An Italian in my Kitchen

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Italian Fresh Cream Lemon Cake

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Italian Fresh Cream Lemon Cake, made with fresh Cream.  The Perfect Breakfast or Snack Cake.  A fast, easy and Delicious Lemon Cake.

lemon cake on a white board sprinkled with powdered sugarItalian Fresh Cream Lemon Cake

With Christmas right at our doorsteps. I hope you have had fun baking and cooking and that almost everything is done,  from shopping to wrapping.  

(Since I have updated this recipe from 3 years ago, I can tell you no I haven’t even started shopping let alone wrapping).

And now you can put up your feet at least for an hour or two and relax!  

fresh cream lemon cake batter in a bundt pan before and after baked

Make yourself a coffee or tea and enjoy the holidays, and of course enjoy a slice of this amazing Italian Fresh Cream Lemon Cake.  

And making this cake again it’s still delicious every time I make it. And of course the Italian reminds me once again that this is his favourite cake!

a piece cut of fresh cream lemon cake

Wishing you my dear readers and friends a very Happy and Merry Christmas, to you and your family. And thank you so much for continuing to follow An Italian in my Kitchen.

To go along with that coffee or tea I thought I would offer you a piece of this easy Lemon Cake to give you a little energy during this hectic holiday season. 

How to Make an Easy Lemon Cake

  • Melt butter and let cool completely.
  • In a medium bowl whisk together flour,baking powder and salt
  • In a large bowl beat on medium speed beat eggs and sugar until light and fluffy.
  • Fold in the flour mixture alternately with the cream into the creamed egg and sugar until completely combined.
  • Gently fold in the zest, vanilla, melted butter and lemon juice.
  • Pour into prepared pan and bake for approximately 35-40 minutes.
  • Let cool, then dust with powdered/icing sugar. Enjoy!

fresh cream lemon cake without powdered sugar

Italian cake is a much more compact and a less moist cake than we are used to in North America, although this cake is one of the most moist Italian cakes I have tried.  

In fact it has the same texture as my Easy Yogurt Cake it is actually quite similar to a Pound Cake. That’s why it makes the perfect Breakfast / Brunch / Snack Cake.

Italian Fresh Cream Lemon Cake

lemon cake on a white board sprinkled with powdered sugar

Italians don’t usually serve cake for dessert.  Unless of course they make a cake such as a Tiramisu or a Fancy Cake for a birthday.

In fact dessert isn’t very common.  They prefer to serve fruit or even a fresh fruit salad.

This type of Easy Lemon Cake is usually served at breakfast or as a treat when someone is coming for coffee or tea, or as I served it, as a  delicious Christmas morning cake.

Or slice it in the middle and add a simple filling such as an Italian Pastry Cream ,  it would make a simple but perfect after dinner dessert,  and don’t forget to finish it up with a simple Powdered Sugar Glaze.  Delicious.

 Lemon Cake

fresh cream lemon cake on a white background

I love lemons, I think it is one of the best citrus fruits for baking. Lemon bread, Lemon Cheesecake or one of my all time favourites, sorbet. I will learn to make the best ever Italian sorbet this year!

And I did make a Lemon Sorbet, just the way my youngest daughter and I like it.

Italian Fresh Cream Lemon Cake is fast and really tasty, all it needs is a little dusting of icing sugar/powdered sugar and it is perfect. Enjoy! And Happy Holidays.

up close fresh cream lemon cake slice

Be sure to watch the video!

4.65 from 31 votes
fresh cream lemon cake on a white background
Print
Italian Fresh Cream Lemon Cake
Prep Time
15 mins
Cook Time
45 mins
Total Time
1 hr
 

An easy simple Italian Cake, the perfect breakfast or snack cake.

Course: Dessert
Cuisine: Italian
Keyword: easy homemade lemon cake, Italian Lemon cake dessert
Servings: 10 people
Calories: 307 kcal
Author: Rosemary Molloy / An Italian in my Kitchen
Ingredients
  • 7 tablespoons butter (melted)
  • 2 cups + 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • pinch teaspoon salt
  • 3 whole eggs (large)
  • 1 egg yolk (large)
  • 1 3/4 cups icing/powdered sugar
  • 2/3 cup whole/heavy or whipping cream
  • 1 zest of one lemon
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1 tablespoons lemon juice
TOPPING
  • 2-3 tablespoons icing / powdered sugar
US Customary - Metric
Instructions

  1. Pre-heat oven to 350° (180° celsius). Lightly grease and flour a 9 1/2 inch bundt cake pan (24 cm) (I'm sure a 9 inch round cake pan would work)

  2. Melt butter and let cool completely.

  3. In a medium bowl whisk together flour,baking powder and salt set aside.

  4. In a large bowl beat on medium speed eggs and sugar until light and fluffy,

  5. Gently fold with a spatula the flour mixture, alternating with the cream into the egg mixture, keep folding until mixture is completely combined, then gently fold in the zest, vanilla ,melted butter and lemon juice.

  6. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for approximately 35-40 minutes. Let cool completely, then dust with powdered/icing sugar. Enjoy!

Recipe Video

Nutrition Facts
Italian Fresh Cream Lemon Cake
Amount Per Serving
Calories 307 Calories from Fat 126
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 14g 22%
Saturated Fat 8g 40%
Cholesterol 45mg 15%
Sodium 78mg 3%
Potassium 119mg 3%
Total Carbohydrates 42g 14%
Sugars 22g
Protein 3g 6%
Vitamin A 9.6%
Vitamin C 1.8%
Calcium 5.1%
Iron 6.8%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Republished from December 24, 2015.

Italian Fresh Cream Lemon Cake recipe,an easy made from scratch, the perfect homemade breakfast, snack cake. An Italian sweet cake. Enjoy!  #coffeecake #lemoncake #breakfast #italiandessert #dessert          
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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. This cake was a perfect ending to my
    family dinner yesterday. I do have to
    admit I used 1 1/2 tsp. lemon juice in
    the egg & sugar mixture because
    I didn’t have a real lemon and it turned
    out fabulous!

    Reply

  2. Hi Rosemary
    Just thought I would let you know how much I love this recipe! It is now my go to recipe whenever I have lemons in the house i need to use up. And what better way than to make this lovely cake! Always comes out perfect and everyone always asks how I made it. Thank you for sharing!

    Reply

  3. Hi! I would love some help with this recipe. I have now made it 3 times and I can’t get it to fully bake. This last time I bakednit for 68min and it still wasn’t fully baked. My batter is also every elastic when putting it into the pan. It doesn’t flow like your video. I used the Namaste gluten free flour. I’m wondering if using heavy cream is the issue. Would live your input cause I know it tastes good if I could get it to bake. Thank you

    Reply

    • Hi Katie, I have never made this cake with gluten free flour so I don’t know how it reacts to the other ingredients, so I am thinking it is more the flour than the cream.

      Reply

    • I made this recipe using Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free Flour………perfect. Taste is awesome. I was careful not to over fold in my dry ingredints. Family didn’t even know it was GF until they saw me eating it.

      Reply

    • Try King Arthur Gluten Free Flour, I found it to be most like Regular flour, I’ve never had an issue substituting a recipe with it.

      I’m going to make it today, with regular flour and replace the lemon with Orange and the extract I’ll use orange instead of vanilla.

      Reply

  4. I really do have to make this cake Rosemary, you’ve made it look so beautiful and Hungry Hubby would love it. He loves a “plain” cake i.e. one with no fillings or frostings.

    Reply

    • Hi Lisa, depends on how warm your house is, I have a pretty cool house and I can leave it out for 3 or 4 days covered. If your house is not so cool maybe the fridge would be best. 🙂

      Reply

    • Hi Mary, that is an Italian cake, most Italian cakes are dry that’s why they are eaten for breakfast or snack and with a coffee or tea. I like to think that is how the Tiramisu got started, an Italian sponge cake is even drier, so to moisten it up it was drizzled with coffee and filled with cream. So what you could do is either serve it for Breakfast with a cafe latte or make a filling for it. Or maybe bake it a little time. Hope that helps. Glad you liked the taste. 🙂

      Reply

  9. I do a lot of bread baking and prefer weight measures rather than volume, so really appreciated having those in the recipe. Came out a bit dry and dark after 42 minutes, but I think it was because I used a nonstick (dark) Bundt pan. Next time I will check internal temp at 35 minutes or so or use a different pan. Love the taste and the simplicity of this recipe.

    Reply

  10. Just came across your blog and love it!!! I may try this cake for Easter this year , I have a large Italian family who’s in love with ? lemon!!

    Reply

  11. Well, I’ve made this cake four times now, and it has come out perfectly each time. What a delicious recipe this is! I’ve made it for two friends’ birthdays, and each of them was delighted with it as well (along with their partners and my partner). Thank you so much

    Reply

  12. Tasty! I made this 2x this week. Instead of using the zest of 1 lemon, I used the zest of 2 Meyer lemons (they are smaller). I steeped the zest in the warm melted butter instead of adding it in at the end. I did this because I read people saying in the comments that they didn’t get enough lemon flavor so I googled “how to add more lemon taste to baked goods”. This seemed like a VERY easy tip to follow considering you’re supposed to melt the butter anyway. I was happy with the lemon flavor but I didn’t make it first as directed so I have nothing to compare it to, not sure it made a difference! I have a new convection oven and it’s making estimating baking time a little more difficult. After my first attempt I dropped the temp by 25 degrees and cooked for 7 less minutes for optimal cake goodness. Just an FYI to other new convection oven bakers.

    Reply

  13. Can this be baked in 2 loaf pans? Since it is only for me, I would need to freeze 1/2 of it so loafs make more sense. How would this affect the baking time? I am not much of a baker either. Thanks for the help?

    Reply

  18. Just put the cake in the oven. It came out kinda thick when i put it in the pan. Hope it comes out ok. Looks so yummy. Husbands Italian Granny use to make this for him, so I thought I would try to make it for him. Fingers crossed.

    Reply

  19. Made this today and it is a lovely cake. I wish it had more of a lemony punch, so next time I will add lemon extract. I’m currently going to search for a lemony icing to pair the cake with. Thanks for sharing!

    Reply

  20. Made this as a birthday cake for my Mom’s birthday 1/26/17. I counteracted the dryness by drizzling it with the lemon buttercream frosting (but I used 1 stick of butter & 8 oz cream cheese). My lemon was quite large so lots of zest in cake & lots of lemon juice in icing. Icing was a little runny but great for drizzling. It turned out great. Will definitely make it again but may take it out of the oven 5-10 minutes earlier. Would like to try this with the lemon curd recipe.

    Reply

  22. Hi – Can you make this with Half and Half Cream? I don’t have other items in house and don’t want to run out today. Thanks.

    Reply

    • Hi Rosemary,

      Cake was good! I made it with Land Lakes Half and Half and Namaste Gluten Free Perfect Flour Blend. Also, I used 1 stick ( 8 tablespoons) of Keller Salted Butter because reviews said cake was a little dry. I baked in a tube pan. Will definitely make it again. I have my mom’s butter pound cake recipe (which is excellent) but wanted to try something different. Thanks.

      Reply

      • Hi Linda, sounds great, so glad you liked it. Italian cakes are usually dry, believe me I have had my share of dry Italian Cakes and this one is moist compared to some of them. 🙂 Have a great weekend.

        Reply

  23. I must have done something wrong; I was thinking this would be a really moist cake but it is dry. Maybe I over cooked it but I took it out at 40 minutes.

    Reply

    • Hi you have to remember that Italian cakes are more on the dry side, Italians like to eat their cakes very plain and with a cup of tea or with a cafe latte in the morning. It could also be that it was baked a little too much.

      Reply

    • Hello the lemon cake calls for 1 3/4 cup powdered sugar . Is that all for dusting or is it a ingredient in the cake ? I do not see where to use it

      Reply

        • Hello
          I am confused also by the powered sugar. In the recipe it does Not say anything about the powder sugar in the ingrediant I see it just for dusting. In the video it shows the powder sugar for dusting. Not sure if I’m miss reading your recipe. I have it baking now!

          Reply

          • Hi Lori, I’m sorry I am really confused, in the ingredients it states 1 3/4 cups icing/powdered sugar (because some people call it icing sugar and some people call it powdered sugar), and then in the directions it says “In a large bowl beat on medium speed eggs and sugar until light and fluffy” meaning icing/powdered sugar. So I don’t know what you mean. thanks. Let me know.

          • Oh do I feel like a nut!! Where it says 1/34 cup powdered sugar, I did not put P in front of the sugar, so I used regular sugar!! It did come out a tad dry but not bad at all!! I will try it again!!
            Thank you so much for you reply!!

          • Hi Lori, haha no problem. Remember Italian Cakes are drier, that’s why they are usually served at breakfast with a cafe latte or in the afternoon with coffee. This one I find not nearly as dry as some that I have eaten here. You might like to serve it with some fresh fruit and whipped cream. Let me know.

    • Here’s a little hint for any cake – after it comes out of the oven “baste” with a simple syrup – or a flavored syrup – to have a wonderfully moist cake

      Reply

  25. This was a wonderful recipe. My mother is from Florence, Italy and she always made cakes without frostings. So, I like these plain type of tea/coffee cakes. I have been looking for a heavier pound cake like this. It’s perfect. Now, I want to try your orange cake. Thank you.

    Reply

    • Thanks MG so glad you like it, and your mother is from one of the most beautiful cities in Italy. You might want to try the Yogurt Cake too, that’s my eldest daughter’s favourite. Have a great week.

      Reply

      • My mother-in-law is from the Naples area, and she to makes a similar cake, more like a sponge. This is the closest I will ever come to her cake and she loved it, we all did. It looks exactly as yours. Thanks for sharing. Can’t wait to try other recipes. Grazie!

        Reply

  27. This cake is just what it claims to be and needs the help of some applied apricot jam or dunking in the coffee. Not exciting. I made it for a “girlie” tea party. It didn’t exactly bomb but no-one asked for the recipe. (UK)

    Reply

  28. Just made this cake and it didn’t disappoint! Fast, easy and I just about had everything at home. It is a moist lemony pound like cake. Will go great with a cup of tea! I can see adding fresh berries and cream in the summer to make it a dessert. A keeper! I’ve shared the recipe on my Facebook page!

    Reply

  29. I whipped this cake up in a matter of minutes. It was delicious. Everyone loved it, especially my dog Max, he grabbed a piece right off my plate. It was light and lemony. I would definitely make this again. Thanks for sharing it.

    Reply

  32. I’ve made this cake twice in the past two weeks. My family loves it for breakfast. It’s super easy, super quick and super delicious!

    Reply

  33. I just made this and it is amazing! I am using it as the cake in a strawberry trifle for a dinner party tomorrow night. I think it’s going to be a hit!

    Reply

  34. Hello – I actually just made this cake and took it out of the oven a few minutes ago. A couple of questions: Did you use a flute pan in the pic?
    How long should it cool in the pan before removing it to a rack?
    What makes this specifically Italian?

    I can’t wait to taste it as soon as it cools enough -mine however doesn’t look as pretty on top as yours – having w/iced tea because it’s way too hot today for hot tea.

    Thanks for the recipe!

    Reply

    • Hi Michelle, I hope you enjoyed the cake, I actually used a tube pan, I let it cool to the touch and then removed it. What makes it an Italian cake is the fact that is quite plain and dusted with a little Powdered sugar, no frostings or extras. Perfect with a cup of tea.

      Reply

    • Hi Susy, to tell you the truth I don’t think I would, because icing sugar is a lot finer than caster sugar. But if you feel like trying it give it a try, why not half the recipe to see and let me know if you do. Have a great weekend.

      Reply

  39. I made this beautiful cake …its in the oven! I was aittle confused with how you wanted to alternate the items (l”m not good at cooking). Smells great!! Can’t wait!

    Reply

  40. I was so excited to find this recipe!! My Girl Scout troop picked Italy for our annual World Thinking Day country and I was looking for an easy food my 10 year old GS could make! This fits the bill. We will be making it on Saturday. I’ll let you know how it goes!

    Reply

  41. I have a rather silly question that I may have missed the answer to. Is the additional tablespoon of flour to be used for dusting the pan or is it to go into the cake batter? Thank you! I’m excited to make this!

    Reply

  43. Hi Rosemary!

    I made this cake yesterday and enjoyed it today with blackberry gelato. The texture of the cake came out a bit different than I expected, but I found it to be absolutely delicious. The order of mixing the ingredients was interesting- it was almost like a cookie dough at first then I added the butter and bam- cake mixture.

    I will certainly make this recipe again! I think I will add in some lemon extract, as people have mentioned before, for a more lemon-y flavor.

    Thanks again for a great recipe!

    Reply

  44. I’m making this right now for Easter tomorrow. There is no mention what you do with the cream. Do you put it in with the egg / sugar mixture initially. Thanks for clarifying. It’s in the oven-hope it turns out!

    Reply

    • Hi Jamie, if you look on the instructions #5 I wrote “In a medium bowl whisk together flour,baking powder and salt, then alternating with the cream gently fold into egg mixture with a spatula”, let me know how it turns out. Hope you enjoy it! Happy Easter.

      Reply

  45. I made this yesterday for a family gathering. It was delicious and fresh tasting! Very much like what I (as an American) think of as a scone. Perfect for tea/coffee, with a great crumbly texture! Thanks for the recipe

    Reply

  46. I must try this now! Butter, I’m assuming, is salted? And thanks a million times for the metric measurements! Our silly American cups and such aren’t very accurate, and using weights also saves on dirty dishes.

    Reply

    • Hi Cheryl, let me know how you like it. Yes salted butter, I think I have seen unsalted butter twice here! And yes metric is so much more accurate. The less dirty dishes the better. 🙂

      Reply

  47. Hi,
    I made this cake last week and brought it to work and everyone raved about it. It was gone in less than 2 hours. I added 1/2 a teaspoon of lemon juice in the batter and followed the rest of the recipe. I will definitely make it again! Thanks for the recipe!

    Reply

  48. Hi , I’m really like the recipes , but there is one point I don’t understand , is it the point 5 . Do you add the flour mixture and the cream together ! Then add in the egg mixture
    Or what ?
    Thank you ❤️????

    Reply

    • Hi Nouf, what you do is alternating with the flour mixture and the cream (start with the flour mixture) gently fold it into the egg mixture, then fold in the peel, vanilla and melted butter. Hope that helps. Have a great Sunday. 🙂

      Reply

  51. I feel like the lemon flavor in this must be very suttle, by just using some zest? I really love lemon I hope it shows thru

    Reply

    • Hi Joyce, they say that “Lemon juice adds both lemon flavor and sourness whereas the zest only adds the lemon flavor”, remember when you are adding juice you are also adding extra liquid. And you want to be careful with adding juice to this recipe because you don’t want to curdle the cream, one reader mentioned adding lemon extract instead of vanilla, I think I would go with that, or add the zest to 1 1/2 lemons instead of one. Also there is more lemon flavour in the zest than in the juice, you decide, and I would love to know how it comes out.

      Reply

  53. I read in a different comment, that you could substitute milk for heavy cream. Could you also substitute half and half for the heavy cream? This sounds delicious!

    Reply

    • Hi M, if you substitute milk then you have to add extra butter, but I think a substitute of 1 for 1, half and half for heavy cream would work. Let me know how it comes out.

      Reply

  56. Curious if one might use lemon extract rather than vanilla extract to enhance the lemon flavor. I love lemon but wondered if zest of one lemon gives it enough “lemon” taste. Looks wonderful! Thanks!

    Reply

    • Hi Sandy, thanks, for me the lemon taste was good, but if you prefer a stronger taste then by all means try using the extract. But did you know that the stronger lemon taste is in the zest and not the juice. I discovered that not too long ago. Have a great day.

      Reply

  57. I’m totally fine with having cake for breakfast! The Italians know what they’re doing! Love this recipe and I always have way too many lemons around so I need to make a cake! 🙂

    Reply

  59. How lovely, I will take a Lemon Cake over a Chocolate cake every day of the week and twice on a Sunday, this one looks like I may have to break out my little used baking boots 😀

    Reply

  63. I cannot believe that I’ve yet to make this recipe. Every single time I see it, I want a piece! I’m hosting a shower soon, maybe I’ll make it for that 🙂

    Reply

  66. I love how beautiful this cake is, and it sounds fabulous. In the article you say that Italian cakes are more compact and less moist. Would you say this cake is sort of dry & dense? What would you compare the texture to? I only ask because if it’s not moist enough I will be the only one that eats it…the last thing I need is to eat the better part of an entire cake all by myself, haha.
    Thanks for the share

    Reply

    • Hi Wendi, thanks, no I wouldn’t say this is dry, I would compare it to a pound cake except maybe a bit lighter. I’m sure they will like it. Hope that helps, or you could freeze half (let cool completely, wrap first in plastic then foil before freezing, to thaw unwrap and let thaw at room temperature for about 30 minutes) that way you aren’t technically eating a whole cake. Have a great week.

      Reply

  67. Love your website. Want to make your Italian Fresh Cream Lemon Cake but don’t have any cream in the house. Can I use 2% milk?

    Reply

    • Hi Marzia, thanks so much, I discovered that in order to substitute milk for the cream, instead of 2/3 cup cream you can use 7 tablespoons milk and 3 1/2 tablespoons butter melted (stir them together) and add in place of the cream. If you are using unsalted butter, add 1/4 teaspoon of salt instead of 1/2. Should work let me know. Hope that helps.

      Reply

  69. Hi Rosemary,
    I’m from Australia and would like to know with the flour is it Plain Flour or Self Raising Flour?
    Would love to try to make this cake as it looks very inviting.
    Regards
    Narelle

    Reply

    • Hi Narelle, thanks, it is plain flour (or all purpose flour). Just to let you know, when I write flour it’s always plain/all purpose. Hope that helps, have a great Sunday.

      Reply

  71. Looks delicious. Cannot wait to try the recipe. Can I please confirm if this recipe uses “caster” sugar or icing sugar to beat with the eggs? I am in Australia and I usually use caster sugar not the sugar you use to dust the tops of cake or use to make icing.

    Reply

  77. Oh My Gosh this looks yummy! I adore lemon pound cake and this sounds like it’s taken to a whole new level!

    I’m visiting from My Turn For Fun’s Freedom Fridays Blog Hope.

    I would love to invite you to join us and share each week at Brag About It link party on VMG206 (Mondays at Midnight).
    ~ Megin of VMG206

    Reply

  84. I just love anything with lemon in it. Can’t wait to make this. Have already printed the recipe. I wish you and your family a very Merry Christmas.

    Reply

    • Made this this morning for my husbands birthday. He really likes it, has been dunking it in his coffee all is day. I thought it would be moisture, maybe I did not miss the eggs long enough. This is a make again.

      Reply

      • Hi Jan, so glad he liked it. Italian cakes aren’t as moist as the North American cakes that we usually make and eat that’s why they are usually served with tea or coffee, or in the morning with a cafe latte, and just like your husband is doing! 🙂

        Reply

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