Lemon Sheet Cake (Easy Lemon Cake with Lemon Glaze)
Lemon Sheet Cake is the BEST lemon cake recipe…a super moist, homemade, lemon-infused Texas sheet cake topped with a tangy lemon glaze. Better yet, this easy lemon cake feeds a crowd!
Adjust the rack to the center position of the oven and preheat the oven to 375°F. Grease a rimmed 18x13x1-inch half sheet pan with softened butter.
In a large pot set set over medium heat, melt the butter. Add the water and the lemon juice, increase the heat, and bring to a boil. Remove pot from the heat and allow to cool for at least 5 minutes. Then briskly stir in the flour until smooth, immediately followed by the sugar, sour cream, and lemon zest.
Temper the eggs by beating them in a separate bowl and then slowly and gradually whisking in spoonfuls of warm cake batter to bring up the temperature of the eggs. Then stir the tempered eggs into the pot of cake batter until fully incorporated. Mix in the vanilla and lemon extract. Finally, sprinkle the baking soda and salt over the top of the batter (make sure there are no lumps!) and stir them in until all ingredients are well blended.
Pour the batter into the prepared sheet pan and smooth the top. Bake for 15 to 18 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Cool the cake completely before glazing.
FOR THE GLAZE:
Once the cake is cool, measure the powdered sugar into a bowl and stir in the lemon juice and zest until completely smooth. Add a bit more lemon juice if the glaze is too thick or a little more powdered sugar if it's too thin.
Pour the glaze over the cooled cake and immediately spread into a thin, even layer. If desired, garnish the cake with quarters of lemon slices. Chill (uncovered) for at least 30 minutes to allow the glaze to set before slicing. Cover tightly and refrigerate any leftovers.
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Notes
The key to avoiding an overly-thick batter is to allow the butter mixture to cool down before stirring in the flour. I like to use a big wooden spoon.
The lemon glaze will be thin once it's spread over the cake, but it's so sweet and tangy that not much is required.
I prefer using Press 'n Seal to cover leftover Lemon Sheet Cake. Pull the plastic wrap taut and press it along the edges of the pan. If you want to increase the odds that the plastic wrap doesn't stick to the glaze, use small pieces of lemon to garnish each slice of cake, as shown in the photos in this post. This will provide a higher "layer" that the plastic wrap can rest on without touching the glaze.