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.
BAKE SMARTER, NOT HARDER
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Recipe
Lemon Coffee Cake
Ingredients
Crumb topping:
- ½ cup all purpose flour
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest
- 4 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces
- 2 tablespoons sliced almonds, optional
Cake:
- 1½ cups all purpose flour
- 1½ teaspoons baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 3 tablespoons lemon zest, from about 3 medium lemons
- ½ cup vegetable or canola oil
- 2 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons pure almond extract
- ¼ cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
- ½ cup sour cream
Icing:
- 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice, see note
- ⅔ cup powdered sugar
- 2 drops almond extract
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.
Icing:
- Whisk all ingredients until combined. Adjust the consistency as desired, by adding more powdered sugar to thicken or more lemon juice to thin. Drizzle over the top of the cooled cake.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional Information is an estimate based on third-party calculations and may vary based on products used and serving sizes.
Tried this recipe?Leave a comment and rating below!
Eric Williams says
Made it for my wife’s birthday. She loved it. Very lemony.
Allison says
I’m so glad! Thanks for stopping by. 🙂
Erica says
I found your recipe after hunting for a way to use up a bunch of lemons on their way out. One of my kiddos can’t eat eggs or milk so I had to substitute with Tofutti sour cream and Bob’s Red Mill egg replacer. Even with the allergy friendly swaps, it turned out perfectly — it just needed a few more minutes in the oven. Thank you!
Allison says
Thanks for sharing your experience. I’m so glad you enjoyed it! 🙂
Belinda Hart says
This is awesome! One of the best recipes I’ve made. I made it gluten free with half monk fruit sweetener and it came out delicious. It’s so moist and tender and I love the lemony taste. Most recipes like this don’t really have a pronounced lemon flavor like this one. I’ll definitely be making this again. Thank you!
Allison Mattina says
You’re welcome! Thanks for taking the time to share your experience. 🙂
Adrianna says
I made this Lemon Coffee Cake and it was super moist and did not disappoint at all. My only regret was not making the icing.
I was pleasantly surprised by the subtle almond flavor because I do not typically care too much for it. I am not a big lemon either but this cake was definitely delicious and I will be making this cake again just to try it with the icing!
Allison Mattina says
That’s great to hear! Thanks for taking the time to comment. 🙂