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Home » Cake & Cupcakes » Lemon Coffee Cake

Lemon Coffee Cake

Published: Feb 22, 2022 · Modified: Jan 10, 2023 by Allison · 16 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!

Slice of lemon crumb cake on a white plate.

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.

Jump to:
  • This cake is
  • Recipe overview
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  • Recipe
Stack of lemon cake squares on a white plate.

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.

Step by step how to make a lemon cake.

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

Crumb topping in a white bowl.
Coffee cake with crumb topping in an 8x8 square pan.

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

  • Closeup of a lemon blueberry muffin with crumb topping and white icing
    Lemon Blueberry Muffins
  • Mason jar filled with pink lemonade and lemon slices.
    Pink Lemonade
  • Lemon Bar topped with whipped cream on a spatula.
    Creamy Lemon Bars Recipe
  • Lemon blueberry bundt cake topped with cream cheese frosting and fresh blueberries.
    Lemon Blueberry Bundt Cake

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Recipe

Slice of lemon crumb cake on a white plate.

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.
4.89 from 9 votes
Print Pin SaveSaved!
Course: Breakfast, Dessert
Cuisine: American
Prep Time: 25 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 55 minutes
Servings: 12
Calories: 342kcal
Author: Allison – Celebrating Sweets

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

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.

Tried this recipe?Leave a comment and rating below!
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Comments

  1. Julie @ This Gal Cooks

    April 01, 2014 at 7:41 pm

    This is such a beautiful coffee cake! I’m a sucka for lemon so I’d be gobbling this up!

    Reply
    • Celebrating Sweets

      April 01, 2014 at 8:19 pm

      Thank you!

      Reply
  2. Molly @ Fresh Basil For Two

    April 02, 2014 at 2:51 pm

    That streusel looks delectable! I feel like I would just eat it off the top of the whole cake!

    Reply
    • Celebrating Sweets

      April 02, 2014 at 3:36 pm

      Thanks! I had to stop myself from doing just that.

      Reply
  3. Madonna/aka/Ms. Lemon

    April 05, 2014 at 1:01 pm

    I pinned your coffee cake. I make something similar, but I want to try yours.

    Reply
    • Celebrating Sweets

      April 05, 2014 at 5:05 pm

      I hope you like it. 🙂

      Reply
  4. Laura@Baking In Pyjamas

    April 05, 2014 at 1:05 pm

    Visiting from The Weekend Re-treat. I always have lemons hanging around too, I adore them. Never tried lemon and almonds together though, your cake looks lovely.

    Reply
    • Celebrating Sweets

      April 05, 2014 at 5:05 pm

      Thank you, Laura!

      Reply
  5. Jen @ Yummy Healthy Easy

    April 25, 2014 at 7:26 pm

    5 stars
    Gosh, this is so beautiful! Your pictures are making me drool! I don’t think flavors could get any better than lemon and almond mixed in coffee cake. Thanks for sharing on Saturday Night Fever – pinned to our group board!

    Reply
    • Celebrating Sweets

      April 25, 2014 at 8:03 pm

      Thanks, Jen!

      Reply
  6. A. Kozlow

    August 12, 2017 at 1:10 pm

    4 stars
    Does the sour cream and lemon curd take they place of milk in this recipe? Just wanted to double-check before making.

    Looking forward to making this today as I have leftover lemon curd that I did not want to go to waste.☺️

    Reply
    • Celebrating Sweets

      August 12, 2017 at 1:47 pm

      Yes, they do. I adapted my recipe from the one below. I hope you like it! Thanks for stopping by. http://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/lemon-streusel-coffeecake-recipe

      Reply
      • A. Kozlow

        August 13, 2017 at 4:00 pm

        5 stars
        Thank you. The cake turned out perfectly this morning.

  7. Jenn

    February 22, 2022 at 12:16 pm

    5 stars
    My local market makes something similar and I’ve been searching for a homemade version — so so excited to find your recipe! Thank you!

    Reply
  8. Diana

    February 22, 2022 at 2:48 pm

    5 stars
    Lemon cake is one of my weaknesses! And of course this recipe was fantastic and I will be making it again and again.

    Reply
  9. Abby

    September 29, 2022 at 1:19 pm

    5 stars
    Sub’d icing for vanilla bean sauce. Perfect balance of tart and sweet! Easy recipe.

    Reply

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aboutHi, I'm Allison! I'm a busy wife and mom with a passion for cooking and baking. This is where you'll find my favorite homemade recipes, designed to help you make every day delicious! Read more....

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