Lemon Coffee Cake - Celebrating Sweets

Published: Feb 22, 2022 · Modified: Jan 10, 2023 by Allison · 20 Comments

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This soft and tender lemon cake is topped with a buttery crumb topping and a sweet and tart lemon icing. A touch of almond extract works wonderfully with the lemon, making this a flavorful cake that’s delicious any time of day.

It’s citrus season here in the desert. Pretty much everyone I know has an abundance of lemons or oranges, so don’t be surprised if you see several citrus recipes in the weeks ahead. I’ve already made our White Cake Recipe (with a hint of lemon) and Lemon Blueberry Bread. Now I revamped this Lemon Almond Coffee Cake from waaaaay back in the archives. It’s better than ever!

Ready for a slice of cake that tastes like buttery sunshine? Here it is! This easy homemade coffee cake is bursting with the flavor of fresh lemon and a touch of almond. If you still have a few extra lemons, try our Lemon White Chocolate Cookies, Lemon Olive Oil Cake, or Lemon Blueberry Bars.

This cake is

• Soft and moist
• Made with basic ingredients
• Packed with fresh lemon flavor
• Perfect for breakfast, snacking, or dessert
• Delicious with coffee or tea
• A great way to use up extra lemons

Recipe overview

This recipe is made up of three components: cake, crumb topping, icing.

Cake: This easy lemon cake comes together in minutes. Beat sugar, oil, lemon zest, eggs, almond extract, and lemon juice. Alternate adding the dry ingredients with the sour cream until well combined. Pour the batter into a greased 9×9 square baking pan.

Crumb topping: Combine flour, sugar, lemon zest, and cold butter. Stir in sliced almonds. Add the crumb topping onto the cake before baking.

Icing: Once the cake has baked and cooled add a simple lemon icing made from lemon juice, powdered sugar, and almond extract.

Recipe tips

You’ll need 4 medium/large lemons for this recipe.

When grating the lemon use a fine microplane zester/grater and only remove the yellow zest, not the white pith.

Don’t have sour cream? Try one of these Sour Cream Substitutes.

More lemon recipes

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Recipe

Lemon Coffee Cake

A soft and tender lemon cake topped with a buttery crumb topping and a sweet and tart lemon icing. The perfect accompaniment to a cup of coffee or tea.

4.93 from 14 votes

Course: Breakfast, Dessert

Cuisine: American

Prep Time: 25 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes minutes

Total Time: 55 minutes minutes

Servings: 12

Calories: 342kcal

Ingredients

Crumb topping:

Instructions

Crumb topping:

• Combine flour sugar, and lemon zest. Add the cold butter and work it into the dry ingredients (using a pastry cutter or your fingers) until the pieces of butter are pea sized or smaller. Stir in the sliced almonds. Place in the refrigerator while you proceed with the cake.

Cake:

• Preheat oven to 350°F with a rack in the center of the oven.

• Combine flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.

• Using a hand mixer or stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat sugar, lemon zest, oil, eggs, almond extract, and lemon juice until fully combined. Beat in half of the dry ingredients until combined, followed by the sour cream, then the remaining dry ingredients.

• Pour the cake batter into a greased 9×9 square baking pan and smooth into an even layer. Remove the crumb topping from the fridge and sprinkle it over the top. Bake for 30-35 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Place the pan on a wire rack to cool completely. Once cool, proceed with the icing.

Notes

Icing: When made with lemon juice this icing has a very bright and tart lemon flavor. My family loves it! If you’d prefer a more mild icing you can swap the lemon juice for milk.

Nutrition

Calories: 342kcal | Carbohydrates: 45g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 17g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 8g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 42mg | Sodium: 101mg | Potassium: 121mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 28g | Vitamin A: 217IU | Vitamin C: 5mg | Calcium: 48mg | Iron: 1mg

Nutritional Information is an estimate based on third-party calculations and may vary based on products used and serving sizes.

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