Lemon Sheet Cake

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Diet: Vegetarian

Prep Time: 20

Cook Time: 16

Total Time: 36

Servings: servings

Calories: 331cal

Author: Ashley Fehr

Lemon Sheet Cake is a citrus lover's dream! Made with fresh lemon juice, zest, and a tangy lemon frosting, it’s soft, zesty, and perfect for any occasion.

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Ingredients

1 cup salted butter (melted) let cool to room temperature
2 cups granulated sugar (400 grams)
2 large eggs
½ cup milk
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon vanilla
zest of 2 lemons
¼ cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
2¼ cups all purpose flour (293 grams)
1 cup hot water

Frosting

3 cups powdered icing sugar
½ cup butter melted
2-3 tablespoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon vanilla

Instructions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F and grease a 11×17″ sheet pan with non stick spray.
In a large bowl, stir together butter and sugar with a whisk. Add eggs one at a time and whisk until smooth.
Add milk, baking soda and vanilla and whisk until combined.
Zest and juice 2 lemons.
Stir in flour and lemon zest. Add hot water and only ¼ cup of the lemon juice and stir slowly until combined.
Spread into prepared baking sheet and and bake for 15-18 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool to room temperature.

Frosting:

In a medium bowl, combine sugar, butter, 2 tablespoons lemon juice and vanilla and whisk until combined. Add additional lemon juice to thin further if desired. Spread over cooled cake and let set before slicing. You can also toss it in the refrigerator to speed up the process!

Video

Notes

Ingredients and Substitutions:

butter: salted or unsalted butter will work here. You can also substitute dairy-free margarine for a dairy-free version.
milk: any kind of milk will work here, even dairy-free.
lemon: you can swap this for limes or oranges for a fun twist.
for more or less lemon flavor: you can increase or reduce the amount of lemon zest in the cake. For the frosting, you can swap some of the lemon juice with milk for less lemon flavor, or add some lemon zest for more lemon flavor.

Storage:

Refrigerator: you can store this cake in the fridge for up to a week.
Freezer: this cake freezes very well! Just place plastic wrap or parchment between the layers so they don't stick together, and you can freeze up to 3 months.

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