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Ruffled Lemon Cake

5 from 3 votes
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  1. Lemon Ruffle Cake Recipe
Ruffled Lemon Cake on a white cake holder

Ruffle cakes are on every pretty baking website you come across and for very good reason. They are beautiful, impressive, make you look like a pro, and are easy to create.

Really, they are!  All you need is an icing bag and tip #103 by Wilton and you will be ruffling icing in no time at all.

I whipped this up for a girl who sadly was leaving us at work and thus we were in need of a farewell cake. Rather than a cheesy sheet cake with writing on it – my most loathed of all creations- we let a goodbye card do the talking for us and just enjoyed a beautiful, delicious lemon cake instead.

Ingredients Needed:

2 cups of cake flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup of butter
1 1/2 cups of white sugar
3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
3/4 cup of milk
4 tbsp lemon zest
1/4 cup of lemon juice

Kick the tires and light the fires to 350 degrees.

Grease and flour two 9 inch round cake pans.

Ingredients needed in making the Ruffled Lemon Cake All on top of the table

Beat together your butter and sugar…then add in your eggs and vanilla.

Beating together the butter and sugar in a mixer

Whisk together your dry ingredients…

Whisking together the dry ingredients in a red bowl

Grate your lemon zest.

Grated lemon zest from fresh lemon on a wood board

Then beat the lemon  zest into the butter/sugar mixture.

beating the lemon  zest into the butter/sugar mixture

Squeeze the lemon out until you get 1/4 of a cup.

lemon extract in a Pyrex measuring cup

Fill the remainder of the measuring cup with milk until you reach an entire cup.

Pyrex measuring cup filled with milk

Combine the butter/sugar mix with the milk/lemon thoroughly, mixing it on medium speed to get it as airy as possible.

Combined butter/sugar mix and milk/lemon mix

Slowly mix in your flour, by hand, very gently. You don’t want to over-mix the batter. Lift it and fold it over gently, trying not to lose the air you whipped into it the last step.

adding the flour to the mixture

When it’s just combined, pour into the two prepared cake pans, evenly dividing the batter.

cake pan filled with Lemon Cake batter

Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes, until the middle springs back when touched or a knife inserted comes out clean.

While the cakes are cooling ,whip up some Lemon Cake Filling.

When the filling and cakes are cooled, sandwich them together like this. The lemon filling recipe makes enough for this cake, it may seem like a large amount but it is the best part!

2 layers of lemon cakes filled with Lemon Cake Filling in between

Whip up some Lemon Buttercream Icing. Before you color it yellow, use some to do a quick crumb coat on the cake.

whipped Lemon Buttercream Icing in the mixing container

Grab a Wilton icing tip #103 and fill an icing bag full of the icing.

I did the top like this,overlapping until it was covered.

overlapping icing on top of the cake

Now, you want to start icing the cake holding the small part of the tip towards the top. I wanted to show you how I started out wrong and very soon realized my mistake.

On the left is the smaller part of the tip down. Newp. Smooshy with no definition.

The right is the smaller part of the tip angled up. Yip. Sharp, pretty ruffles.

working with the pretty ruffles icing on the side of the cake

Keep on creating ruffles around the cake, throwing the buttercream into the freezer for quick cooling bursts if you sense it’s not holding it’s shape due to the warmth of your hands.

ruffles icing around the cake almost done

And once you are done, you have a delightful, lemon filled, tangy but beautiful icing ruffled cake. It’s very forgiving and easy for the beginner to attempt.

This cake emotes spring and the joy of  fresh ingredients and is perfect for the season right now.

I hope everyone has a safe and fabulous long weekend!

Ruffled Lemon Cake on a white cake holder
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Lemon Ruffle Cake

How to make a fabulous lemon ruffle cake that is as delicious as it looks! 
5 from 3 votes
Ruffled Lemon Cake on a white cake holder
Prep Time
30 minutes
Cook Time
30 minutes
Total Time
1 hour
Course
Dessert
Cuisine
American
Servings
12
Calories
265
Author
Karlynn Johnston

Ingredients
 

  • 2 cups of cake flour
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 cup of butter
  • 1 1/2 cups of white sugar
  • 3 eggs
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 3/4 cup of milk
  • 4 tablespoons lemon zest
  • 1/4 cup of lemon juice

Instructions
 

  • Kick the tires and light the fires to 350 degrees F
  • Grease and flour two 9 inch round cake pans.
  • Beat together your butter and sugar…then add in your eggs and vanilla. Then beat the lemon zest into the butter/sugar mixture.
  • Whisk together your dry ingredients…
  • Squeeze the lemon out until you get 1/4 of a cup.
  • Fill the remainder of the measuring cup with milk until you reach an entire cup.
  • Combine the butter/sugar mix with the milk/lemon thoroughly, mixing it on medium speed to get it as airy as possible.
  • Slowly mix in your flour, by hand, very gently. You don’t want to over-mix the batter. Lift it and fold it over gently, trying not to lose the air you whipped into it the last step.
  • When it’s just combined, pour into the two prepared cake pans, evenly dividing the batter.
  • Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes, until the middle springs back when touched or a knife inserted comes out clean.
  • While the cakes are cooling ,whip up some Lemon Cake Filling.
  • When the filling and cakes are cooled, sandwich them together like this. The lemon filling recipe makes enough for this cake, it may seem like a large amount but it is the best part!
  • Whip up some Lemon Buttercream Icing. Before you color it yellow, use some to do a quick crumb coat on the cake.

Nutrition Information

Calories: 265kcal, Carbohydrates: 42g, Protein: 4g, Fat: 9g, Saturated Fat: 5g, Cholesterol: 61mg, Sodium: 188mg, Potassium: 150mg, Sugar: 26g, Vitamin A: 325IU, Vitamin C: 4.5mg, Calcium: 69mg, Iron: 0.5mg

All calories and info are based on a third party calculator and are only an estimate. Actual nutritional info will vary with brands used, your measuring methods, portion sizes and more.

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Karlynn Johnston

I’m a busy mom of two, wife & cookbook author who loves creating fast, fresh meals for my little family on the Canadian prairies. Karlynn Facts: I'm allergic to broccoli. I've never met a cocktail that I didn't like. I would rather burn down my house than clean it. Most of all, I love helping YOU get dinner ready because there's nothing more important than connecting with our loved ones around the dinner table!

Learn more about me

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Reader Interactions

Comments & Recipe Tips Share a tip or comment!

  1. Jen says

    I love lemon and tried this recipe. I’m
    Not a fan! The cakes didn’t rise and were extremely dense! The flavor is good but just didn’t work at all. The frosting was pretty good overall.

  2. Shelly says

    I tried this cake last night to take for Mother’s day on Saturday. I have only baked the cake and made the lemon curd I have not put it together yet. Not very happy with the results. Both cakes are only about 1/2 in high. and the lemon curd was made in a small pot. The close up picture on this website is very misleading. I followed the directions exactly. I will put the cake together but I doubt I will be taking it with me. I will have to make another cake, back to my old recipe. I can never find any new ones that work really well.

    very disappointed.

    Shelly

  3. Dave says

    Cake didn’t rise…about as thick as the batter….really down at this point….was going to be for my daughters birthday…..

    So sad…..Dave

  4. Paula says

    This cake recipe sounds wonderful. I love lemon cakes and your frosting is beautiful. It adds such a distinctive look, let alone the flavour punch.

  5. Shiloebaugh says

    Can this cake be made a few days before and frozen with the icing on?

  6. Karlynn says

    I am so glad that the second one turned out! It is a delicious cake, I love lemon. If you take any pictures of the next one, please post them on my Facebook page to share with everyone else! I love seeing the pictures.

  7. Karen says

    It did still taste good, but way to crumbly to ice. I ended up remaking it and it is without a doubt the best cake I have ever made! (Also the first cake I have ever made from scratch before)
    This will be a cake I make for the work potluck next week!

  8. Karlynn says

    Oh lordy, I am sorry Karen! I am glad it still tasted ok (how??) and I added in the eggs and vanilla instructions.

  9. Karen says

    After I made the cake and put it in the oven I realized I had three eggs and the vanilla left over. Seems in following the directions, eggs and vanilla were not mentioned and I neglected to put them in. Oh well, still tastes really good!

  10. Karlynn says

    Thanks ladies! It was easy to make and lemon is my favorite of all! No cross section unfortunately, it went in to work with me for the girl who was leaving. It was a hit!

  11. Lael says

    That is a thing of beauty! Sounds delish too. I love lemon cake…well lemon anything. Yum!

  12. A Canadian Foodie says

    Now THAT is a labour of love! Gorgeous! Tak a pic of a cut piece on a plate when you cut it – dying to see the cross section. What a gorgeous cake.
    YUM!
    XO Lucky family!

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