Lemon sheet cake is a bright and fresh citrusy cake that is perfect for spring and summer celebrations. Tender lemon cake is made with fresh lemon zest and juice and then topped with a silky cream cheese frosting.
Recipe summary
Flavor: Sweet and buttery, bright and citrusy. Topped with tangy Cream Cheese Buttercream Frosting.
Texture: Tender crumb. Fluffy and moist.
Pan size: 9x13 or 13x18 (I include both directions below)
Great for: Easter, baby showers, summer parties like the Fourth of July.
Similar to: Lemon Cupcakes and Lemon Layer Cake
More flavors: Chocolate Sheet Cake, Strawberry Sheet Cake, and Vanilla Sheet Cake
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Cake ingredients
Since baking is an exact science, I do not recommend substituting any ingredients in this recipe. If you do not have the listed ingredients on hand, I recommend searching for a recipe that does include those ingredients.
- Unsalted butter - Adds moisture and buttery flavor to the cake batter. Unsalted butter (and the listed salt) can be substituted with salted butter if desired.
- Eggs - Add stability and moisture to the cake.
- Whole milk - Adds moisture to your cake. For best success, I suggest using whole milk, not skim or 1% milk. Your cake can turn out less moist (and may dry out faster) when using lower fat milks.
- Cake flour - Cake flour has a lower protein content than other flours, like all-purpose or bread flour, creating a smaller, more tender crumb. I highly recommend using cake flour rather than all-purpose flour.
- Baking powder - Cannot be substituted with baking soda. The two are not interchangeable.
- Salt - Enhances the flavor of your cake without making it "salty".
- Vanilla extract - Enhances the flavor of your cake.
- Lemon juice and zest - You'll need about two medium lemons for this recipe. I highly recommend using freshly squeezed lemon juice and zest for best flavor. Bottled juice concentrate often has a harsh flavor in comparison. Don't skip the zest! Lemon zest contains the most concentrated lemon flavor. If you'd like even more lemon flavor, add more zest (not juice). Adding extra juice can weigh down your cake batter, making it too wet and heavy to rise properly in the oven.
- Granulated sugar - Sweetens your cake and also helps it retain moisture. I do not recommend using sugar-free substitutes in this recipe because I haven't tested these alternatives and can't guarantee how they'll turn out. I suggest doing a Google search for a recipe that fits the ingredients you have on hand.
Frosting ingredients
- Cream cheese - For this recipe, it's very important to use the correct type of cream cheese. You'll need one 8-ounce block of full-fat original cream cheese. Low-fat cream cheese or spreadable cream cheese in a tub will not work for this recipe. Using whipped or spreadable cream cheese will result in a runny frosting.
- Butter - I only recommend making this recipe with a stick of real butter, not margarine or vegetable oil spread (commonly found in a tub). I recommend unsalted butter so that you can control the amount of salt in your buttercream, but salted butter can be substituted (and the listed salt omitted) if desired.
- Vanilla extract - Adds flavor to the frosting.
- Confectioner's sugar - Sometimes called powdered sugar or icing sugar. Confectioner's sugar sweetens and stabilizes the frosting, making it thick and pipeable. I don't recommend blending granulated sugar to make confectioner's sugar because you often can't achieve the superfine texture of manufactured confectioner's sugar at home.
- Salt - Enhances the flavor of the frosting and helps balance with the sweetness. I don't recommend omitting the salt unless you're using salted butter.
How to make lemon sheet cake
- In a large bowl, add butter and sugar. Beat until creamed and fluffy.
- Add eggs, vanilla, and lemon zest, mixing until smooth.
- Whisk dry ingredients in a separate bowl before adding to the wet ingredients, alternating with the milk, until all ingredients are incorporated.
- Batter should look thick, but pourable and smooth.
- Pour batter into a lightly greased 9x13 or 13x18 pan (both shown above).
- Bake until cake pops back when gently pressed in the center. Cake will lightly brown across the top as it bakes, this is normal.
Heather's top tip
To test for doneness, gently press the top of your cake. If it springs right back, it's done. If an indent is left, it needs more time. For accurate results every time, use an instant read thermometer. Cake is done when it reaches 210F in the center.
Cake tips and tricks
Lemon preparation - Zest both of your lemons into a bowl, then slice them in half and juice the halves into a separate bowl.
Room temperature ingredients - Make sure your butter, eggs, and milk are all room temperature before beginning (not melted, not cold). Room temperature ingredients emulsify when mixed and create a creamy, even batter that bakes up fluffy in the oven.
Don't omit or reduce any of the moisture-adding ingredients - Butter, whole milk, eggs, and granulated sugar all do their part in ensuring your cake turns out moist and tender. Reducing, omitting, or substituting these ingredients can cause your cake to turn out dry.
Don't overmix the batter - Mix your dry ingredients just enough to incorporate them into the batter. Overmixing can overwork the gluten, causing your cake to turn out tough.
Frosting tips and tricks
Use a frosting you love - I've included my recipe below for cream cheese frosting, which is tangy, rich, and slightly less sweet than traditional buttercream frosting. My recipe for whipped buttercream frosting is another great option (and a reader favorite!). If you prefer something less sweet, try my ermine frosting recipe.
Do not frost a warm cake - Buttercream frosting melts around 90 degrees Fahrenheit (32 degrees Celsius). Adding frosting to a hot cake will cause it to melt. Wait until your cake is completely cooled before frosting.
Storage
Homemade cakes are best served the same day they are baked. However, there are solutions if you need to make your cake a few days (or weeks) ahead of time.
Room temperature - Cake frosted with cream cheese frosting can be stored in a tightly sealed container at room temperature for up to two hours. After that, it must be refrigerated. Traditional buttercream frosted cake can be stored in a sealed container at room temperature for up to two days.
Refrigerating - Unfrosted or frosted cake can be refrigerated for 2 to 3 days. Wrap unfrosted cake in plastic and store in a sealed container. Optionally, brush your cake with simple syrup to help keep it moist for longer (see my section below on how to prevent dry cake). Bring to room temperature for an hour before serving.
Freezing - Unfrosted or frosted cake can be frozen for up to two months. For a frosted cake, first freeze for an hour, unwrapped, until firm. Gently wrap in plastic and store in a tightly sealed container for up to 2 months. Thaw your cake in the refrigerator overnight, then bring it to room temperature for an hour before serving.
Freezing frosting - Cream cheese frosting can be frozen in a tightly sealed container for 2 to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator, then bring to room temperature and rewhip as needed to make it light and fluffy.
Frequently asked questions
This recipe works in three different sizes: a 9x13 baking pan (with 2 inch tall sides), two 9-inch round cake pans, or a 13x18 half sheet pan (with 1 inch sides). 
Both the 9x13 and 13x18 sheet cakes can remain in the pan after baking. Simply frost, slice, and serve! Round cakes need to be removed from their pans, trimmed, assembled, and frosted. To make this recipe as a layer cake, check out my full post for lemon layer cake.
Here are the cake pans I recommend for making vanilla sheet cake:
- Nordic Ware Classic Metal 9x13 Covered Cake Pan
- Natural Aluminum Nordic Ware Commercial Baker's Half Sheet (2 Pack)
- Nordic Ware 9" Round Natural Aluminum Cake Pans (2 Pack)
The serving size on this recipe can be difficult to calculate. Servings depend on how big you'd like your slices to be. A half sheet cake (13x18) can easily be sliced to feed 30 to 40 people. Sliced into about 3x3 inch squares, a half sheet cake feeds 24. Sliced into 2x2 inch squares a half sheet cake feeds 54.
Here's a great article on cake servings for sheet cake: Better Baker Club - The Ultimate Sheet Cake Guide
I recommend adding more lemon zest or some lemon extract, not lemon juice. Lemon zest contains more concentrated lemon flavor and doesn't add extra moisture to the cake. Adding more lemon juice can make the batter too heavy and wet to rise properly in the oven.
Yes, when made in a 13x18 pan the cake could be sliced in half and layered to create a two-layer 9x13 sheet cake. The recipe can also be doubled to make two 13x18 layers to be stacked.
Troubleshooting
One of the most common complaints I see in baking is that the recipe is followed "to a T" and the cake/cookies still turn out dry. Dry baked goods can happen for several reasons:
- Ingredients were substituted/omitted/reduced - The fats and sugar (butter, whole milk, eggs, and granulated sugar) help keep your cake moist. Using lower fat substitutions, reducing the sugar, or omitting an ingredient entirely will cause your cake to turn out dry.
- Too much flour was added to the recipe - Either use a kitchen scale to weigh your flour accurately (which is how I measure flour and highly recommend to others), or spoon the flour into your measuring cup and level off with a knife. Scooping with the measuring cup directly from a bin of flour compacts it into the cup, adding up to 25% extra flour to the recipe.
- Cake was overbaked - Baking a cake for too long will dry it out in the oven. Ovens are inconsistent and can run hotter or colder than the next oven. The time that worked for me may not work for you, so I recommend using other cues to tell when your cake is done.
This is a baker's secret that's optional but effective! Brush simple syrup over your cake before frosting. A layer of simple syrup helps keep the cake moist for longer. Simple syrup is a 1:1 ratio of water and granulated sugar, brought to a boil on the stove top until dissolved, then cooled to room temperature. I'd suggest about ¼ cup or more for this size cake.
Cake can turn out dense from expired leavening, overmixing the wet and dry ingredients (this overworks the gluten), not whipping the butter and sugar long enough, or adding extra wet ingredients (like adding sour cream or applesauce to make cake "extra moist"). If the balance of wet and dry ingredients is off, this can cause a change in texture, preventing your cake from rising properly in the oven.
All cakes will brown on the outside edges due to a chemical reaction that happens when sugar is heated up. This is called a Maillard reaction and is completely normal. The insides will remain white and fluffy and the tops will be covered by frosting.
Sinking can happen for many reasons. Overmixing the batter (which adds extra air that's released during baking), underbaking, using expired leavening, using the wrong leavening, or accidentally doubling the leavening can all cause your cake to sink in the middle.
Recommended
📖 Recipe
Lemon Sheet Cake
Ingredients
Cake
- 1 cup (227 g) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1 ¾ cups (346 g) granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons lemon zest
- 4 large eggs, room temperature
- 3 cups (336 g) cake flour
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup (227 g) whole milk, room temperature
- ¼ cup (57 g) lemon juice
Frosting
- 8 ounces (227 g) block-style cream cheese, room temperature
- ½ cup (113 g) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 3 ½ cups (400 g) confectioner's sugar
Instructions
Cake
- Preheat oven to 350℉. Generously grease a 9x13 or 13x18 inch baking pan and set aside.
- In a large bowl, add room temperature butter and granulated sugar. Using a hand mixer, beat until creamed and fluffy. Add vanilla extract, lemon zest, and eggs, one at a time, mixing until incorporated and smooth.
- In a separate bowl, sift together dry ingredients: cake flour, baking powder, and salt. In a liquid measuring cup, add lemon juice to milk.
- Add half of the dry ingredients to your butter mixture. Mix until just combined. Add half of the milk mixture, again mixing until just combined. Repeat once more to add remaining dry ingredients and milk until just combined.
- Pour batter into prepared baking sheet (or evenly between two round cake pans) and spread into an even layer.
- 9x13 baking pan: 30-34 minutes13x18 half sheet pan: 17-19 minutesBake cakes, using time estimates above, until cake pops back in the center when gently pressed down, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes back dry or with dry crumbs, not wet batter. Ovens can run hot or cold, so I recommend relying more on how your cake looks and less on time.
- Remove cake from oven and allow to cool completely in the pan on a wire cooling rack.
Frosting
- In a large bowl, add room temperature cream cheese and butter and beat with a hand mixer (or stand mixer) until creamy, about 1 minute.
- Add vanilla extract and salt and mix until incorporated.
- Add confectioner's sugar, half at a time, and mix on low speed until sugar is incorporated. Switch to high speed and beat until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.
- Spread frosting in an even layer onto cooled cake. Optionally, add sprinkles or lemon zest as a garnish before frosting crusts.
Equipment Recommendations
Notes
- Servings: Sheet cake can be sliced to serve 24 guests or more. To make a layer cake, check out my full post for detailed instructions: lemon layer cake
- Making substitutions: Baking is an exact science. I do not recommend substituting any ingredients. The butter, milk, eggs, and sugar keep your cake moist - substituting any of these ingredients with a lower fat alternative can change the texture and make your cake dry.
- Storage: Frosted cake will keep in a sealed container at room temperature for 2 hours, in the refrigerator for 2-3 days, or frozen for up to 2 months. If refrigerating or freezing unfrosted cake, wrap tightly in plastic and place in a tightly sealed container. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator, then bring to room temperature for an hour before serving.
- Refrigerating cream cheese frosting: Cream cheese frosting needs to be refrigerated if it sits out for longer than 2 hours. Store frosted baked goods in the refrigerator in a tightly sealed container. Remove and bring to room temperature 1 hour before serving.
- More tips: Be sure to check out my 10 tips for baking cake, based on reader comments and questions!
How long is bake time if using two round pans? Thanks
Hi Kelly, you can find all the details on making this into a two layer round cake in my post here: https://thetoastykitchen.com/lemon-layer-cake/
Taken from that post:
Two 9 inch round cake pans: 24-27 minutes
Two 8 inch round cake pans: 26-30 minutes