Sourdough Lemon Cake
Light, fluffy and full of lemon flavor, this sourdough lemon cake tastes like summer on a plate. Topped with a sweet and smooth lemon buttercream frosting, this is the perfect cake for a birthday or a regular Tuesday afternoon treat.
Servings: 16 People
Equipment
- 3 9 inch round cake pans You can also use a 9 by 13 casserole dish for a sheet cake.
Ingredients
Lemon Cake
- 1/2 cup butter softened 114 g
- 2 cups sugar 384 g
- 1/4 cup oil - preferably avocado or coconut you want a neutral oil 56 g
- 3 large eggs room temp
- 1/2 cup sourdough discard 125 g
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 1/2 cups flour 350 g
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup milk or water 122g
- 1/2 cup lemon juice 115 g
- 1 tablespoon lemon zest
Lemon frosting
- 1 cup unsalted butter room temperature
- 4 cups powdered sugar
- 2 tablespoons heavy cream
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- pinch salt
- Lemon zest optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 F and grease your cake pans.
- In a stand mixer bowl with paddle attachment, add butter, sugar, and oil. Cream together until light and fluffy, scraping down the sides occasionally.
- While that is mixing, mix flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a separate medium bowl.
- Add eggs, sourdough starter, and vanilla extract to the stand mixer and mix until well combined.
- Place on low speed and add in the mixed dry ingredients to the wet ingredients about 1/3 at a time until combined, scraping down the sides occasionally.
- Add milk, lemon juice and zest and mix until smooth. Use whisk to break up any lumps if needed. Be careful to not over mix.
- Pour batter into prepared pans.
- Bake for 35-45 minutes for 13x9 pan or 25-30 minutes in 3 round 9” pans or until a toothpick or cake tester comes out clean.
- Let the cake cool completely. If using round pans, I recommend cooling the cakes on a wire rack.
Create Frosting
- In the bowl of a stand mixer with the whisk attachment, add butter, powdered sugar, cream, and lemon juice.
- Whisk together until light and fluffy.
- Spread onto cooled cake.
Video
Notes
For long fermentation:
Follow same instructions except do not add baking soda and baking powder. Cover with plastic wrap and allow to ferment for 8-24 hours.
This recipe is moist enough that you don’t have to add the eggs before fermentation if you do not want to.
Keep in mind that the long fermented version is more dense than the quick version.
Nutrition
Serving: 1person | Calories: 499kcal | Carbohydrates: 73g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 23g | Saturated Fat: 15g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 5g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 79mg | Sodium: 331mg | Potassium: 63mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 55g | Vitamin A: 617IU | Vitamin C: 4mg | Calcium: 54mg | Iron: 1mg