UPDATED: MAY 30, 2025
This lemon cake is the perfect recipe if you’re looking for something that offers a fresh take on a familiar favorite. This cake recipe is fresh, almost florally undertoned, light, and fluffy. To me, it feels like the perfect Spring/Summer cake, but it can definitely be enjoyed year-round. If you are brave enough to commit to the flavor combination, there is an optional simple syrup recipe included!
Table of Contents
Please don’t let unfamiliarity sway you. Savory and sweet have been partners for a long time, and they work really well together in the right ratios. Rosemary itself has a flavor that is easily scalable in intensity, and this recipe leans toward the subtle.
Make sure to read through the entire recipe, as some parts can take a bit of preparation. Otherwise, the cake and buttercream are pretty straightforward and there is nothing complicated about the recipe making it the perfect contender for any and every occasion.
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Lemon Cake Base For All Your Needs
The best part of what I call flavor blocking, or keeping your main flavors contained to separate elements, is that you can then take those elements apart and use them in other recipes. The lemon cake is a bright and fluffy cake that is lightly flavored and slightly sweet, so you can use the base with any complementary frosting. A citrus-inspired combination such as a lemon cake with an orange frosting sounds pretty good to me.
For this recipe, I brought the rosemary element back into the cake through the use of rosemary and lemon simple syrup. I love savory flavors in my desserts so I knew I wanted the option to ramp up both the lemon and rosemary flavors, and I wanted the rosemary in every bite, not just the frosting.
While the simple syrup is optional, I would highly recommend it if you want the flavors to really shine. If you don’t want to ramp up those flavors but still want the benefit of a simple syrup, you can combine equal parts water and sugar and follow the rest of the steps below. Don’t forget to grab something to make applying it easier, like a soaker bottle.
Rosemary Buttercream Is Where It Begins
The rosemary buttercream is probably the most jarring part of this recipe if you are not used to bringing herbs and savory flavors into your baking. Rosemary is the perfect place to start, as the flavor has an earthy but floral essence. You are probably more familiar with floral notes than you realize so this won’t be far off.
Once you get started with adding savory elements to your desserts, there’s no turning back. You will want to toss herbs into everything. Thyme, sage, and basil are easy to work with and are familiar flavors. There are tons of dessert recipes with those herbs, so if this rosemary buttercream strikes your fancy, look for inspiration with those flavors.
Tips For The Best Lemon Rosemary Cake
- Wipe the inside of your mixing bowl and whisk with white vinegar to remove excess oils.
- Place your simple syrup in a soaker bottle for even distribution.
- The simple syrup is optional, while it can add loads of flavor, it can also add some sweetness, so use it sparingly. You also don’t want a soggy cake.
- If you opt for the simple syrup, let it sit for 10-15 minutes to settle.
- Only melt your butter once. If you heat it more than once, you risk it not solidifying enough when you make your buttercream.
- Add the powdered sugar into the buttercream a half cup at a time and taste as you go. Everyone has a preference for sweetness, and this way, you can gauge it and add more or less based on your personal preference.
- Extra simple syrup can be used for a variety of recipes!
Ways To Use Your Extra Lemon Rosemary Simple Syrup
- Cocktails
- Mocktails
- Add to Lemonade ( Find that recipe and two more here!)
- Drizzle over store-bought cake for an easy flavor upgrade
- Drizzle over vanilla ice cream
Lemon Rosemary Cake
A light and fluffy cake with a beautiful mix of bright citrus and subtly earthy rosemary flavors.
Ingredients
Lemon Cake
- 2 1/2 C of all-purpose flour
- 2 C of granulated white sugar
- 2 1/2 tsp of baking powder
- 1/2 tsp of salt
- 1 C( 2 sticks) of room temperature unsalted butter
- 4 large room temperature eggs
- 1 C of milk
- 1 tbsp of lemon zest
Lemon Rosemary Simple Syrup
- 1/2 C of white granulated sugar
- 1/2 C water
- The juice of 1 lemon
- 2 sprigs of rosemary
Rosemary Buttercream
- 2 C of unsalted butter
- 4 sprigs of rosemary
- 4 C of sifted powdered sugar
Instructions
|Pro Tip: Wipe the inside of your mixing bowl with vinegar to remove excess oils.
Lemon Cake
- Preheat your oven to 350°F and prepare your pans. I personally line my cake pans with butter, then flour on the sides, then a layer of parchment paper on the bottom.
- Sift into a bowl your flour, salt, and baking powder, and set aside
- Mix together butter and sugar until fluffy and well-mixed.
- Add eggs to the butter mixture, 2 at a time, mixing only enough to incorporate them. Do Not overmix.
- Add in lemon zest and mix.
- Alternate adding in your dry ingredients and milk in 3 or 4 parts each. Mix only enough to incorporate everything.
- Scrape sides and give one final quick mix, making sure everything is incorporated
- Bake at 350°F for 30-45 minutes. The cake should have a light brown crust, and a toothpick or thin dowel should come out mostly clean.
Lemon Rosemary Simple Syrup
The simple syrup is optional, but I like the extra flavor it provides and moisture. Both flavors are impactful but simultaneously subtle, so I like ramping them up a bit with simple syrup.
- Combine all ingredients in a sauce pot over medium heat and stir until the sugar is completely dissolved.
- Once the mixture begins to boil, immediately remove it from the heat and allow it to sit for about 30 minutes to infuse and cool.
- Once cool, remove the rosemary.
- Brush this onto cooled cake layers, or use a soaker bottle to saturate your layers after leveling and cutting them. You don't need to soak them, just quickly go over the layers so that each part is sprinkled with the simple syrup.
Rosemary Buttercream
- Place butter and sprigs of rosemary in a small pot.
- Over medium heat, stir the butter until it's mostly melted.
- Take it off the heat and continue stirring until all the butter is melted.
- Allow the rosemary to sit and soak in the butter for at least 30 minutes. I recommend an hour or two.
- Once your butter is cooled and your rosemary has had time to soak, remove the rosemary. If the butter has rehardened, just pull the full sprig of rosemary out and wipe the excess butter down the stem, back into the pot using clean fingers or tongs. I prefer this over reheating the butter because the more you liquify it, the less it will stiffen back up when you're making your buttercream.
- Once you have your infused butter, you want to blend the rest of the butter and the powdered sugar gradually in with the infused butter
- Mix until smooth.
|Pro Tip: I suggest adding the powdered sugar a half cup at a time and tasting as you go. Everyone has a preference for sweetness, and this way, you can gauge it and add more or less based on your personal preference.
Assembly
- Cut and level the cake layers
- Add optional simple syrup. If you do, wait a few minutes for it to settle
- Frost as desired
Notes
- I decorated with lemon and leftover rosemary, but be aware that these can leave a taste, so if you want to maintain your balance, put them on last thing before presenting and remove them when it's time to serve.
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This cake has a special place in my heart as it was one of my first original recipes where I really challenged myself and branched out. It made me much more confident in my baking, especially when the recipe was used and sold in a local coffee shop! I really hope you enjoy this cake recipe as much as my family and I did! Leave your comments below if you give it a try!