Lemon Cake for a Crowd

Ashley Manila

My lemon cake for a crowd is moist, fluffy, and loaded with fresh lemon flavor! Topped with silky smooth lemon cream cheese frosting, dollops of lemon curd, and fresh lemon slices, this is one of my most popular lemon desserts. Bonus: this lemon sheet cake is so easy and feeds a crowd!

4.92 from 12 votes

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Prep Time 30

Cook Time 30

Inactive Time 1

Total Time 2

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Servings 1 cake (9x13)

Ingredients

For the Lemon Sheet Cake:

2 and 3/4 cups all-purpose flour (343 grams)
2 and 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup (8 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 cups sugar granulated sugar
4 large eggs, at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon lemon extract
1/2 cup buttermilk, at room temperature
1/2 cup sour cream, at room temperature
1 and 1/2 Tablespoons lemon zest, finely grated
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice

For the Cream Cheese Frosting:

8 ounces cream cheese, VERY soft
1/2 cup unsalted butter, VERY soft
3 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted
2 and 1/2 Tablespoons lemon fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon lemon extract

Instructions

For the Lemon Sheet Cake:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 9x13-inch baking pan with parchment paper. Spray parchment paper, and any exposed pan, with non-stick baking spray. Set aside until needed.
In a large bowl sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or in a large bowl using a handheld electric mixer, beat the butter and sugar on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula, then beat for another 30 seconds.
Add in the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition, and scraping down the sides and bottom of the bowl often to ensure all of the ingredients are being evenly incorporated.
Beat in the vanilla extract and lemon extract.
On low speed, add in the sifted dry ingredients and beat until just barely combined, about 20 seconds here. Don't over mix here or your cake will be dry! Stop mixing when you can still see lumps and streaks of dry ingredients.
Turn the mixer off. Add in the buttermilk, sour cream, lemon zest, and lemon juice. Turn mixer on lowest speed and mix just until all of the ingredients are combined.
Turn the mixer off and, using a rubber spatula, give the batter a gentle fold, scraping from the bottom of the bowl up. This is just to ensure the mixer blade didn't miss anything!
Pour the batter into the prepared baking pan and use a spatula to gently smooth the top.
Bake in preheated oven for 35 to 40 minutes, until the top is firm, golden brown, and a toothpick inserted in the middle of the cake comes out clean, or with a few moist crumbs attached.
Place cake pan on a cooling rack and cool completely before frosting.

For the Cream Cheese Frosting:

In the bowl of a stand-mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or in a large bowl using an electric handheld mixer, beat the cream cheese and butter on medium-high speed until completely smooth; about 2 minutes.
Reduce the speed to low and gradually add in the sifted confectioners' sugar. Once all of the sugar has been added, add in the lemon juice and lemon extract and beat until combined.
Once combined, increase speed to medium- high-speed and beat for 2 minutes.
Once the cake has completely cooled, spread the frosting over the cake and decorate with lemon curd and fresh lemon slices, if desired.
Leftovers should be covered tightly and stored in the fridge for up to 3 days.

Video

Tried it and loved it?Snap a picture and share it with me on Instagram @Bakerbynature and by using the hashtag #BakerByNature

Recipe by Ashley Manila at Baker by Nature: https://flow-hatch.live/lemon-cake-for-a-crowd/%3C/p%3E%3C/div%3E%3C/div%3E%3Cscript%3Ewindow.wprm_recipes = {"recipe-53256":{"type":"food","name":"Lemon Cake for a Crowd","slug":"wprm-lemon-cake-for-a-crowd","image_url":"https:\/\/bakerbynature.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Lemon-Cake-for-a-Crowd-12-1-of-1.jpg","rating":{"count":12,"total":59,"average":4.92,"type":{"comment":12,"no_comment":0,"user":0},"user":0},"ingredients":[{"uid":1,"amount":"2","unit":"","name":"and 3\/4 cups all-purpose flour (343 grams)","notes":"","link":{"url":"","nofollow":"default"},"id":1576,"type":"ingredient","unit_systems":{"unit-system-1":{"amount":"2","unit":"","unitParsed":""}}},{"uid":2,"amount":"2","unit":"","name":"and 1\/2 teaspoons baking 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