These fudgy lemon brownies are a refreshing twist on classic brownies! They combine the tangy, bright flavor of fresh lemons with the rich, buttery texture of traditional brownies. The lemon brownie base is also topped with a simple lemon glaze to add an extra zesty finish – so so good!
What are Lemon Brownies?
Lemon brownies are a citrusy twist on the classic brownie! Unlike traditional chocolate-based brownies, lemon brownies are made with lemon juice and zest to give them a bright, tangy flavor (similar to lemon bars). They have a dense, slightly chewy, fudgy texture (similar to my fudgy brownie recipe) but with a refreshing lemon taste. They are a lemon lovers perfect dessert!
Many lemon brownie recipes also opt to use a lemon glaze (which I have chosen to do as well – they really take the brownies to another level!) to further enhance their lemon flavor and add a bit of extra sweetness.
Why You’ll Love These Brownies
Flavor: These lemon brownies are one of my favorite lemon desserts because they’re packed with SO MUCH lemon flavor.
Texture: I had to do a bit of experimenting with this recipe to get the perfect fudgy texture. I found that using warm melted butter and only cooking the brownies until they were almost done made for the best texture. I also found that using no baking powder or baking soda (and only relying on eggs to provide a little leavening) made for dense lemon brownies that didn’t just taste like a thin lemon cake.
Ease: These lemon brownies are SO SO easy to make! They come together quickly and don’t require an electric mixer.
How to make Lemon Brownies
Preheat oven to 180 °C (350°F) conventional and grease a square 8×8 inch cake tin (I use my homemade cake release). Once greased, line with a piece of parchment paper that is long enough so there is some overhang on two opposite edges of the tin. This will make it easier to pull the brownies out once done.
Sift together flour, cornstarch and salt. Using a whisk or fork, mix until well combined and set aside for now.
In a large mixing bowl add in white sugar and fresh lemon zest. Using your fingers, rub the lemon zest into the sugar until the sugar has a light yellow tinge to it (about 30 seconds).
Add in warm melted butter, unflavored vegetable oil, eggs, fresh lemon juice and vanilla. Using a whisk, mix until combined and smooth, but avoid overmixing (you don’t want to incorporate too many air bubbles into the batter).
Add in the dry ingredients from earlier to the wet mixture and using a rubber spatula, gently fold until just combined. Do not overmix.
Pour the batter into the prepared baking pan (the batter should be thin). Give the tin a little shake to evenly distribute the batter and then drop it lightly on the counter twice. Bake for 22 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out almost clean (you want to have a very small amount of uncooked batter or moist crumbs on the toothpick – this will ensure the brownies don’t overbake).
Allow to completely cool in the cake tin (1-2 hours).
Once cooled, run a thin knife (or spatula) around the edges of the pan that have no parchment paper and then carefully use the excess parchment paper hanging over the edges to carefully lift the brownie out of the cake pan.
Prepare the lemon glaze by combining the powdered sugar and lemon juice. Mix with a spoon until combined and smooth. You want the glaze to be thick, but spreadable.
Spread the glaze evenly over the top of the brownie (I use my offset spatula, but the back of a spoon will do the trick too). Allow it to set for 30 mins to an hour (you should be able to touch the top without any of the frosting sticking to your finger) and then slice and serve!
How to Store Lemon Brownies
Store any leftovers in an airtight container at room temperature for up to a week.
Easy Fudgy Lemon Brownies
Print Pin VideoIMPORTANT: For accuracy, I would recommend using the gram measurements provided, as those are the exact quantities I use. Cup measurements are given as estimates (based on US cup measurements) to make it easier for those who do not have a scale.
Ingredients
Lemon Brownie Base
- 1¼ cups (150 g) all purpose flour
- 2 tbsp (14 g) cornstarch
- ½ tsp salt
- 1¼ cups (250 g) white granulated sugar
- 2 tbsp fresh lemon zest - See note 1
- ¾ cup (170 g) warm melted unsalted butter - make sure the butter is warm (not hot or cold) when adding it to the batter
- 1 tbsp (13 g) unflavored vegetable oil
- 2 large eggs - room temperature
- 3 tbsp (42 g) freshly squeezed lemon juice
- ½ tsp vanilla extract/essence
Lemon Glaze
- 1 cup (125 g) powdered sugar - also known as icing/confectioners sugar
- 1½ tbsp (22 g) freshly squeezed lemon juice
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 180 °C (350°F) conventional (see note 2 if using a convection oven with a fan) and grease a square 8x8 inch cake tin (I use my homemade cake release). Once greased, line with a piece of parchment paper that is long enough so there is some overhang on two opposite edges of the tin. This will make it easier to pull the brownies out once done.
- Sift together flour, cornstarch and salt. Using a whisk or fork, mix until well combined and set aside for now.
- In a large mixing bowl add in white sugar and fresh lemon zest. Using your fingers, rub the lemon zest into the sugar until the sugar has a light yellow tinge to it (about 30 seconds).
- Add in warm melted butter, unflavored vegetable oil, eggs, lemon juice and vanilla. Using a whisk, mix until combined and smooth, but avoid overmixing (you don't want to incorporate too many air bubbles into the batter).
- Add in the dry ingredients from earlier and using a spatula, gently fold until just combined. Do not overmix.
- Pour the batter into the prepared cake pan (the batter should be thin). Give the tin a little shake to evenly distribute the batter and then drop it lightly on the counter twice. Bake for 22 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out almost clean (you want to have a very small amount of uncooked batter or moist crumbs on the toothpick - this will ensure the brownies don't overbake).
- Allow to completely cool in the cake tin (1-2 hours).
- Once cooled, run a thin knife (or spatula) around the edges of the pan that have no parchment paper and then carefully use the excess parchment paper hanging over the edges to carefully lift the brownie out of the cake pan.
- Prepare the lemon glaze by combining the powdered sugar and lemon juice. Mix with a spoon until combined and smooth. You want the glaze to be thick, but spreadable (see note 3).
- Spread the glaze evenly over the top of the brownie. Allow it to set for 30 mins to an hour (you should be able to touch the top without any of the frosting sticking to your finger) and then slice and serve!
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional information are estimates only as they are automatically calculated by a third party application. Actual values may differ based on brands and types of products used.
40 Comments
Once again another delightful recipe. delicious. 🥰
Thanks so much Shy! So glad you loved the lemon brownies 😀
I love these like everything I’ve tried of yours. Mine are half the thickness of yours in the picture. I’ve made them twice. Any tips? Thanks
So glad you’re loving the recipes Debbie! 😀
Hmm I wonder if perhaps the pan you’re using is slightly larger than mine? I use an 8×8 inch tin for this recipe 🙂
Alternatively, it could be perhaps a slight difference in the quantity of the ingredients used (more likely to happen if you use cups as opposed to a scale). Sorry I couldn’t be of more help Debbie, but my best guess would be that your cake tin is probably slightly larger than mine 🙂
I’m sure you’re right! I’ll use the scale next time. I made a double batch today and one was flatter but these are so good it doesn’t matter lol. Everyone loved these. Another great recipe. Thanks for making me a better baker.
When queen says fudgy she meant FUDGY!! Fantastic lemon flavor and a fudge-like texture. It was delicious!! XD
Haha aww thanks Hannah! So glad you enjoyed the lemon brownies 😀
Amazing! The zesty lemon flavor in these brownies are out of this world. I made these for a few people and everyone was obsessed. You have to make these.
Aww yay! So glad everyone loved them Alex 😀
Hi, I’m making this recipe this afternoon and wondered if it can be frozen?
Hi Jackie! 🙂 I haven’t tried freezing these lemon brownies myself so I’m not too sure how well they’ll hold up after thawing sorry! My gut feeling is that I think they’ll be fine to freeze 🙂
Can I use caster sugar instead of granulated sugar?
Hi Misriya! 🙂 I haven’t tried that myself, but I think it should work fine!
Hope you enjoy the brownies 🙂
I can’t find any amounts for the ingredients in your description of how to make these. Could you please provide them since I don’t have time to watch the video. They look delicious and my husband loves anything with lemon flavor. Thanks.
Hi Lynda! 🙂 You can find all the quantities at the bottom of the blog post – if you hit the ‘jump to recipe’ button at the top of the blog post, it will take you to the recipe card that has all the information and written steps 🙂
Hope that helps and hope your husband enjoys the brownies!
These lemon brownies are very tasty and the texture is “fudgy.” I tasted them the evening I made them, after they had cooled, and again the next morning. The lemon flavor mellowed a lot with the overnight sitting, was a little less harsh, and balanced well with the buttery flavor. I did not use the glaze since these seemed sweet enough. A light sprinkling with powered sugar made them look festive. Thanks for the lovely recipe.
So so happy to hear you enjoyed the recipe Anita 😀
Really appreciate the feedback 🙂
Can I not use cornstarch as I dont have it. If not ant substitutions please, thank you.
Hi Christine! 🙂 If you don’t have cornstarch, you can use all purpose flour in place of the cornstarch. The lemon brownies may just be a little more firm/not as soft – but will still be moist and yum! 🙂
Hope you enjoy the recipe!
Thank you for sharing this recipe – I made it tonight and it is outstanding 👌I didn’t have an 8×8 tin, but used a 9×9 tin and it tasted amazing. Mixing the sugar with the lemon zest is such a great idea – it makes the lemon taste so much better. With some strawberry coulis, this is heaven ❤️
Yay! So glad to hear you loved the recipe Joe 😀
Pairing this with strawberry coulis sounds sooo delicious! I’ll have to try that sometime 🙂
Thank you again for the wonderful feedback 🙂