Recipes Desserts Cake Lemon Cakes Lemon Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting 4.0 (7) 7 Reviews Two layers of moist, lemony olive oil cake are stacked together with a fluffy and rich lemon-cream cheese frosting for this easy dessert. By Mary-Frances Heck Mary-Frances Heck Mary-Frances Heck is a chef and freelance food editor, formerly a senior food editor at Food & Wine. In addition to her recipes and articles appearing in many well-known publications, she has her own cookbook, “Sweet Potatoes: Roasted, Loaded, Fried and Made into Pie.” Food & Wine's Editorial Guidelines Updated on August 30, 2023 Tested by Food & Wine Test Kitchen Tested by Food & Wine Test Kitchen Recipes published by Food & Wine are rigorously tested by the culinary professionals at the Dotdash Meredith Food Studios in order to empower home cooks to enjoy being in the kitchen and preparing meals they will love. Our expert culinary team tests and retests each recipe using equipment and ingredients found in home kitchens to ensure that every recipe is delicious and works for cooks at home every single time. Meet the Food & Wine Test Kitchen Rate PRINT Share Prep Time: 35 mins Total Time: 3 hrs 15 mins Yield: 8 to 10 servings Layers of delicate flavors from lemon, honey, and extra-virgin olive oil — which helps keep the cake moist and imparts mild fruitiness — come together in this one-bowl batter. Stacked with a fluffy and rich lemon-cream cheese frosting, this easy layer cake is a keeper. Frequently asked questions What brings out lemon flavor? Lemon zest delivers big, bright lemon flavor to baked goods without imparting extra tang. That's because the peel is where the deeply fragrant essential oil is located. For this recipe, Mary-Frances Heck infuses lemon zest into the sugar by rubbing the two together between her fingers, ensuring each bite of cake is full of lemony goodness. Do you refrigerate lemon cake? Because of the cream cheese frosting, this lemon cake must be stored in the refrigerator, where it'll stay fresh for a few days. However, unlike cake made with butter (which hardens in the fridge), our olive oil cake is delicious served cold — which is exactly what we recommend. Note from the Food & Wine Test Kitchen Be sure the butter and cream cheese are softened for the smoothest lemon cream cheese frosting. The assembled cake can be made ahead, covered, and stored in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Ingredients Lemon Cake 1 3/4 cups granulated sugar 1 tablespoon grated lemon zest plus 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice, divided 3/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil 4 large eggs 1 cup whole milk or oat milk 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 3/4 teaspoon fine sea salt 3 cups all-purpose flour (about 12 3/4 ounces) 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder Cooking spray 3 tablespoons honey (preferably orange blossom) Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting 1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened 1 teaspoon grated lemon zest plus 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice Pinch of fine sea salt 1/2 cup unsalted butter (4 ounces), softened 3 cups powdered sugar (about 12 ounces) Directions Make the lemon cake Preheat oven to 350°F. Combine granulated sugar and lemon zest in a large bowl; rub with fingers to disperse lemon oil until sugar feels moist, about 1 minute. Whisk in olive oil. Add eggs; whisk until well combined. Add milk, vanilla, and salt; whisk until sugar is dissolved, about 2 minutes. Whisk in flour and baking powder just until combined, then whisk 20 turns around the bowl. Lightly coat a 13- x 9-inch metal baking pan with cooking spray; pour batter into pan. Bake in preheated oven until a wooden skewer inserted in center comes out clean, 30 to 35 minutes. Let cake cool in pan on a wire rack 10 minutes. Invert cake onto wire rack and poke cake all over with a wooden skewer or fork 15 to 20 times. Stir together honey and lemon juice in a small bowl until smooth. Brush or drizzle syrup over warm cake. Let cake cool completely, about 1 hour. Make the cream cheese frosting Combine cream cheese, lemon zest and juice, and salt in a large bowl. Beat with an electric mixer on medium-high speed until smooth, about 30 seconds. Add butter and beat on high speed until pale and fluffy, about 1 minute, stopping to scrape sides of bowl as needed. Reduce speed to low and gradually add powdered sugar, beating until incorporated. Increase speed to high and beat until fluffy, about 2 minutes. Transfer cake to a parchment paper–lined baking sheet. Spread 1 1/2 cups frosting evenly over top of cake. Refrigerate, uncovered, until frosting hardens, about 15 minutes. Cut cake in half crosswise and stack halves. Spread remaining frosting on top and sides of cake. Refrigerate cake, uncovered, 30 minutes, or cover and refrigerate up to 3 days. Serve cake chilled. Photo by Victor Protasio / Food Styling by Torie Cox / Prop Styling by Claire Spollen Originally appeared: January 2021 Rate It Print