Moist and tangy, zitronenkuchen, is a classic German lemon sheet cake topped with a thin lemon glaze and comes together in under an hour!
Do you have to use Sparkling Water for this cake?
Short answer is no, using regular water won’t ruin the cake. However, using sparkling water adds extra lightness and fluffiness to the cake.
Can you freeze Zitronen Kuchen?
Yes, as with most recipes this one is best eaten within 2-3 days of baking. If you need to store the extra, wrap the individual slices in plastic wrap and then place into airtight bags before putting it in the freezer.
How is this cake different from a Texas Lemon Sheet Cake?
A Texas sheet cake is usually made with butter which tends to dry out the cake, it is also baked in a shallow sheet pan while this cake is baked in a 9″x13″ rectangular pan. Finally this cake is topped with a lemon glaze while it is still hot so that the flavor and moisture soaks into the cake.
Tips for making Zitronen Kuchen
- Be sure to grease the pan with a spray that includes flour or brush it with butter and then sprinkle with flour to make sure that it doesn’t stick.
- Preheat the oven before starting on the cake. This cake takes less than 10 minutes to mix together so you want to make sure that the oven is hot before the cake batter is ready.
- Brush the lemon glaze onto the cake immediately after taking it out of the oven. This way it will soak into the cake slightly and as it cools it will create a thin crinkly top.
Additional Lemon Recipes to try!
Ingredients for Lemon Sheet Cake
- AP Flour: I use the all purpose flour from Central milling company but any all purpose flour should work!
- Baking Powder: This cake uses quite a bit of baking powder in order to give it the light and fluffy texture. Be sure that your baking powder isn’t expired.
- Sugar: Granulated sugar is whisked in with the flour and baking powder and is necessary to balance out the tanginess from the lemons.
- Eggs: Eggs are the key to this cake recipe, the egg whites are used to leaven the cake and the eggs keep the cake flexible and moist after baking.
- Vegetable Oil: Any neutral oil will work in this cake. Do not use coconut oil – olive oil may work but I haven’t tested it yet.
- Sparkling Water: Sparkling water adds moisture and airiness to the cake; however, regular water will work too, the cake just won’t be as fluffy.
- Lemon zest: The cake is very lemony because of the lemon zest from three lemons.
- Lemon Juice: Lemon juice is used in both the cake and the glaze – I highly recommend using fresh lemon juice as it has more flavor than what comes in the bottle.
- Powdered sugar: Powdered sugar is whisked with lemon juice to make the glaze that is then brushed over the surface.
- Candied lemon peel: Optionally top the slices of cake with strips of candied lemon peel.
How to make Lemon Sheet Cake from scratch?
Lemon Cake Batter
- Preheat the oven to 350 F. Place a rack in the center of the oven.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and sugar.
- Add in the eggs, oil, sparkling water, lemon zest, and lemon juice.
- Use an electric whisk to mix the batter until combined.
- Grease a 9″x13″ baking pan with a baking spray that has flour or brush the pan with melted butter and sprinkle with flour.
- Pour the cake batter into the grease pan and gently level it out if necessary with a rubber spatula.
- Bake the cake for 15 minutes, then rotate the cake and bake it for another 10 minutes.
Lemon Glaze
- While the cake bakes, whisk the lemon juice and powdered sugar together into a thick glaze.
- Once the cake is baked, remove the pan from the oven and place on a metal cooling rack.
- Immediately pour the lemon glaze over the top of the cake. I recommend pouring it on the center of the cake lengthwise and then use a pastry brush or offset spatula to spread the glaze over the surface.
- Be gentle when spreading the glaze, it will become more fluid as it heats up from the cake.
- Leave the cake to cool fully before using a spatula to remove the cake. Then slice into 12 squares or 12 thin slices.
Zitronen Kuchen
Moist and tangy, zitronenkuchen, is a classic German lemon sheet cake topped with a thin lemon glaze and comes together in under an hour!
Servings: 12
Calories: 385kcal
Ingredients
Lemon Cake Batter
- 300 grams ap flour
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 300 grams granulated sugar
- 4 eggs
- 150 milliliters neutral oil
- 150 milliliters sparkling water
- 3 lemons zested
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
Lemon Glaze
- 200 grams powdered sugar
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice 1 more if needed
Instructions
Lemon Cake
- Preheat the oven to 350 F. Place a rack in the center of the oven.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and sugar.
- Add in the remaining cake ingredients.
- Use an electric whisk to mix the batter until combined.
- Grease a 9"x13" baking pan with a baking spray that has flour or brush the pan with melted butter and sprinkle with flour.
- Pour the cake batter into the grease pan and gently level it out if necessary with a rubber spatula.
- Bake the cake for 15 minutes, then rotate the cake and bake it for another 10 minutes.
Lemon Glaze
- While the cake bakes, whisk the lemon juice and powdered sugar together into a thick glaze.
- Once the cake is baked, remove the pan from the oven and place on a metal cooling rack.
- Immediately pour the lemon glaze over the top of the cake. I recommend pouring it on the center of the cake lengthwise and then use a pastry brush or offset spatula to spread the glaze over the surface.
- Be gentle when spreading the glaze, it will become more fluid as it heats up from the cake.
- Leave the cake to cool fully before using a spatula to remove the cake. Then slice into 12 squares or 12 thin slices.
Notes
This cake is incredibly moist and will therefore keep well in an airtight container for 2-3 days. Be sure the oven is fully preheated before starting on the cake batter, additionally it is important to brush the glaze onto the cake immediately after taking it out of the oven.
Nutrition
Serving: 1slice | Calories: 385kcal | Carbohydrates: 61g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 14g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 4g | Monounsaturated Fat: 8g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 55mg | Sodium: 131mg | Potassium: 53mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 41g | Vitamin A: 79IU | Vitamin C: 2mg | Calcium: 72mg | Iron: 2mg
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