Ina Garten's Lemon Cake

Ina Garten's lemon cake recipe produces two loaf-style cakes that are moist with a glaze on top. They have a deep, lemony flavor due to the recipe including both lemon zest and lemon juice from fresh lemons. If you love the taste of fragrant and tangy lemon, this recipe is a perfect dessert for you.

Ina Garten's Lemon Cake

Ina Garten's lemon cake is very simple. The cake batter is made with eggs, flour, baking powder, baking soda, buttermilk instead of heavy cream, and lemon juice and zest.

After you bake the lemon cake, you then make a simple lemon syrup which is made with sugar and lemon juice along with lemon zest if desired. Then, you pour the syrup on top of the cake so that it soaks into the cake.

Finally, you will make a glaze with a mixing of the confectioners' sugar and lemon juice, and drizzle it on the cake.

Ina Garten's Lemon Cake Ingredients

For the Cake

• ½ pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 2 ½ cups granulated sugar, divided
• 4 extra-large eggs, at room temperature
• ⅓ cup grated lemon zest (6 to 8 large lemons)
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• ½ teaspoon baking powder
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• ¾ cup freshly squeezed lemon juice, divided
• ¾ cup buttermilk, at room temperature
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

For the Glaze:

• 2 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted 
• 3 ½ tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice 

Ina Garten's Lemon Cake Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 F. 

2. Grease and flour two loaf pans.

3. You may also line the bottoms of the pans with parchment paper if desired, as it will help you to remove the cake more easily. 

4. Place the butter and 2 cups of the granulated sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, and beat the mixture until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. 

5. With the mixer on medium speed, add the eggs, 1 egg at a time.

6. Add the lemon zest, and beat the mixture for about 1 minute. Then, stop the mixer.

7. Sift the flour with the baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl. 

8. In another bowl, combine a ¼ cup of the lemon juice with the buttermilk and the vanilla extract. 

9. Alternate adding the flour and buttermilk mixtures to the batter, beginning and ending with the flour. 

10. Divide the batter evenly between the pans and smooth the tops.

11. Place the pans in the oven and bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour, or until a cake tester comes out clean. 

12. For the lemon syrup, combine ½ cup granulated sugar with ½ cup lemon juice in a small saucepan and cook the mixture over low heat until the sugar dissolves. You can also add lemon zest for a more lemony taste.

13. When the cakes are cooked, allow them to cool for about 10 minutes. 

14. Remove the cakes from the pan and set them on a rack set over a tray. Pour the lemon syrup over them using a spoon. 

15. For the glaze, combine the confectioners' sugar and the lemon juice in a bowl, mixing with a wire whisk until smooth. 

16. Pour the glaze over the cakes and allow it to drizzle down the sides.

17. Serve and enjoy!

How to Store Ina Garten's Lemon Cake

Storing the Cake at Room Temperature

The best way to store this lemon cake at room temperature is to store it in an airtight glass container to protect it from dust, pet hair, and other things in the air. Properly stored lemon cake can be kept at room temperature for 2 to 3 days.

Storing the Cake in the Fridge

Storing the cake in the fridge method is similar to storing it at room temperature; just cut the cakes and store them in an airtight glass container and place them in the fridge. Homemade lemon cake can stay fresh in the fridge for 2 to 3 days.

Don't forget to let the cake cool to room temperature before placing it in the fridge.

Note: It is important to store the cake without syrup or glaze.

How to Reheat Leftover Lemon Cake

This lemon cake doesn't need heating, but if you would like to heat it up before you serve it, you can microwave it for about 1 to 2 minutes.

Alternatively, if don't like microwaves (like me), you can reheat it in the air fryer or in the oven at 300 F for about 5 minutes in the oven and about 2 minutes in the air fryer. Always check the cake a couple of minutes before the recommended time has elapsed to ensure that you don't heat it for too long.

Ina Garten's Lemon Cake Variations

Ina Garten has created several different lemon cake recipes such as lemon cake with yogurt, blueberries, poppy seeds, and much more. Here are some descriptions of Ina Garten's other lemon cake recipes.

• Ina Garten's Lemon Yogurt Cake: This cake is very similar to the lemon loaves, expect that it uses yogurt instead of buttermilk. As a result, it is a very moist cake.
• Ina Garten's Lemon Poppy Seed Cake: You can make lemon poppy seed cake with the same ingredients and instructions as this lemon cake recipe (using yogurt or buttermilk), but add poppy seeds to the cake batter and on top before baking.
• Ina Garten's Lemon Blueberry Cake: You can make lemon blueberry cake in two different ways. First, you can mix mashed blueberries into the cake batter, or you can fold whole blueberries into the batter and sprinkle them on top.
• Ina Garten's Lemon Angel Food Cake: This is an easy lemon cake that you can make with the same ingredients in a round pan.

What to Serve With Ina Garten's Lemon Cake

I personally love serving lemon cakes or any other cakes in the morning with a cup of hot chocolate or milk. However, you can also serve it with vanilla ice cream or fruit salad for dessert.

Here is a list of dishes to serve with Ina Garten's lemon cake:

• Peach Crisp
• Strawberry Boba Recipe
• Funnel Cake
• Candied Strawberries Without Corn Syrup
• Crunchy Strawberries Recipes
• Iced Coffee
• Mexican Hot Chocolate

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Ina Garten’s Lemon Cake

Yield: 8 servings

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour

Additional Time: 10 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour 40 minutes

Ina Garten’s lemon cake recipe produces two loaf-style cakes that are moist with a glaze on top. They have a deep, lemony flavor due to the recipe including both lemon zest and lemon juice from fresh lemons. If you love the taste of fragrant and tangy lemon, this recipe is a perfect dessert for you.

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Ingredients

• ½ pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 2 ½ cups granulated sugar, divided
• 4 extra-large eggs, at room temperature
• ⅓ cup grated lemon zest (6 to 8 large lemons)
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• ½ teaspoon baking powder
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• ¾ cup freshly squeezed lemon juice, divided
• ¾ cup buttermilk, at room temperature
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

For the Glaze:

• 2 cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted
• 3 ½ tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 F. 
2. Grease and flour two loaf pans.
3. You may also line the bottoms of the pans with parchment paper if desired, as it will help you to remove the cake more easily. 
4. Place the butter and 2 cups of the granulated sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, and beat the mixture until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. 
5. With the mixer on medium speed, add the eggs, 1 egg at a time.
6. Add the lemon zest, and beat the mixture for about 1 minute. Then, stop the mixer.
7. Sift the flour with the baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl. 
8. In another bowl, combine a ¼ cup of the lemon juice with the buttermilk and the vanilla extract. 
9. Alternate adding the flour and buttermilk mixtures to the batter, beginning and ending with the flour. 
10. Divide the batter evenly between the pans and smooth the tops.
11. Place the pans in the oven and bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour, or until a cake tester comes out clean. 
12. For the lemon syrup, combine ½ cup granulated sugar with ½ cup lemon juice in a small saucepan and cook the mixture over low heat until the sugar dissolves. You can also add lemon zest for a more lemony taste.
13. When the cakes are cooked, allow them to cool for about 10 minutes. 
14. Remove the cakes from the pan and set them on a rack set over a tray. Pour the lemon syrup over them using a spoon. 
15. For the glaze, combine the confectioners’ sugar and the lemon juice in a bowl, mixing with a wire whisk until smooth. 
16. Pour the glaze over the cakes and allow it to drizzle down the sides.
17. Serve and enjoy!

Nutrition Information:

Yield: 8 Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving:Calories: 589Total Fat: 4gSaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 2gCholesterol: 120mgSodium: 370mgCarbohydrates: 129gFiber: 2gSugar: 91gProtein: 10g