Retro Lemon Bisquick Coffee Cake Recipe

Looking for a really easy cake recipe? This lemon Bisquick coffee cake is just what you need. It’s a tried and true 1950s recipe and the best lemon coffee cake you’ll try!

This post was originally shared on March 2020 and has been updated to be more up-to-date and with additional information.

I love lemon-flavored desserts, especially in the spring and summer months. They are always so light and refreshing with tart sweetness. 

I’ve been doing more baking these days with more time spent at home for the time being. It seemed like the perfect time for a new-to-me dessert.

This lemon coffee cake is adapted from Betty Crocker’s Bisquick Cook Book from 1956. This is a fun little pamphlet-style cookbook that was likely given out for free as a way to encourage people to use Bisquick for more than just pancakes and biscuits.

This coffee cake is one of my favorite Bisquick recipes so far. This lemon Bisquick coffee cake recipe is simple to make, it is light and fluffy, and it’s delicious. I will be making this one a lot in the future.

If you have never baked a cake from scratch this is a great one to start with. The Bisquick takes out a few steps and makes it a bit more foolproof than many fully from-scratch cakes. The fact that it doesn’t require icing also makes it easier and quicker to make. 

Making a Lemon Bisquick Coffee Cake

Scroll down to find the full recipe card. There is a printable version as well!

This lemon cake is easy to make and the Bisquick makes it even easier but you don’t have to buy a box of Bisquick. You can actually make your own Bisquick baking mix. It can be used in place of Bisquick in any recipe and is really easy to make up. I like to keep it on hand for these fun quick recipes.

You will need these ingredients:

• Bisquick – or my homemade baking mix
• Sugar
• Egg
• Milk
• Butter
• Lemon Zest

That’s all! It’s really simple to make and with no icing required it’s ready quickly.

To make the cake you simply mix all the cake ingredients and pour them into a pan. No sifting, creaming or other time consuming steps.

After you have the batter in the pan you can mix up your lemon topping which is simply butter, sugar, and lemon zest, and sprinkle it over the batter.

That’s it! It’s ready to bake and then enjoy.

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Yield: 9 pieces

Lemon Bisquick Coffee Cake

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This delicious light lemon coffee cake is simple to make and will quickly become a family favorite.

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 25 minutes

Total Time 35 minutes

Ingredients

• 2 cups Bisquick (or homemade baking mix)
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 egg
• 3/4 cup milk
• 2 tablespoons butter (melted)

Lemon Topping

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• 1 tablespoon butter (melted)
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 tablespoon lemon zest 

Instructions

1. Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Mix all of the ingredients, other than the ones for the lemon topping.
3. Pour batter into an 8-inch square pan.
4. Mix all the lemon topping ingredients.
5. Sprinkle the topping over the batter.
6. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

9

Serving Size:

1 piece
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 232Total Fat: 9gSaturated Fat: 4gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 4gCholesterol: 33mgSodium: 391mgCarbohydrates: 35gFiber: 1gSugar: 20gProtein: 4g

Nutrition information isn’t always accurate.

 More Bisquick Recipes

Looking for more ways to use Bisquick? Try these delicious recipes.

• Deep Dish Mini Pizzas
• Retro Ham & Cheese Pancakes
• Chocolate Chip Muffins

And check out the full recipe index for a lot more delicious recipes.