Italian Fresh Cream Lemon Cake
This Italian Lemon Cake, is made with fresh Cream and lemons. It makes a tasty breakfast or snack cake. Dress it up with some fresh fruit and whipped cream to make the perfect dessert. A fast, easy and delicious Lemon Cake recipe.
This is one of the first Italian cakes that I ever made and still one of the Italian’s favorites. It’s simple and with a dusting of powdered sugar it’s exactly how he likes it!
Recipe Ingredients
- Flour – all purpose or cake/pastry flour
- Baking powder
- Salt – if you use unsalted butter then add a bit more salt
- Butter – softened
- Eggs – room temperature
- Egg yolk – room temperature
- Sugar – powdered, icing or also known as confectioners’ sugar
- Cream – heavy, whole or whipping cream with at least 30% fat
- Lemon – lemon zest
- Lemon juice – fresh lemon juice is best
- Vanilla – vanilla extract or lemon flavor if you prefer
How to make homemade Cake/Pastry flour
For every cup of all purpose flour, remove two tablespoons and replace with two tablespoons of corn starch. Be sure to sift the flour and cornstarch together a couple of times, this way it is sure to be properly combined and lump free.
Cake flour in cakes will give you a very tender texture and fine crumb, it will also help the cake to rise.
Why use room temperature ingredients?
When at room temperature, eggs, butter, and other dairy ingredients form an emulsion which traps air. While baking in the oven, that trapped air expands and produces a fluffy baked good.
So be sure to remove the ingredients from the fridge 45-60 minutes before baking, sooner if you have a cool house.
How to Make an Easy Lemon Cake
In a medium bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt.
Melt the butter in a small pot or microwave, and let the butter cool.
In a large mixing bowl on medium speed or the bowl of a stand mixer using the paddle attachment, beat the eggs, yolk and sugar until light and fluffy, approximately 2-3 minutes.
With a spatula gently fold 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.
Pour the cake batter into the prepared bundt pan and bake in the pre-heated oven for approximately 35 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean or or a few crumbs attached.
Let the cake cool a bit in the pan then move to a wire rack to cool completely. Dust with powdered/icing sugar, before serving. This cake would also be delicious served with some whipped cream and fresh blueberries!
How do you prevent your bundt cake from sticking to the pan?
Grease the pan all over, into the crevices, and then dust with flour. Dump out any excess flour. This should allow the pan to release the cake nicely when it is turned over.
How high should you fill a bundt pan?
You should leave a few inches from the top to allow for rising, which is about ⅔ full.
What does an Italian cake taste like?
I find Italian cakes to be less sweet than traditional North American cakes, the crumb is more compact and sometimes not as moist. That’s why they make the best breakfast or snack cakes to be enjoyed with a cappuccino or an afternoon tea.
This cake has the same texture as my Easy Yogurt Cake it is actually quite similar to a Pound Cake.
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.
Different ways to serve the Fresh Cream Lemon Cake
If you prefer to make the cake in a 9 inch cake pan, you could slice it through the centre to make it into a layer cake. Fill it with a simple Italian Pastry Cream , or even a Lemon Curd, or a simple whipped cream filling or even topping with some fresh berries, it would make a simple but perfect after dinner dessert.
You could even add a simple Powdered Sugar Glaze or lemon glaze rather than a dusting of powdered sugar. I don’t think I would use a buttercream frosting or a lemon cream cheese frosting as I think they could be too overpowering for this cake. But it’s up to you.
How to store a Homemade Cake
The cake should be stored in an airtight container or a covered cake dish. It will keep at room temperature for approximately 3-4 days.
The cake can also be frozen. Wrap the cooled cake (or slice the cake and freeze the slices individually), tightly in plastic and place in a freezer safe bag or container. It will keep for up to three months in the freezer.
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, Italian Lemon Sorbet.
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!
Italian Fresh Cream Lemon Cake
Ingredients
- 2 cups + 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour or cake/pastry flour (258 grams total)
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- pinch teaspoon salt
- 7 tablespoons butter (melted)
- 3 large eggs room temperature
- 1 large yolk room temperature
- 1 3/4 cups icing/powdered sugar
- 2/3 cup whole/heavy or whipping cream room temperature (at least 30% fat content)
- 1 zest of one lemon
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 tablespoons lemon juice fresh
For room temperature remove the ingredients from the fridge approximately 45-60 minutes before using.
TOPPING
- 2-3 tablespoons icing / powdered sugar
Instructions
- Pre-heat oven to 350F (180C). Lightly grease and flour a 9 1/2 inch bundt cake pan (24 cm) (I'm sure a 9 inch/23 cm round cake pan would work).
- In a medium bowl whisk together flour, baking powder and salt set aside.
- Melt the butter in a small pot or microwave, and let the butter cool.
- In a large mixing bowl on medium speed or the bowl of a stand mixer using the paddle attachment, beat the eggs, yolk and sugar until light and fluffy, approximately 2-3 minutes.
- With a spatula gently fold 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.
- Pour the cake batter into the prepared bundt pan and bake for approximately 35-40 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean or or a few crumbs attached.
- Let the cake cool 15-20 minutes in the pan then move to a wire rack to cool completely. Dust with powdered/icing sugar, before serving. This cake would also be delicious served with some whipped cream and fresh blueberries!
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Republished from December 24, 2015.
.
Would half & half work if don’t have heavy cream?
Hi Kathleen, that should work, let me know how it goes. Take care.
Hi
Sorry I don’t see where in the recipe you add heavy cream. Is it for decoration??
Hi Hilda, it’s #5 in the instructions, you have to add it alternating with the flour mixture into the beaten egg mixture.
The Italian lemon fresh cream cake
Can I substitute gf flour and just regular table cream
Hi Marlene, I have never made it with gluten free flour so I can’t guarantee what the outcome will be. And table cream does not have enough fat in it for the recipe. Sorry.
After baking, I usually cool a cake in the bundt pan for 10 minutes, then turn it out on a plate to cool completely. This step isn’t mentioned in the recipe. Do you advise this, or to leave the cake in the bundt pan to cool completely?
Hi Emily I cool the cake completely in the pan.
How would you make an orange or any other flavor version?
Hi Patti, to substitute the orange just use the same measurements but with orange.
What has been the experience of people who baked this recipe In a 9″ round pan? A 9″ round pan should have about 8 cups volume. A 9″ bundt pan should have about 9 cups volume. Has it spilled over?
Hi Steve, I think it should be fine, put a cookie sheet on the bottom of the oven just in case.
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!
Hi Susan, thanks so much and so glad you enjoyed. Have a great day.
Hi! This cake sounds lovely. What type of flour did you use? Thank you.
Hi Elaine, I used regular all purpose flour. Hope you enjoy it.
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!
Hi Mary, so glad you enjoy the cake, it’s one of my husband’s favourites. Have a great week.
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
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.
Im thinking that as well. I might keep trying different creams and maybe higher temp, or longer bake. i really wan to get this to work. Thank you 🙂
Hi Katie, let me know when you are successful. Good luck. 🙂
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.
Hi Santiea so glad it worked for you and thanks for sharing. Happy New Year.
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.
Hi Lance, thanks for the info. Have a great Sunday.
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.
Hi Jo, thanks so much, my husband exactly, he loves to dunk this cake in his coffee or have a slice in the afternoon with a cup of tea. 🙂
So I mix the eggs with the powdered sugar? I don’t see any other sugar option.
Hi Nina, yes you do. Icing sugar is used in this cake rather than granulated sugar.
How long will this sit on counter and still be good if it isn’t eaten up in one day?
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. 🙂
Hi there.
Can I bake this cake in a round 9 inch pan?
Thank you
Hi Rosalie, I’m sure you could. I hope you enjoy it!
Made this cake for easter! Loved the taste but was quite dry. What can be done to have a little more moist cake? Any ideas? Thanks
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. 🙂
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.
Hi Carol, thanks so much, Italian Cakes tend to be on the drier side, that’s why they serve them for breakfast or snack with coffee or tea.