Lemon Lime Cake

This lemon lime layer cake recipe was my fortieth birthday cake and it was a hit. This lemon lime cake is covered in a delicious lemon lime cream cheese frosting and it's perfect for any occasion.

This 3 layer lemon lime cake is made completely from scratch with real lemons and limes It’s deliciously moist and light and is remarkable paired with tangy cream cheese buttercream.

Why you'll love this citrus cake

• - Perfect cake for spring or summer. 
• - Can be made into a 9x13 sheet cake or cupcakes. 
• - Unlike my ricotta lemon pound cake, this makes a great three layer cake for any celebration. 

Ingredients needed for this lemon-lime cake 

• Fresh lemon Juice
• Lime juice
• Lemon Zest
• Lime zest 
• Whole milk
• All purpose Flour
• Vegetable oil
• Butter
• Sugar
• ​Eggs
• Baking powder
• Baking Soda

Instructions for this delicious cake

1. Grease three 8 inch round cake pans, line with parchment paper rounds, then grease the parchment paper with baking or cooking spray 
2. Whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together in a medium bowl Set aside.
3. Using a stand mixer or hand mixer fitted with whisk attachment, beat the butter and sugar together on high speed until smooth and creamy. Scrape down the sides and up the bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed. Beat in the eggs one at a time and vanilla extract on medium speed until combined, about 2 minutes. Scrape down the sides and up the bottom of the bowl as needed. With the mixer on low speed, add the flour mixture just until combined. With the mixer still running on low, add the milk, vegetable oil, lemon zest, lime zest, lime juice and lemon juice and mix just until combined. You may need to whisk it all by hand to make sure there are no lumps at the bottom of the bowl. The batter will be a little thick.
4. Pour batter evenly into the prepared pans. Bake for around 25 minutes or until the cakes are baked through. To test for doneness, insert a toothpick or wooden skewer into the center of the cake. If it comes out clean, it’s done.
5. Allow cakes to cool completely in the pans set on a wire rack. The cakes must be completely cool before frosting and assembling. The baked cakes are fluffy, but they are not thick—about 1 – 1.5 inches.  Wrap the cakes in cellophane wrap and store in the refrigerator for an hour, overnight is best. When placing them in the refrigerator, place them upside down as this helps flatten the top. The cakes must be completely cool before frosting.

Make cream cheese frosting for this lemon lime layered cake

For this lemon layer cake recipe, I'm using my go-to cream cheese frosting recipe. The ingredients are cream cheese, butter, powdered sugar, vanilla extract, lemon and lime zest, and salt

First, you'll make sure all of your ingredients are at room temperature. This will help avoid any lumps

You'll start mixing your cream cheese, vanilla and butter for 2 minutes on a stand mixture. Sift in your sugar, salt, lemon zest, lime zest, lime juice, and lemon juice in slowly. Continue mixing until well combined.

Tips for the perfect cream cheese frosting:

• Be sure your cream cheese and butter are completely at room temperature.
• Sift your powdered sugar to remove all clumps

Assemble your cake

Place 1 cake layer on your cake board or serving plate. I use an ice cream scoop and add two scoops of frosting to make sure each layer gets the same amount of frosting. Evenly cover the top with frosting. Top with 2nd cake layer, 2 scoops of frosting, and then top with the 3rd cake layer. Spread remaining frosting all over the top and sides.

Refrigerate cake for at least 30 minutes before slicing. This helps the cake hold its shape when cutting.

Variations and Substitutions for this lime and lemon cake 

• ​Don't want to use the lemon lime frosting as your cake filling? Opt instead for raspberry jam
• Not in the mood for lemon lime frosting? Make it a simple cream cheese frosting instead by omitting the citrus juices and zest from the frosting like the frosting I used in my carrot cake recipe.
• Want just a lemon cake? Use double the lemon zest and juice and omit the limes. 
• Want to make this an orange cake? Swap the lemon/lime for orange juice and zest. 
• Don't have time to make the cake from scratch? Use your favorite boxed cake mix instead and add the lemon and lime juice/zest. 
• Want a 9x13 sheet cake instead? Pour the batter into a greased and lined 9x13 baking pan and bake for about 40 minutes.
• Want cupcakes? This recipe will yield about 30 cupcakes. 

Equipment you'll need to make this old fashioned carrot cake

• 3 nonstick cake pans
• Stand mixer
• Parchment paper
• Ice cream scoop
• Offset frosting spatula
• Cakeboard

Optional garnishes for this lemon cake

• Food-safe or edible flowers
• Fresh lemon and lime slices
• Fresh berries like raspberries
• Fresh herbs like thyme
• Candied citrus

Tips for making the perfect lemon lime layer cake

Here are the tips and tricks I use to make the perfect cake:

• When scooping the batter into the cake pans, I use an ice cream scoop to make sure I get equal amounts of batter into each pan.
• When putting the cake layers in the fridge to cool, I place them upside down (parchment paper side up) to help flatten the tops and avoid the need to cut off the tops to level them off.
• When scooping the frosting between cake layers, I use the same ice cream scoop to make sure each layer has an even amount of frosting.

Storage for this citrus layer cake

This cake can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for upto 5 days.

Check out these other dessert recipes

Print Recipe

Lemon Lime Cake

Prep Time1 hour hr

Cook Time25 minutes mins

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Servings: 10

Calories: 788kcal

Author: Cari

Ingredients

Cake

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 ½ teaspoon baking powder
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 cup unsalted butter room temperature
• 1 ¾ cups granulated sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• ¼ cup vegetable oil
• ¾ cup whole milk at room temperature
• ½ Tablespoon lemon zest about 1 lemon
• ½ Tablespoon lime zest about 1-2 limes
• 3 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 3 Tablespoons fresh lime juice

Cream Cheese Buttercream Frosting

• 1 ½ cups unsalted butter room temperature
• 8 ounces full-fat cream cheese room temperature
• 5 cups confectioners’ sugar
• 1 Tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• 1 Tablespoon fresh lime juice
• 1 ½ teaspoon lemon zest
• 1 ½ teaspoon lime zest
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon cream of tartar

Instructions

• Preheat your oven at 350 degrees.
• Grease three 8 inch round cake pans, line with parchment paper rounds, then grease the parchment paper with baking or cooking spray
• Whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together in a medium bowl Set aside.
• Using a stand mixer or hand mixer fitted with whisk attachment, beat the butter and sugar together on high speed until smooth and creamy. Scrape down the sides and up the bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed.
• Beat in the eggs one at a time and vanilla extract on medium speed until combined, about 2 minutes. Scrape down the sides and up the bottom of the bowl as needed.
• With the mixer on low speed, add the flour mixture just until combined. With the mixer still running on low, add the milk, vegetable oil, lemon zest, lime zest, lime juice and lemon juice and mix just until combined. You may need to whisk it all by hand to make sure there are no lumps at the bottom of the bowl. The batter will be a little thick.
• Pour batter evenly into the prepared pans. Bake for around 25 minutes or until the cakes are baked through. To test for doneness, insert a toothpick or wooden skewer into the center of the cake. If it comes out clean, it’s done. Allow cakes to cool completely in the pans set on a wire rack.
• Wrap the cakes in cellophane wrap and store in the refrigerator for an hour, overnight is best. When placing them in the refrigerator, place them upside down as this helps flatten the top. The cakes must be completely cool before frosting.

To make the frosting

• In a large bowl using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a whisk or paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese, lemon zest, lime zest, lemon juice, lime juice, vanilla extract and butter together on medium speed until smooth, about 2 minutes.
• Sift in the confectioners’ sugar, cream of tartar and a pinch of salt. Beat on low speed for 1 minute then increase to high speed until creamy.

Cake assembly

• Place 1 cake layer on your cakeboard or serving plate. I use an ice cream scoop and add two scoops of frosting to make sure each layer gets the same amount of frosting.
• Evenly cover the top with frosting. Top with 2nd cake layer, 2 scoops of frosting, and then top with the 3rd cake layer. Spread remaining frosting all over the top and sides.
• Refrigerate cake for at least 30 minutes before slicing. This helps the cake hold its shape when cutting.
• Cover leftover frosted cake tightly and store in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.

Notes

Variations and Substitutions for this lime and lemon cake 

​Don't want to use the lemon lime frosting as your cake filling? Opt instead for raspberry jam

Not in the mood for lemon lime frosting? Make it a simple cream cheese frosting instead by omitting the citrus juices and zest from the frosting like the frosting I used in my carrot cake recipe.

Want just a lemon cake? Use double the lemon zest and juice and omit the limes. 

Want to make this an orange cake? Swap the lemon/lime for orange juice and zest. 

Don't have time to make the cake from scratch? Use your favorite boxed cake mix instead and add the lemon and lime juice/zest. 

Want a 9x13 sheet cake instead? Pour the batter into a greased and lined 9x13 baking pan and bake for about 40 minutes.

Want cupcakes? This recipe will yield about 30 cupcakes. 

Optional garnishes for this lemon cake

• Food-safe or edible flowers
• Lemon and lime slices
• Fresh berries like raspberries
• Fresh herbs like thyme
• Candied citrus

Tips for making the perfect lemon lime layer cake

Here are the tips and tricks I use to make the perfect cake:

• When scooping the batter into the cake pans, I use an ice cream scoop to make sure I get equal amounts of batter into each pan.
• When putting the cake layers in the fridge to cool, I place them upside down (parchment paper side up) to help flatten the tops and avoid the need to cut off the tops to level them off.
• When scooping the frosting between cake layers, I use the same ice cream scoop to make sure each layer has an even amount of frosting.

Storage

This cake can be stored in an airtight container for upto 2 days and in the refrigerator for upto 5 days.