Lemon Sheet Cake Recipe

Course: Cake, Dessert

Cuisine: American

Prep Time: 20

Cook Time: 27

Total Time: 47

Servings: slices

Calories: 411kcal

Author: Becky Hardin

This bright and zesty lemon sheet cake is my favorite shortcut for serving a crowd. I upgrade a standard box mix with fresh lemon juice, buttermilk, and sour cream to create a bakery-style crumb that stays moist for days.

Print Recipe

US Customary - Metric

Equipment

Kitchen Scale (optional)
Baking Sheet (make sure it's rimmed!)
Hand Mixer

Ingredients

For the Cake:

26.5 ounces vanilla cake mix (2 (13.25-ounce) boxes)
1 cup unsalted butter melted (2 sticks)
4 large eggs room temperature
½ cup sour cream room temperature*
⅔ cup buttermilk room temperature**
⅓ cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (from about 3 lemons)**
2 tablespoons lemon zest (from 2 lemons)

For the Lemon Buttercream:

5 cups powdered sugar
1½ cups unsalted butter slightly melted (3 sticks)
⅓ cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (from about 3 lemons)
1 teaspoon lemon zest (from 1 lemon)

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a 13x18-inch baking sheet with parchment paper (leave parchment paper slighter higher than the sides of the pan so it’s easier to lift the cake out after). Lightly spray parchment paper with nonstick spray then set aside.
Mix the cake mix, butter, eggs, sour cream, buttermilk, lemon juice, and lemon zest in a large bowl.
26.5 ounces vanilla cake mix, 1 cup unsalted butter, 4 large eggs, ½ cup sour cream, ⅔ cup buttermilk, ⅓ cup freshly squeezed lemon juice, 2 tablespoons lemon zest
Pour the batter onto the prepared sheet cake pan and use a spatula to evenly distribute the cake batter in the pan.
Bake in the preheated oven for 27-28 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
Remove cake from oven and let cool completely before frosting.
While the cake cools, make the frosting: In a large bowl, beat the powdered sugar, butter, lemon juice, and lemon zest on low speed until well combined then beat on high until frosting is light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. If the frosting seems too thick, beat in an additional tablespoon of lemon juice.
5 cups powdered sugar, 1½ cups unsalted butter, ⅓ cup freshly squeezed lemon juice, 1 teaspoon lemon zest
Smooth an even layer of frosting over the top of the cake and decorate as desired.

Notes

*Plain Greek yogurt also works well.

**If you don't have buttermilk, make your own by removing 1 tbsp from ⅔ cup of milk and add 1 tbsp of lemon juice or white vinegar. Stir and let stand for 5 minutes.

***This recipe is easy to adapt to any citrus! Simply swap the lemons for limes, oranges, grapefruits, clementines, Meyer lemons, key limes, or pomelos. For a fun color, try blood oranges or cara cara oranges.

Cake Tips:

For a stronger lemon flavor, rub the lemon zest and dry cake mix together between your fingers to release more of the citrus oils into the batter.
The lemon juice could cause the batter to look a bit curdled when combined with the buttermilk and sour cream, but this won’t affect how the cake turns out.
The flavor compounds found naturally in lemons are susceptible to heat, meaning they can burn off in the oven. I added tons of juice and zest, but if you're nervous about the flavor, you can also add a teaspoon of lemon extract.
Resist the urge to add extra lemon juice to the batter; the excess moisture will cause the cake to collapse in the oven!
Once the batter is spread, bang the pan firmly on the counter 3-4 times. This pops large air bubbles that can cause the cake to sink in the center.

Frosting Tips:

The butter should dent when pressed but not be shiny. If it's too warm, your frosting will turn out soupy.
If the frosting feels too soft after mixing, pop the whole bowl in the fridge for 15 minutes before spreading.
If you find the frosting is pulling up bits of cake, put a very thin layer of frosting on first (the crumb coat), freeze the cake for 10 minutes, then apply the rest of the fluffy buttercream.

Layer Cake Instructions: To turn this recipe into a layer cake, you can simply cut out layers from the sheet cake pan, or pour the batter into 2 or 3 round cake pans. They can be 9-inch or 8-inch round pans, but be sure to only fill them about halfway. Bake for about 30-35 minutes.

Make-Ahead: You can bake the cake up to 2 days ahead and store tightly covered with plastic wrap at room temperature until ready to frost.

Storage: Store lemon sheet cake in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days, in the refrigerator for up to 5 days, or in the freezer for up to 3 months.

Nutrition