This lemon coffee cake bakes up soft and moist with a thick cream cheese layer through the center and buttery crumbs that stay distinct on top instead of melting into the cake. Warm glaze settles into the crumb topping while the center stays rich and tender, giving it the kind of bakery-style finish most homemade lemon coffee cakes miss.
Ingredient Notes
Plan Ahead
Room temperature matters: the cream cheese, butter, and eggs all need to be at room temperature for the mixing steps to work. Cold cream cheese will leave lumps in the middle layer. Cold butter won’t cream properly with the sugar.
- Milk and lemon juice will curdle when combined. That’s intentional. It creates a buttermilk-like acidity that helps the cake rise and stay tender, so don’t pour it out when it looks broken.
- It’s this milk and lemon juice combination helps keep the crumb soft and moist instead of dry the next day.
- Most of the lemon flavor comes from the zest, not just the juice. Wash the lemons well before zesting to remove any waxy coating from the peel.
Coffee cake flavor variations:
How To Tell It’s Done
The top should be lightly golden with crumbs that feel set instead of wet.
Because of the cream cheese layer, the middle stays softer than a standard coffee cake, even when fully baked.
Don’t wait for the center to feel firm or the cake will dry out. Look for cheesecake-like doneness: edges set with a slight jiggle in the middle.
A toothpick inserted into the center should come out with a few moist crumbs, not wet batter.
Don’t Skip These Steps
The crumb mixture goes into the refrigerator while you prepare the batter. That short chill time helps the crumbs hold their shape in the oven instead of dissolving into the cake layer underneath.
Spread the cream cheese filling almost to the edges, but leave about a half-inch border of batter showing around the outside. That border keeps the cream cheese layer from bubbling out or disappearing into the cake while it bakes.
Chill the baked cake for an hour before glazing and slicing. The cream cheese layer stays a little soft-set even when the cake is fully cooled. It won’t cut cleanly unless it’s been in the fridge.
Storage Instructions
Make ahead one day: Bake the cake the day before, cool it completely, cover tightly, and refrigerate overnight. Pull it out about thirty minutes before serving, glaze, and slice. The cream cheese layer firms up overnight so the slices come out cleaner this way.
Freeze unglazed: Once the cake is fully cooled, wrap the pan tightly in plastic wrap and a layer of foil. Freeze for up to two months. Thaw overnight in the fridge, bring to room temperature, then glaze and slice. I don’t recommend freezing it already glazed because the glaze gets tacky during thawing.
Fridge storage: Once glazed and sliced, store the cake covered in the fridge for up to three days. Serve individual slices at room temperature, chilled, or warmed in the microwave for 30 to 45 seconds.
This cake stays surprisingly moist after refrigeration because of the cream cheese layer. For the cleanest slices, chill the cake before cutting, then let slices sit at room temperature for 15 to 20 minutes before serving.
Lemon Coffee Cake
Ingredients
Crumb Topping
- ½ cup unsalted butter melted and cooled
- 1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
- ½ cup granulated sugar
Cream Cheese Layer
- 16 ounces block cream cheese, room temperature
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg yolk, room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Lemon Coffee Cake Batter
- 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup whole milk
- ¼ cup fresh lemon juice
- ½ cup unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 ½ tablespoons lemon zest, from one large lemon
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
Glaze Topping
- 1 ½ cups powdered sugar, sifted
- 2 tablespoons whole milk
- 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
Instructions
Crumb Topping
- Preheat the oven to 325°F. Lightly grease a 9×13 baking dish with non-stick baker’s spray and set aside.
- To a small bowl add the melted and cooled butter, all-purpose flour, and granulated sugar. Stir together with a fork until all the flour is moistened and crumbs roughly the size of peas form. Place the crumb mixture into the refrigerator to chill and harden while you prepare the rest of the recipe.
Cream Cheese Layer
- To a medium bowl add the cream cheese and granulated sugar. Beat on medium speed using a handheld mixer until smooth.
- Add the egg yolk and vanilla extract beating again just until fully incorporated and the mixture is smooth and creamy. Set aside.
Lemon Coffee Cake Batter
- Sift together in a small bowl the all-purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
- In a separate small bowl, combine the milk and lemon juice. Set aside.
- Cream together in a large bowl, using a handheld mixer on medium-low speed, the butter, granulated sugar, and lemon zest for 2-3 minutes or just until light and fluffy.
- Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition, followed by the vanilla extract.
- Add a third of the flour mixture to the butter mixture, mixing on low speed just until combined.
- Add half the milk mixture, mix until fully incorporated, followed by another third of the flour mixture mixing just until incorporated.
- Add the remaining milk mixture followed by the remaining flour mixture. Be sure to combine each addition just until fully incorporated.
- Spread the batter evenly into the prepared baking dish.
- Add the cream cheese mixture.
- Gently spread to an even layer, leaving about a half inch of the cake batter around the edges uncovered, being careful not to mix the layers.
- Remove the crumb topping from the refrigerator and evenly sprinkle over the top of the coffee cake.
- Bake for 50-55 minutes or until lightly browned and the center is fully set. A toothpick inserted into the center should come out with just a few moist crumbs.
- Allow to cool completely at room temperature before adding the glaze.
Glaze Topping
- Whisk together the powdered sugar, milk and lemon juice until smooth.
- Drizzle over the cooled lemon coffee cake.
- Allow the glaze to set for 15-20 minutes before slicing and serving.
Notes
- You can refrigerate your baked and cooled coffee cake for about an hour to allow the cream cheese layer to firm up before glazing for nice clean slices if desired.
- Be sure to wash your lemons well to remove any waxy coating before zesting for the recipe.
Nutrition
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Metal pans work but conduct heat faster. If you use one, start checking the cake for doneness around the 45-minute mark.
Comments
Gloria says
Such a bright and yummy treat!