Moist Lemon Cake Recipe

Super moist lemon cake recipe that is made using  box mix, orange juice and lemon pudding!  This cake is made in an angel food cake and is poked with a toothpick to absorb the lemon glaze.  Delicious!

There is something about lemon cake that is soooo refreshing!  Also known as lemon drizzle cake, lemon poke cake and the moist lemon cake I can’t live without – this recipe is a favorite and it’s no surprise why!

I found this lemon ice pick cake recipe in my little recipe box from our wedding that I’ve had fun sorting through.  Although I didn’t have an ice pick (as the original directions suggested to use), I did have a toothpick to make this lemon jello cake recipe.  It’s so easy!

How To Make Moist Lemon Cake Recipe

Here’s what you need to make this easy lemon cake recipe:

• yellow cake mix
• vegetable oil
• orange juice
• instant lemon pudding
• eggs
• confectioner’s sugar
• butter
• lemon juice

You will also need an angel food cake pan to make this cake.  Although, I think a 9×13 pan would work as well, you’ll just need to adjust the baking time.  Make sure to butter and flour the angel food cake well.

Using a mixer, mix the yellow cake mix, oil, orange juice and instant pudding together.

Add the eggs one at a time, beating after each egg.

Place the batter into the angel food cake pan.  Use a spatula to make sure it’s even.  Bake at 350 degrees˚ for 50 minutes.

How Long Do You Cool The Cake Before Removing It From The Pan?

Once the cake is baked, let it cool on a cooling rack.  I leave my cake in the pan for about 10-15 minutes and then remove it from the pan carefully.  You want it to cool enough that the cake starts to separate from the pan, but not too long or the cake will start to become soggy.

What Icing Is Best For Lemon Cake?

For this recipe we will be making a lemon glaze as the icing.  Because this cake is super moist and dense, a lighter glaze is the perfect compliment.  I like how this lemon glaze gives a bit of a crunch to the cake and just enough lemon flavor to knock it out of the park.

Use a strainer when measuring the confectioner’s sugar so that it isn’t lumpy.  A lumpy glaze isn’t a pretty glaze.  You can see all the lumps in my confectioner’s sugar that I avoided by a simple strainer.

Mix the lemon juice and melted butter into the powdered sugar.  It is a glaze so it will not be thick.

Using a toothpick, poke a generous amount of holes to the top of the cake.  Then pour the glaze over the entire cake making sure to allow the holes you have poked to fill with the delicious lemon glaze.

Here’s a tip.  To really maximize the glaze, put a cooling wrack over a cookie sheet and use it to collect the extra glaze.  Doing it this way, I was able to pour the glaze over the cake three times to maximize the flavor.

That’s it!  It’s so easy to make and it’s absolutely delicious.  The lemon flavors are perfectly balanced with the sweet cake making this moist lemon cake a family favorite.  Enjoy!

More Simple Cake Recipes

• Lemon Lime Jello Poke Cake
• Orange Delight Cake Recipe
• Chocolate Cake Recipe (No mixer required!)

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Originally shared in 2014.  Updated 2019.