Limoncello Cake
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My Limoncello 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.
The Best Limoncello Cake Recipe
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.
Why We Love This Limoncello Cake
- Abundance Of Lemon Flavor! Perfect for the lemon lovers, this cake is bursting with rich aromatic lemon flavor lighter than pound cake texture.
- Quick And Easy! The cake is sophisticated in flavor, but the recipe is no fuss! It’s quick and only requires a few simple pantry ingredients that make a delicious beautiful cake ready to serve in about an hour!
- Party Prep Ready! Not only is it easy to make, but this limoncello cake freezes amazingly well, which makes it perfect for events. You can make this cake a week ahead, store it in the freezer, and then serve it the day of your event and it will be just as yummy as the day you baked it!
- Sour cream – Plain greek yogurt will work instead.
- Eggs – I used fresh large eggs for this recipe.
- Sugar – I used granulated white sugar. You can also use cane sugar. If you want to use something like honey or agave, cut the amount in half.
- Vegetable oil – Like canola oil. The vegetable oil will make our limoncello cake nice and moist. I would stick to oil versus butter since butter solidifies at room temperature, your cake will not be as moist.
- 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, but they’re needed to give our cake a nice rise.
- Salt – Use as much or as little as you want but it’s needed to balance the sweetness of the sugar as well as elevates the flavors of the lemon and vanilla.
- Powdered sugar – Also known as confectioner’s or icing sugar. This is needed for simple lemon icing.
- Prep the oven. Preheat oven to 350°F. Then grease a bundt pan well with cooking spray.
- Mix the wet ingredients. 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. Then 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. Transfer the bundt pan to the preheated oven and bake for 40 minutes or until golden brown. Let the cake cool in the bundt pan for 10 minutes before turning it over onto a wire rack to finish cooling.
- 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!
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.
How Do I Know When My Cake Is Done?
If you’re unsure your cake is fully cooked through, insert a toothpick or thin skewer into the center 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.
Can I Make Gluten-Free Limoncello Cake?
Most likely yes! But I’ve not tested the recipe. However, if you do, make sure to use a 1-to-1 gluten-free flour that has xanthan gum in it, which acts as a replacement for the gluten that is naturally in all-purpose flour. This recipe will not work properly if there is no xanthan gum in your alternative flour of choice.
Expert Tips
- Use room temperature eggs. This helps the batter to emulsify and properly come together to create the best texture. So I always suggest taking the eggs out of the fridge a couple of hours before starting the recipe.
- Don’t overmix the batter. This can result in extra gluten development, which means your cake will be gummy or chewy. Once the batter is fully combined, stop mixing.
- Grease the pan well. Do not skimp on how much you grease the pan. No one wants to bake a beautiful cake that ends up sticking to the pan.
- Let it completely cool. Be sure to give the limoncello cake time to cool in the pan before attempting to turn it out onto a cooling rack. At least 10 minutes! I suggest 20 minutes if you can wait. You also want the cake to be completely cooled off before dusting it with powdered sugar or topping it with icing. If the cake is still warm the icing and powdered sugar will just melt.
Freezing Limoncello Cake
This Limoncello cake freezes exceptionally well, which also makes it a great make-ahead dessert! Just bake the cake and let it cool, but don’t dust it with powdered sugar or drizzle it with icing. Instead, you can cut the cake into individual slices, wrap each slice in plastic wrap, then put them into a freezer bag, and store the slices in the freezer for up to 1 month. Or, you can wrap the entire cake well in several layers of plastic wrap and store it in the freezer.
Either way, when you are ready to serve you will want to remove the cake from the freezer the night before and allow it to thaw out at room temperature. Then dust with powdered sugar or add icing right before serving.
Leftovers
The best way to store bundt cake for several days is at room temperature on a covered cake plate. That is the most ideal way to both maintain the beautiful shape of the cake and keep it from drying out. However, if you don’t have a covered cake plate, the next best option is to cover your cake with a dome-shaped bowl or plastic container. Basically, make your own covered cake plate.
I don’t advise storing the cake in the fridge. Oftentimes, it not only dries the cake out but tends to dull the flavor as well.
Other Lemon Desserts You’ll Love
- Lemon Blueberry Scones
- Easy Lemon Curd
- Lemon Magic Cake
- Lemon Buttermilk Scones
- 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)
Before You Begin! If you make this, please leave a review and rating letting us know how you liked this recipe! This helps our business thrive & continue providing free recipes.
Instructions
- Prep the oven. Preheat oven to 350°F. Then grease a bundt pan well with cooking spray.
- Mix the wet ingredients. 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. Then 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. Transfer the bundt pan to the oven and bake for 40 minutes or until golden brown. Let the cake cool in the bundt pan for 10 minutes before turning it over onto a cooling rack to finish cooling.
- 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!
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.
- Use room temperature eggs. This helps the batter to emulsify and properly come together to create the best texture. So I always suggest taking the eggs out of the fridge a couple of hours before starting the recipe.
- Don’t over-mix the batter. This can result in extra gluten development, which means your cake will be gummy or chewy. Once the batter is fully combined, stop mixing.
- Grease the pan well. Do not skimp on how much you grease the pan. No one wants to bake a beautiful cake that ends up sticking to the pan.
- Let it completely cool. Be sure to give the limoncello cake time to cool in the pan before attempting to turn it out onto a cooling rack. At least 10 minutes! I suggest 20 minutes if you can wait. You also want the cake to be completely cooled off before dusting it with powdered sugar or topping it with icing. If the cake is still warm the icing and powdered sugar will just melt.
Nutrition Information
Notice: Nutrition is auto-calculated for your convenience. Where relevant, we recommend using your own nutrition calculations.
