Whether for a party, picnics, or cozy indoor days, this Easy Lemonade Cake Recipe is a recipe that never fails.
Use fresh or frozen lemonade, vanilla or lemon cake mix; this recipe is guaranteed to produce a soft and moist cake that bursts with the timeless flavors of summer with its sweet and tangy tastes and its fluffy texture.
Easy Lemonade Cake Recipe
Who says you need to be an expert to bake a cake from scratch? This Easy Lemonade Cake is so easy to make as it makes use of only a few ingredients and does not need any special kitchen utensils to make. With enough enthusiasm and love for all desserts, this recipe guarantees that this cake – and you – will be the star of your next occasion.
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Why Does This Recipe Work ?
This Lemonade Cake is a star because of the following:
- This recipe is amateur friendly. It does not take too much time and does not require any technical skills or speciality ingredients.
- This recipe is moist and fluffy. It is proof that you do not need tons of ingredients for an amazing cake.
- It highlights the flavor of lemon. Lemon is most famously associated with lemonade drinks, but it can also be enjoyed as a dessert. The mix of sweet and zesty flavors in this recipe is a must-have experience for your tastebuds.
- This recipe is family friendly. The sweetness of the cake makes for a great treat for kids, while lemon as its main ingredient makes it a healthy choice for health-conscious adults.
- This recipe when stored properly can last for a few days, even at room temperature/outside the fridge.
- This recipe is perfect for any occasion. It is a great cake of choice for anniversaries, birthdays, picnics, or other family gatherings.
Ingredients
Lemon Cake Mix: A lemon cake mix makes the base of your cake and will make up the solid portion of your ingredients. This recipe does not call for any specific brand, so you can use your favorite brand of lemon cake mix.
Lemonade (soda): Lemonade soda is used to infuse your lemonade cake with its zesty flavor. This renders the zesty flavor to your dish. It also makes up the liquid part of your ingredients.
Lemon zest: Lemon zest is added to the frosting of the cake and gives the frosting a tangy flavor as well.
Heavy cream: used as the base of the cake frosting. Heavy cream holds its shape well when whipped.
Whipped cream: used for cake frosting designs.
Powdered sugar: adds sweetness to the dessert and provides the perfect balance to its zesty flavor.
Vanilla extract: It enhances all the flavors in the recipe and gives off a delectable aroma.
How To Make Lemonade Cake - Step By Step
One: Preheat the oven to 180 Celsius or 350 Fahrenheit and line two, 20cm cake tins with baking paper.
Two: Put the cake mix in a bowl and pour in the lemonade mix until combined. This is your cake batter.
Three: Divide the batter between the two cake tins and bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes.
Four: Take the cakes out of the oven and allow them to cool.
Five: In a mixing bowl, whisk heavy cream, lemon zest, powdered sugar, and vanilla extract until stiff peak forms.
Six: Place one cake on a serving plate, spread half of the frosting on top, and add the next layer and the rest of the frosting in an even layer.
Seven: Make swirls of whipped cream on the edges and sprinkle some lemon zest.
Top Tips!
- Do not over-whisk or overbeat your batter. This will make the cake dense, and you will lose all the moisture and fluffiness.
- Make sure to use 20 cm cake tins for this recipe; using a bigger cake tin might make the cake too thin, while using a smaller cake tin might make the cake too thick.
- Do not forget to add lemon zest to your frosting. The frosting can make or break your cake, and the lemon zest is important to add flavor to your frosting.
Recipe Variations
- If you don’t have lemon soda, you can make use of freshly squeezed lemon juice as a substitute.
- If you want to infuse more lemon flavor into your cake, after baking, you can poke holes into your cake (make sure it’s still warm), whisk a mixture of lemonade concentrate and sugar, and pour it all over your cake. Allow it to cool to room temperature and chill it in the fridge before frosting.
- You can also make the frosting with cream cheese, just whip the cream cheese with the frosting ingredients until it forms stiff peaks.
- You may add some blueberry or strawberry to your lemonade cake.
Serving Suggestions
You can enjoy this dish as a dessert for any occasion. You can also enjoy it during normal or slow days with your afternoon tea or your favorite cup of coffee.
Storage
To Store: if you plan to store this cake outside of the fridge make sure that it is covered. This will make the cake last about two days.
To Make Ahead of Time: you can bake this cake 3 days ahead of time. Chilled cake does not take the flavor, and you can just frost it once you’re ready to serve.
To freeze: you can freeze this cake to make it last longer. Make sure to put it in an airtight container.
Recipe FAQs
Overbaking or over-whisking/overbeating will make your cake lose its moisture. Make sure to just mix until all ingredients are combined well.
The most common way to know if a cake is baked is by using a toothpick. Poke your cake with a toothpick; the toothpick should come out clean, with only a few bits of cake sticking to it.
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Recipe Card
Easy Lemonade Cake
Equipment
- Cake tin
Ingredients
- 425 g cake mix box
- 330 ml lemonade (soda can)
- 300 ml whipped cream
- 1 lemon zest
- ¼ cup powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Heat the oven to 180c/350f and line 2 x 20cm cake tins with baking paper.
- Put the cake mix in a bowl and pour in the lemonade mix until combined.425 g cake mix box, 330 ml lemonade (soda can)
- Divide the batter between the two cake tins and bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes and then, allow it to cool.
- In a mixing bowl, whisk heavy cream, lemon zest, powdered sugar and vanilla extract until stiff peak forms.300 ml whipped cream, ¼ cup powdered sugar, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, 1 lemon zest
- Place one cake on a serving plate, spread half of the frosting on top, and add the next layer and the rest of the frosting in an even layer.
- Make swirls of whipped cream on the edges and sprinkle some lemon zest.
Notes
- Do not over-whisk or overbeat your batter. This will make the cake dense, and you will lose all the moisture and fluffiness.
- Make sure to use 20 cm cake tins for this recipe; using a bigger cake tin might make the cake too thin, while using a smaller cake tin might make the cake too thick.
- Do not forget to add lemon zest to your frosting. The frosting can make or break your cake, and the lemon zest is important to add flavor to your frosting.
Variations
- If you don’t have lemon soda, you can make use of freshly squeezed lemon juice as a substitute.
- If you want to infuse more lemon flavor into your cake, after baking, you can poke holes into your cake (make sure it’s still warm), whisk a mixture of lemonade concentrate and sugar, and pour it all over your cake. Allow it to cool to room temperature and chill it in the fridge before frosting.
- You can also make the frosting with cream cheese, just whip the cream cheese with the frosting ingredients until it forms stiff peaks.
Maria
So, the cake itself needs only two ingredients, that's impressive. I can't wait to try this cake. Thanks!
Stephany
What else can I top this cake with?
Radwa
You can sprinkle some powdered sugar on top.