Easy Lemon "Naked" Cake with Vanilla Buttercream
This six inch lemon layer cake is super easy to make. It is an oil based cake with a sponge cake texture that can easily be modified for different flavor combinations (see notes). I've also included instructions on how to frost this cake in the rustic, semi-naked style.
Servings: 8 people
Ingredients
For the Lemon Sponge Cake
- 1 cup sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1/2 cup flavorless oil, such as corn or canola
- 1/2 cup lemon juice
- 1/2 tsp almond extract or other extract
- 1/2 tsp orange blossom water or other extract
- 1 cup flour
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 1/4 tsp baking soda
For Vanilla Buttercream
- 1 cup butter two sticks, softened
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract or other extract
- 2 tbsp heavy cream or whole milk
Instructions
To Bake the Lemon Sponge Cake
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and line three 6" round cake tins (or one 8" round cake pan or 12 cupcakes)
- Beat eggs and sugar until batter is pale, fluffy, and holds its shape in ribbons just slightly when dripping off the beater.
- Beat in oil until completely homogenous.
- In a separate bowl, mix citrus juice and extract together.
- In another bowl, mix dry ingredients together until well combined (flour, baking soda, salt).
- Alternate adding citrus liquid and dry ingredients into your batter, mixing or folding very gently to preserve the air bubbles.
- Pour evenly into the cake pans. Batter will be fairly thin.
- Bake in preheated oven for 18-20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean and the cake is springy to the touch. Allow to cool completely before frosting.
For the Vanilla Buttercream and Semi-Naked Frosting Style
- Beat the softened butter using a mixer; if using a stand mixer, use the paddle attachment.
- Stop mixing to add in the powdered sugar (lest you have a sugar explosion).
- Beat again until ingredients are fully incorporated. Then add in extract and milk or cream.
- Scrape down the sides of the bowl and resume beating until the buttercream has doubled in volume.
- To frost the lemon cake in a semi-naked style, I recommend using a 6" cake board, a turntable, and an offset spatula. Place the cake board on top of the turntable.
- Add a smear of buttercream on the cakeboard and place one layer of cake on top. Add about 1/3-1/2 cup frosting on top of that layer. Smooth out with the offset spatula, turning the cake as needed to get a flat surface.
- Repeat with the other two layers of cake.
- You should now have three layers of cake with a 1/4-1/2 inch layer of frosting on top of each one. Using the offset spatula, smooth any excess frosting sticking out from in between your layers along the sides of the cake.
- Holding your spatula flat against the side of the cake with one hand, slowly spin the turntable with the other hand in order to get a smooth surface.
- If there are any spots of cake along the sides that look too rough, simply add smears of frosting and repeat the previous step until the sides are smooth. Alternatively, you could also use a bench scraper instead of an offset spatula to smooth the sides.
- Finish decorations to your liking! I used a pile of blueberries on top and a few sprigs of rosemary on the bottom.
- This cake stays good covered at room temperature. If you have a lot of exposed cake that is not covered in frosting, I recommend putting your cake in the fridge to let the frosting crust. Then press plastic wrap directly on top of your cake to prevent it from drying out.
Notes
-If you don't have almond extract or orange blossom water, you can substitute any other extract of choice. Recommended flavors included vanilla or elderflower.
-Similarly, you can substitute any other extract for the vanilla in the buttercream.
-Olive oil can be substituted for the flavorless oil for a more warm depth of flavor.
-This recipe makes three 6" cake layers, one 8" round cake layer, or 12 cupcakes. For cupcakes, reduce baking time to 15-18 minutes.
-Watch carefully: this cake burns easily!