but comes out clean or with just a few moist crumbs.
Most often, overmixing after the addition of flour or just plain measuring too much.
Yes, but the bake time will be extended. Check even later for doneness, and rely on the toothpick test.
Yes. It’s great plain, or you can dust with powdered sugar instead.
Allow the glaze to set before slicing with a sharp knife wiped clean.
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Easy Lemon Cake Recipe
Ingredients
Equipment
Method
- In a large bowl, whisk sugar, yogurt, oil, eggs, lemon juice, and lemon zest until smooth.
- Add flour, baking powder, and salt. Mix just until combined.
- Pour batter into a greased round cake pan and smooth the top.
- Bake until golden and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool before glazing.
- Mix powdered sugar, lemon juice, and yogurt until glossy and pourable.
- Unmold the cooled cake and place on a serving plate.
- Pour glaze over the top and gently spread to the edges to create drips.
Nutrition
Video
Notes
- Don’t overmix after adding flour for the softest crumb.
- If glaze is too thick, add lemon juice 1 tsp at a time. If too thin, add powdered sugar 1 Tbsp at a time.
- Greek yogurt works, but thin it slightly for a smoother batter and glaze.
Tried this recipe?
Let us know how it was!Estimated reading time: 7 minutes
