My Limoncello Lemon Cake is irresistibly citrusy made with Limoncello liqueur in the cake batter and the glaze. It’s a great addition to your morning routine between sips of coffee.
Lemon lovers rejoice
Nothing puts more pep in my step than starting the day off with a slice of lemon cake. Especially when that cake is spiked with a bit of Limoncello! But don’t worry, with just a few splashes of this liqueur you’re getting much more flavor than buzz.
I don’t know what it is about a good lemon loaf or cake! Whenever I see something like this at a cafe, even if I’m not all that hungry, you better believe I’ll be ordering a slice with my coffee. The sweetness of that glaze paired with the big bright and acidic lemon flavor just gets me every time.
What is Limoncello?
This popular Italian lemon liqueur is made from lemon peels steeped in a spirit, usually grappa or vodka, then mixed with simple syrup. It’s a super easy process that can be replicated at home!
The result is a vibrant yellow, super lemony, and sweet liqueur. The alcohol percentage of Limoncello sits around 30%, so when used in small amounts like this recipe, anyone can enjoy it.
Ingredients
Beyond the Limoncello, what we have here is a pretty standard cake recipe! Keep scrolling down to the recipe card for full ingredient amounts and instructions, or click the Jump To Recipe button at the top.
- Sour cream – Plain greek yogurt will work instead.
- Eggs – I used large eggs for this recipe.
- Sugar – Granulated. If you want to use something like honey or agave, cut the amount in half.
- Vegetable oil – You can use melted butter or applesauce instead.
- Limoncello – Want to go alcohol-free? Fresh lemon juice will work too.
- Lemon zest – This is a must! don’t skip the lemon zest. It makes such a big difference for the strong lemon flavor of this cake.
- Flour – I used all-purpose flour. If you use cake flour, use an extra 1/4 cup.
- Baking powder and baking soda – If you’re going to use one or the other, you can just use baking powder.
- Salt – Use as much or as little as you want.
- Powdered sugar – Also known as confectioner’s or icing sugar.
How to make Limoncello lemon cake
- Mix the wet ingredients: Preheat the oven to 350F. Spray a bundt pan generously with cooking spray. Using either a stand mixer or a hand mixer, combine the sour cream, eggs, sugar, vegetable oil, vanilla, Limoncello, and lemon zest until everything is well incorporated.
- Mix the dry ingredients: In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda. Add the dry ingredients to the bowl of wet ingredients and mix until everything is combined. Don’t over-mix.
- Bake the cake: Pour the batter into your prepared bundt pan and use a spatula to smooth out the top. Bake for 40 minutes or until golden brown. Let it cool in the pan for 10 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack.
- Make the glaze: While the cake is cooling, mix the powdered sugar and Limoncello well until the glaze is smooth. Let the cake cool fully before drizzling the glaze over the cake. Sprinkle the cake with the lemon zest, slice, and enjoy!
How do I know when my cake is done?
If you’re unsure your cake is fully cooked through, insert a toothpick of thin skewer into the thickest part of the cake. If it comes out clean, your cake is all done.
Still a bit of batter on the toothpick? Let the cake cook for 5 minute intervals, doing the toothpick test in between on different spots of the cake, until the toothpick comes out clean.
Freezing
This is a very freezer-friendly recipe. You can transfer the cake, once fully cooled, to a large airtight container or freezer bag. This cake will last 4-6 months frozen.
The best method, in my opinion, is to slice the cake up into individual servings and wrap them each well with plastic wrap before putting them in a container or freezer bagThis way you can take pieces out as you need them! No need to thaw a whole cake just to satisfy your sweet tooth for one piece.
Leftovers
You can leave your cake at room temperature for 2 days either on a cake plate with a dome, an airtight container, or a large sealable bag. If you need it to last a bit longer, you can keep it in the fridge for a week.
Seal your cake well wherever you store it to avoid having it dry out. If you keep it in the fridge, I would let it sit at room temperature for 15-20 minutes to let it soften up a bit before serving.
Looking for more lemony sweets? Try these!
- Lemon Blueberry Scones
- Easy Lemon Curd
- Lemon Magic Cake
- Lemon Buttermilk Scones
- The Best Lemon Bars
- Lemon Yogurt Cake
- Old Fashioned Lemon Bread
- Lemon Poppy Seed Cake
- Lemon Orange Cake
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Limoncello Lemon Cake
Ingredients
For Cake
- 1 cup sour cream
- 2 eggs
- ¾ cup sugar
- ¼ cup vegetable oil
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3 tablespoon Limoncello
- zest from 1 lemon
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
For Glaze
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 4 tablespoon Limoncello
- lemon zest for garnish, optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 F degrees. Spray a bundt pan with cooking or baking spray.
- To the bowl of your mixer add sour cream, eggs, sugar, vegetable oil, vanilla, Limoncello and lemon zest. Mix on medium until well incorporated.
- In another bowl mix together the flour, salt, baking powder and baking soda. Add the flour mixture to the wet mixture and mix for about a minute until all the flour is incorporated, do not overmix.
- Pour the cake batter in the prepared bundt pan and smooth out the top with a spatula.
- Bake for about 40 minutes or until golden brown. To test for doneness insert a toothpick in the center of the cake and if it comes out clean it’s done.
- Let it cool in the pan for 10 minutes then transfer to a rack and let it cool completely.
- Add the ingredients for the glaze to a small bowl and whisk. Add more powdered sugar or Limoncello until smooth. Drizzle Limoncello icing over cake and garnish with lemon zest.
Recipe Notes
- What is a good limoncello substitute: Unfortunately there really isn’t a great substitute. You could try using a little lemon extract or lemon juice but you will not get the sweetness like you would from limoncello.
- Nutrition: Nutritional information is per slice, assuming 16 slices per cake. Please keep in mind that nutritional information is a rough estimate and can vary greatly based on products used.
Smells terrific. Can’t wait to taste it.
Did anyone else have the cake done about 10 minutes sooner than time noted? I put timer on for 32 minute to check it & it was done, possibly by 3 minute maybe. Color was too dark but glaze should cover most of that. It seems moist by touch though
Didn’t have a bundt tin so used a loaf tin instead and had to halve the ingredients. Used creme fraiche instead of sour cream purely as that was what was in my fridge. Cake was beautifully light and moist and will definitely make again. Instead of the glaze I made a syrup using juice of 1 lemon, 25 grammes of granulated sugar and 1.5 tablespoons limoncello heated until the sugar dissolved and then made small holes in the top of the cake and poured the syrup over, leaving the cake to cool in the tin. I am English so don’t generally use the American cup measurements but do have some, if only I had spotted the metric conversion, would have been a lot easier halving everything, lol. A great recipe.
Those are great tweaks Lisa, thanks for sharing! So glad you enjoyed this recipe!
Great recipe! My first bunt cake and I went BIG using the limoncello, as Italy is part of my heritage! I did add a lemon glaze just for more lemon flavor. Other recipes had it so I incorporated it to this one and glad I did! Delics and moist!
I’m making this cake this weekend. Do you have a recipe for a limencello frosting I could use instead of the glaze?
Thank you
I don’t, sorry, but I found this recipe for you: https://homemadehooplah.com/limoncello-cupcakes-with-limoncello-frosting/
It came out great and everybody loved it! Thank you!
This was amazing! It disappeared before I knew it and another one was requested ASAP. Thank you!
Used this a part of our own “bake off” contest and it came out the winner! Thanks so much! It was fantastic. I used the Greek yogurt instead of the sour cream and it was a little less calories this way! Thanks for sharing your great recipe!
Glad you liked it!
Mine came out a bit dry. Can I add some apple sauce rather than more oil?
Absolutely! It states in the recipe you can substitute butter or applesauce for the oil.
Is it possible to substitute almond meal or coconut flour to make this gluten free and safe for someone with celiac?
Would quantities of raising agent or liquid change?
I really want to make this cake.
I’m not sure, I haven’t tried it. I think the texture would change quite a bit, so it won’t be as fluffy as this one.
Hi Jo,
Thanks for this recipe ! I am looking forward to making this soon to use my limoncello in unique ways 😉 some quick questions though
1. I do not have a bundt pan, can I use a regular 8 or 9 inch? I suppose cooking temp/ time might change
2. Can I omit sour cream? I am trying to make this dairy free- if I do omit this or avoid yoghurt, any substitutes you might recommend to preserve texture ?
3. Can I add poppy seeds to the batter to make it a limoncello poppy seed cake? Or would it destroy the cake??
Thank u !
V
Here’s my favorite resource for converting pans: https://m.joyofbaking.com/PanSizes.html
If you can find dairy free yogurt that would be ideal. Look for vegan yogurt!
Poppy seeds would be great!
Thanks much for the reply, Jo ! i ll check out the link and get hold of some vegan yoghurt 🙂 will keep posted after trying – thank you
You’re very welcome; let us know! Enjoy 😊
Hi Jo, I finally got down to veganising this cake! Used vegan almond yoghurt instead of sour cream and vegan egg replacement instead of eggs. Amount was the same and rest of the ingredients are all the same. Only other additions were a tsp of poppy seeds ( could have added a bit more) and 2 tbsp of unsweetened soy milk, as batter seemed a little thick at the end. Also I used a 8 inch round pan- same temp/ 40 mins in the oven. It turned out absolutely wonderful! Very very moist , held shape which is something difficult to acheive with vegan cakes ( they tend to be more crumbly) and the cake tasted divine. Everyone loved it. My best vegan cake ever, really. Thank you for this!
Woohoo! That’s wonderful to hear. Sounds amazing 🙂
Hello, I made this for my coworker’s birthday and everyone enjoyed it, thank you for the recipe. Question, can I use this recipe minus the limoncello (going to use real lemon juice) cook muffins instead?
For sure!
My coworker birthday is coming up and I wanted a special Lemon cake that’s especially special, I am going to attempt this recipe and hopefully it turns out.. scrumptious….
I made this cake last weekend and it looked great. How can I make it moister? Mine was a bit dry. Followed the recipe exactly as listed.
You can increase the oil to 1/3 cup instead!
I loved making it but your cake looks more yellow than mine. And I couldn’t get the icing the right consistency as yours based on your recipe.
Ours turned yellow from the limoncello- different brands used will make a difference. You can use a bit of yellow food coloring if you’d like.
Rather than an icing, what we’ve made is a glaze. It will be very runny. Make sure the cake is cooled completely before drizzling the glaze. It’ll take a minute or two to dry and look just like ours.
The baking time was way off in my oven, like done in 25 minutes. Next time I will turn the oven down a bit. Thanks for the recipe.