Sicilian Whole Lemon Cake (Using an Entire Lemon: Peel, Juice and Pulp)
Sicilian whole lemon cake is a moist and delicious crowd-pleasing dessert. This flavorful cake uses an entire lemon, peel, juice and pulp, for an amazingly lemony result!
Given the continuous rave reviews of my Sicilian whole orange cake, I now bring you, Sicilian whole lemon cake!
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
After making this cake several times, I’ve adjusted the sugar and made a few other changes to compensate for the difference in sweetness between oranges and lemons. However, please note that best results will come from Meyer lemons, although you can use Eureka or other more sour lemons by adding. a little more sugar.
If you fortunate enough to have access to Meyer lemons, you may also want to try this recipe: the best lemon drop martini you’ll ever have!
You could also try making posset, an incredibly easy and rich dessert!
And my favorite pancakes: lemon ricotta pancakes!
This isn’t a light cake, but a uniquely moist, flavorful, and bit more dense type of cake. It has a big crumb and sticky glaze, and I’ve never heard anyone try it and not gush with compliments! If you like a sweeter cake, you may want to add a little more sugar (especially if using Eureka lemons) as this isn’t overly sweet at all.
If you’d like to make a full size bundt cake instead, use this Meyer lemon cake recipe for a full sized cake (with glaze or icing).
In case you want to buy the PaneAngeli baking powder, I’ve added a link below in the recipe ingredients. It looks like this~
Sicilian Whole Lemon Cake
adapted from my Sicilian Whole Orange cake serves 12
FULL PRINTABLE RECIPE BELOW
NB: I use Meyer lemons which are much less sour than Eureka. I would recommend using a little more sugar if you don’t have Meyer lemons.
Ingredients
- eggs
- sugar
- flour
- Paneangeli (or baking powder)
- butter
- Greek yogurt
- lemon
- vanilla extract
Directions
Make the Whole Lemon Cake
Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C)
Prepare an 8″ springform pan by spraying with oil (or butter) and lining in parchment paper (sides optional, if you want really clean sides), then spray the paper, too.
Place the sugar and eggs in a large bowl and beat with a mixer until light and fluffy.
Sift the flour with the baking powder/PaneAngeli then add to the mixture in the bowl a little at a time along with the softened butter. Continue to mix until completely blended, then stir in the yogurt (and vanilla, if using).
In a food processor, process the whole lemon until it is almost pureed. It should look like this~
Add this lemon to the cake mixture and stir until evenly combined, then put the batter into the prepared tin.
Bake for 50-60 minutes (depending on your oven), but test with a cake tester or skewer to make sure the whole lemon cake is done before removing from the oven. Allow to cool for about 15 minutes, then remove the side of the springform pan.
Make the Lemon Glaze
Prepare the glaze by melting the sugar in the lemon juice and water, and allow to simmer for a few minutes, just until the liquid has a syrupy consistency. Spoon and brush over the top of the cake and allow to cool completely before cutting.
Yes, it’s hard to wait, but the moist lemon cake will cut more easily if it’s cool first.
Garnish with a twist of lemon or a few lemon slices, or just serve plain. So good!
Enjoy with a cup of tea or glass of limoncello!
Sicilian Whole Lemon Cake
Special Equipment
- 1 cake tester optional
- 1 brush optional
Ingredients
Cake:
- 3 eggs
- 1 ½ cup sugar
- 1 ¾ cup all purpose flour
- 2 ½ tsp baking powder or 1 packet Italian Pane Degli Angeli vanilla baking powder
- ⅓ cup butter softened
- ⅓ cup Greek yogurt plain
- 1 Meyer lemon organic, washed and cut into pieces (with the rind, but remove the seeds)
- ½ tsp vanilla extract ONLY if using plain baking powder
Glaze:
- 1 oz lemon juice
- 1 oz water
- 2 ⅞ Tbsp sugar (a little less than 3 Tbsp)
Instructions
Make the Whole Lemon Cake:
- Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C).
- Prepare an 8" springform pan by spraying with oil (or butter) and lining in parchment paper (sides optional, if you want really clean sides), then spray the paper, too.
- Place the sugar and eggs in a large bowl and beat with a mixer until light and fluffy.
- Sift the flour with the baking powder then add to the mixture in the bowl a little at a time along with the softened butter. Continue to mix until completely blended, then stir in the yogurt and the vanilla, if using.
- In a food processor, process the whole lemon until it is almost pureed.
- Add this lemon to the cake mixture and stir until evenly combined, then put the batter into the prepared tin.
- Bake for 50-60 minutes (depending on your oven), but test with a cake tester or skewer to make sure the whole lemon cake is done before removing from the oven. Allow to cool for about 15 minutes, then remove the side of the springform pan.
Make the Lemon Glaze:
- Prepare the glaze by melting the sugar in the lemon juice and water, and allow to simmer for a few minutes, just until the liquid has a syrupy consistency. Spoon and brush over the top of the cake and allow to cool completely before cutting.
- Yes, it’s hard to wait, but the moist lemon cake will cut more easily if it’s cool first.
- Garnish with a twist of lemon or a few lemon slices, or just serve plain.
Notes
- NB: I use Meyer lemons which are much less sour than Eureka. I would recommend using a little more sugar if you don't have Meyer lemons.
Nutrition
More lemony bakes~
Lemon Cheesecake Blueberry Swirl Bars
Sign up for my free newsletter at the top of the page, and never miss a post!
Christina’s Cucina is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associate Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.
Wonderful recipe! I keep coming back to it for special occasions.
So happy to hear it, Indi! Thank you!!
“I just made this cake and had to come say thank you! I used fresh lemons straight from my own garden, and the flavor is absolutely perfect. The texture is so moist and pouring the glaze over the hot cake made it spectacular. This was a huge hit, and I will definitely be making it again!”
Hi Anne Marie! Thank you SO much for this lovely review! I just came to the comments to pull a 5 star review to add to my weekly newsletter, so this is perfect! I am so delighted that you love the cake! Thank you again! (Try my muffin recipe next! It’s just as fantastic-but not really MY recipe, so not bragging! haha!)
This recipe is odd; where does butter enter the fray? The step says beat eggs and sugar together. Might you mean sugar and butter, then add the eggs?
Hi Kathleen, not sure how you missed it both places, but it’s clearly written in the body of the post and in step 4 of the printable recipe card “4. Sift the flour with the baking powder then add to the mixture in the bowl a little at a time along with the softened butter. Continue to mix until completely blended, then stir in the yogurt and the vanilla, if using.”
I have baked your whole orange cake a few times and it is ALWAYS a huge hit with friends and family. I was wondering, do you think I could add whole blueberries to this and it would be a successful bake?
Thanks so much!
Hi Clarissa (love your name!) I’m so happy to hear that you found the Sicilian orange and lemon cake recipes! I do think the blueberries would work in the cake because I have added fresh cranberries and it was FAB! Tip: toss the blueberries in a tiny bit of flour before adding them and this will help them not fall to the bottom of the cake. Let me know how it goes! And thank you for the lovely 5 star review!
Thank you! :)) Wonderful, I will try tossing them in the flour like you suggested. Thank you very much, I will surely let you know how it turns out!
Thank you, Clarissa!
I’ve made your Sicilian while orange cake several times to the delight of my family, friends and myself. I just baked the whole lemon cake today and anticipate the same excellent results! Thank you for sharing your recipes. They are wonderful!
You made my day, Kathy! Thank you so much! I’ll be using this as a “review of the week” in my newsletter!
PERFECTION! Thank you!
Thank YOU!
The recipe says 1 1/2 lemons but also says to weigh the lemons. How many ounces should it be?
Hi Mel, please click the METRIC tab above the ingredients in the printable recipe card and you’ll see all the measurements by weight.
Well Christina, I made the Sicilian lemon cake, second try. While I am not sure why I had problem with sinking in the middle the first time around, this time it baked perfectly. Such a unique and delicious cake recipe. I will be making this often. Thank you for your wonderful site . Liz