Lemon Velvet Cake

We recently made this cake for Easter lunch, and it did not disappoint. This old-fashioned recipe for a lemon velvet cake hits the spot with not only the lemon flavors in the cake but also a creamy lemon cream cheese frosting. I cannot begin to tell you how delicious this cake was.

If you're looking for a new springtime dessert recipe now that warm weather is upon us, give this made-from-scratch cake a try.

Lemon Velvet Cake with Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting

Lemon Velvet Cake

2½ cups all purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

1¾ cups granulated sugar

3/4 cup vegetable oil

1/4 cup butter, softened

2 eggs

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

1 tablespoon pure lemon extract

1 heaping teaspoon lemon zest (from 1-2 lemons)

1 cup buttermilk

1/2 teaspoon white distilled vinegar

1/3 cup hot lemon water (hot water mixed with 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice)

6 drops yellow food coloring

Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting

2, 8 oz. blocks of cream cheese, softened

8 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened

1 ½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract

1 ½ teaspoons pure lemon extract

1 ½ heaping teaspoons lemon zest (from 2 lemons)

5 cups powdered sugar

2 teaspoons lemon juice

5 drops yellow food coloring

Lemon Velvet Cake

1. Preheat oven to 325 F. Thoroughly grease and flour two 9-inch cake pans. Set aside.
2. In a large bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
3. In another large bowl, mix together sugar, oil, and shortening.
4. Mix in eggs one at a time.
5. Mix in vanilla extract, lemon extract, and lemon zest.
6. Combine dry ingredients into wet ingredients, alternating with the buttermilk.
7. Mix together the distilled vinegar and hot lemon water and mix into the batter.
8. Mix in the food coloring until you reach your desired shade of yellow.
9. Pour batter evenly into prepared pans and shake pans to release any trapped air bubbles.
10. Bake for 25-35 minutes, checking it at the 25-minute mark and adjusting the time, if needed. (See note below about timing.)
11. When moist crumbs cling to a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake, remove cake from oven. Let cakes rest in the pans until pans are cool enough to touch. The cakes will continue to cook in the pans as they cool.
12. Once cooled, carefully remove cakes from pans and place on cooling racks to cool completely.

Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting

1. In a large bowl, mix together cream cheese and butter.
2. Mix in vanilla extract, lemon extract, and lemon zest.
3. Mix in powdered sugar until creamy, adding lemon juice one teaspoon at a time to thin it out (if needed).
4. Mix in food coloring.
5. Place frosting in the refrigerator to allow it to firm up a bit before frosting the cake.
6. Stir the frosting until it's creamy and spreadable. Frost the cake.
7. Decorate the cake with additional lemon zest if desired.

Notes

The batter for this cake is thinner than many cake batters. This is because of the addition of the hot lemon water, which adds to the lemon flavor of the cake.

Don't overbake the cake. The key is to take the cake out of the oven when moist crumbs cling to a toothpick inserted into the center and allow it to finish baking as it cools down in the hot pan. This timing will vary depending on your oven, which is why it's best to check the cake at the 25-minute mark.

Wrap warm cakes in plastic wrap to seal in moisture. (This step is optional and is not specific to this cake!) The plastic wrap traps warmth and creates a moist and tender cake. When the cakes are warm but the pans are cool to the touch, wrap them in plastic wrap for a few hours as they continue to cool (or even overnight if you can't frost the cake right away).

If you're looking for other tried and true dessert recipes for spring, make sure to give these Harris Sisters' favorites a try:

• Toasted Coconut Sour Cream Cake
• Williams Sonoma Lemon Pound Cake
• Coconut Layer Cake
• Pineapple Coconut Strawberry Cake

Enjoy!