One Bowl Lemon Cake With Buttermilk

This one bowl lemon cake is dense, moist, and can be made without a mixer! Similar in texture to pound cake, buttermilk adds moisture and richness to the crumb.

This post was first published October 22, 2018 and was last updated August 22, 2020.

This is a simple, from-scratch, one bowl lemon cake perfumed with fragrant lemon zest and juice. It’s rustic yet elegant, and the batter comes together in only minutes! You can serve the cake as a double layer cake, or as two single layers.

One bowl lemon cake makes a great backdrop for your favourite icing. Stacked up in layers with cream cheese frosting looks lovely, however, thick syrupy lemon glaze drizzled over two single layers is also divine.

I’ve tested this recipe multiple times, both by weight and volume, and I highly recommend weighing your ingredients on a scale if you have one. 

Jump to:

• Ingredients
• Step-By-Step Instructions
• Notes & Tips
• Substitutions
• Recipe

Use the JUMP TO RECIPE button at the top of the post, or scroll to the bottom of the post, to see the full recipe card with ingredient measurements and instructions.

Ingredients

• all-purpose flour
• sugar
• baking powder
• salt
• buttermilk
• melted butter
• vanilla
• 1 lemon
• 2 eggs

Step-By-Step Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350ºF (180ºC). Grease two 6-inch (15-cm) cake tins and line them with parchment paper.

In a large bowl whisk the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt together to combine.

Add the buttermilk, melted butter, vanilla, lemon zest, and lemon juice and mix well.

Add the eggs and continue to whisk until the batter is smooth and the ingredients are well incorporated.

Divide the one bowl lemon cake batter evenly between the two prepared 6-inch cake tins. Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until the internal temperature of the cakes read 200ºF to 205ºF (93ºC to 96ºC).

Cool the two cakes on a rack for 10 minutes in their tins. Carefully remove the cakes from the pans and cool completely before icing.

Notes & Tips

Over the last year I’ve discovered the level of consistency of using a scale for baking is quite remarkable! Something to consider if you haven’t given it a try yet.

I think you can reduce the amount of sugar in most baking recipes by 25% and up to half. I started testing this one bowl lemon cake recipe with 1 cup (200 g) of sugar, yet after multiple bakes, I was just as happy with ½ cup (100 g).

Buttermilk is one of my favourite ingredients! My general rule of thumb is to try substituting buttermilk anywhere I’d use yogurt, milk, or sour cream.

You could beat the butter and sugar in a mixer until they’re light and fluffy, if you want, however, I haven’t found a noticeable difference in doing that. Melted butter is so much faster and easier!

I often double, and sometimes triple, the amount of vanilla in recipes, however, I held back here because I want the lemon to shine. If you love vanilla as much as I do, feel free to double the amount.

I use clear vanilla extract for most recipes with all-purpose flour to keep the colour of the crumb light and pristine.

Because lemons come in different sizes I recommend weighing out 50g of lemon juice, however, use the zest of one full lemon regardless of size.

After many sunken loaves of banana bread I began using a digital thermometer to determine the doneness of my baked goods. When the cakes have finished baking, take a temperature reading from the middle. An internal temperature of 200ºF to 205ºF (93ºC to 96ºC) is what you want and it hasn’t let me down yet! I am no longer frustrated by fallen or gummy centres.

I sometimes serve one cake as a single layer cake with glaze and freeze the second layer for later. To freeze, wrap the cake in a double-layer of plastic wrap, gently but tightly, and store it in the freezer for up to three months. To thaw, pull it from the freezer and store it in the fridge one day before serving. Remove it from the fridge a couple of hours before you need it to take the chill off.

Substitutions

I tested my one bowl lemon cake recipe with stone ground spelt flour and it was great, however I prefer the softer texture, and lighter colour, of all-purpose flour. You could substitute 25% whole wheat flour for all-purpose if you want. Any more than that and you’ll probably have to increase the amount of buttermilk.

For a crumb that’s even more tender and moist, substitute half of the butter with a light flavoured oil like vegetable, canola, or melted coconut.

If you don’t own 6-inch (15-cm) cake tins, you can bake this recipe in two 8-inch (20-cm) tins. Please note, each one bowl lemon cake layer will be less tall, and will probably bake faster, so keep an eye on the oven and have a thermometer ready.

More Buttermilk Recipes

Strawberry Shortcake With Lemon Buttermilk Biscuits An essential mid-summer dessert.

Buttermilk Quiche With Ham, Cheddar, and Chives The classic French egg custard tart kicked up a notch with the tang and zip of creamy buttermilk!

Buttermilk Raspberry Muffins Gently sweetened with brown sugar, and have a rich nutty flavour from whole spelt flour.

Aimée Bourque The Picnic Queen

Meeting and working with like-minded food creatives fuels my soul! Aimée Bourque from Simple Bites moved to my home province of Nova Scotia last winter, and we’ve since become food friends.

Aimee’s blog focuses on whole, seasonal foods shared with family and friends. She also creates fantastic picnic, and camping-inspired food posts. We recently collaborated on a romantic lakeside picnic for two, featuring this one bowl lemon cake.

All images created in partnership with Aimée Bourque of Simple Bites. One bowl lemon cake recipe and cake, and all photography by Kelly Neil; Food styling by Aimée Bourque.