This honey lemon cake is mushy, tender, and stuffed with brilliant citrus taste with a contact of pure sweetness from honey. Completed with a easy lemon glaze, it’s the right cake to take pleasure in with a cup of tea or as a lightweight dessert.

In the event you love brilliant, citrus-forward lemon recipes, this honey lemon cake is bound to turn into a brand new favourite. Made with easy substances, it has a mushy, tender crumb and a wealthy taste because of the butter, which supplies it a barely completely different style than my lighter lemon cake made with oil.
This model isn’t the one made well-known on Meghan Markle’s Netflix present, it’s my very own take, completed with a thick lemon glaze very like the one I take advantage of on my lemon yogurt cake. Easy, citrusy, and sweetened with honey, it’s the sort of cake that’s good for a spring brunch or sunny afternoon deal with.
Ingredient Notes
- Flour: Cake or pastry flour provides the cake a mushy, tremendous crumb and delicate texture.
- Butter: Provides richness and taste whereas protecting the cake moist.
- Milk: Complete or 2% milk helps create a young batter and balances the honey’s sweetness.
- Honey: The star ingredient. Select a gentle, good-quality honey so the flavour shines with out overpowering the lemon.
- Lemon zest and juice: Recent zest provides brilliant citrus aroma, whereas lemon juice brings tangy freshness to the batter.
- Egg yolk: Enriches the batter and offers a golden colour.
- Vanilla extract: Rounds out the flavors and enhances the pure sweetness.
- Baking powder: Helps the cake rise mild and fluffy.
- Salt: Only a pinch to steadiness the sweetness.
- Lemon glaze: Made with powdered sugar, butter, and recent lemon juice for a clean, tangy end.


Methods to Make Honey Lemon Cake
To start out, heat milk and butter collectively in a small pot till the butter melts and the combination is scorching however not boiling. Put aside to chill barely.


In a big bowl, whisk collectively flour, baking powder, salt, and lemon zest. Make just a little properly within the heart and add the honey, egg yolk, lemon juice, vanilla, and the cooled milk combination. Beat for a couple of minute, simply till the batter is clean.


Pour the batter right into a ready spherical cake pan and bake till a toothpick comes out clear. Cool within the pan for 20–Half-hour earlier than shifting to a rack.


Whereas the cake cools, whisk collectively the powdered sugar, butter, and lemon juice for the glaze.


Drizzle it excessive as soon as the cake has cooled, then slice and luxuriate in!


suggestions for achievement
- Use recent lemon. Bottled juice can style uninteresting and even barely bitter—freshly squeezed provides the very best brilliant citrus taste.
- Select a gentle honey. A lighter honey lets the citrus shine, whereas stronger varieties can overpower the lemon.
- Make your individual cake flour. In the event you don’t have it, measure out 1 cup of all-purpose flour, take away 2 tablespoons, and substitute them with 2 tablespoons of cornstarch. Sift properly earlier than utilizing.
- Don’t overmix. Beat the batter simply till clean to maintain the crumb mushy and tender.
- Test for doneness. Each oven is completely different, so begin checking round Half-hour utilizing the toothpick technique, if it comes out clear, the cake is prepared.
- Cool earlier than glazing. If the cake is simply too heat, the glaze will soak in as a substitute of setting on high.
Serving Options
This honey lemon cake is scrumptious by itself, nevertheless it additionally pairs superbly with just a few easy extras. Strive serving it with recent berries, a dollop of whipped cream, or alongside a cup of tea or espresso. It additionally makes a stunning addition to a spring brunch desk or a day dessert unfold.
Variations
- Easy end. As an alternative of the lemon glaze, brush cake with a lightweight lemon syrup or just mud with powdered sugar. Add a sprinkle of recent lemon zest or handful of raspberries on high.
- Elegant presentation. For a extra embellished cake, strive certainly one of my frostings or glazes, reminiscent of cream cheese frosting, for a wealthy end.
- Further lemon taste. For much more citrus punch, rub lemon zest into a few tablespoons of granulated sugar earlier than including it to the batter. In the event you do this, it’s possible you’ll wish to barely scale back the honey to maintain the sweetness balanced.
- Butter swap. You’ll be able to substitute the butter with olive oil for a barely lighter texture and a refined fruity taste that pairs properly with the honey and lemon.


Moist, brilliant, and superbly aromatic, this Honey Lemon Cake is bound to turn into a brand new favourite — in case you bake it, let me know the way it seems!
- ⅓ cup + 1½ tablespoons milk (2% or entire milk)
- ½ cup butter (softened)
- 2 cups cake / pastry flour
- 1½ teaspoons baking powder
- 1 pinch salt (in case you use unsalted butter then add ¼ teaspoon salt)
- 1 tablespoon lemon zest
- ⅓ cup +1½ tablespoons honey
- 1 giant egg yolk
- 1-2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
LEMON GLAZE
- 1 cup powdered / icing sugar
- 1 tablespoon butter (softened)
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
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Pre-heat oven to 350F/180C. Grease and flour or spray an 8-9 inch spherical cake pan.
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In a small/medium pot add the milk and butter, warmth till scorching however not boiling and butter has melted. Let cool.
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In a big mixer add the flour, baking powder, salt and zest, make a properly within the center add the honey, yolk, lemon juice, vanilla and cooled milk combination. Beat one minute till mixed. Pour into the ready cake pan and bake for roughly 35 minutes, check with a toothpick for doneness. Let cool 20 -Half-hour within the pan then transfer to a wire rack to chill utterly. Mud with powdered sugar or drizzle with a lemon glaze earlier than serving. Get pleasure from!
Methods to retailer the Honey Lemon Cake
Retailer the cake coated at room temperature for 1–2 days, or within the fridge for as much as 4–5 days. Convey it again to room temperature earlier than serving for the very best texture.
The cake (with out glaze) freezes properly. Wrap it tightly in plastic wrap, then foil, and freeze for as much as 2 months. Thaw in a single day within the fridge, then glaze earlier than serving.
Energy: 346kcal | Carbohydrates: 51g | Protein: 5g | Fats: 14g | Saturated Fats: 9g | Polyunsaturated Fats: 1g | Monounsaturated Fats: 4g | Trans Fats: 1g | Ldl cholesterol: 59mg | Sodium: 110mg | Potassium: 144mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 27g | Vitamin A: 450IU | Vitamin C: 3mg | Calcium: 59mg | Iron: 0.5mg | Phosphorus: 105mg
recipe FAQs
An 8–9 inch spherical cake pan works greatest for even baking and presentation. You might additionally use a sq. pan in case you desire simple slicing, and even mini cake pans for particular person servings, simply regulate the baking time, since smaller muffins will bake extra shortly.
Recent, unwaxed lemons give the brightest taste and essentially the most aromatic zest. Meyer lemons are just a little sweeter and fewer tangy, whereas common lemons (like Eureka or Lisbon) give that traditional citrus punch.
Retailer the cake coated at room temperature for 1–2 days, or within the fridge for as much as 4–5 days. Convey it again to room temperature earlier than serving for the very best texture.
Sure, the cake (with out glaze) freezes properly. Wrap it tightly in plastic wrap, then foil, and freeze for as much as 2 months. Thaw in a single day within the fridge, then glaze earlier than serving.
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