Fresh from the Kitchen: Recipes & Food Inspiration
- Cake flour, lemon zest and lemon emulsion with buttermilk and sour cream create a plush, moist lemon cake crumb.
- Make the lemon curd first, rub zest into sugar, bake layers, then brush with lemon syrup and assemble with frosting.
- Because of cream cheese frosting, refrigerate the cake to set; serve after 1 hour at room temperature; stores up to 5 days.
This lemon layer cake is soft, fluffy, and bursting with bright citrus flavor! The tender cake layers are filled with lemon curd and paired with tangy lemon cream cheese frosting for the perfect balance of sweet and tart! It’s a bakery-style lemon cake that’s light, vibrant, and perfect for any occasion!
This moist lemon cake recipe is specifically dedicated to my lemon lovers – my people! It’s a spin-off of one of everyone’s favorite recipes on my blog: lemon blackberry cake. After baking it countless times, one request kept popping up – “Can I make it without the blackberries?” After testing it multiple ways in my own kitchen, I realized this bright, buttery lemon cake deserved its own moment – and a moment it’s getting indeed!!
Lemon Layer Cake: The Perfect Dessert
The cake is soft and tender, then layer with a tangy lemon curd, just like the one in my lemon meringue cake, and slathered with a lemon cream cheese frosting. It’s a tall, bakery-style beauty that proves that sometimes simple lemon flavor can absolutely steal the show. 🍋
It’s the perfect dessert for Mother’s day or the holidays – this will 100% be on my Easter dessert table! Serve with ice cream and fresh berries for not only a delicious but impressive treat ! 🍰
Table of contents
Main Ingredients
(full list of ingredients can be found in the recipe card)
- Cake Flour is key to this recipe – it has a lower protein content and give the cake a more plush, soft texture. You can use all purpose flour, but the texture won’t be as soft.
- Lemon zest is going to give you that true fresh lemon flavor. It’s rubbed together with the sugar to release the lemon oils, adding a nice fragrant touch to the cake.
- Eggs are doing a lot of heavy lifting in the recipe. Egg yolks are used to make the tart lemon curd – but save those egg whites because we’re using whole eggs and egg whites in the cake batter as well. They provide structure and lift to the cake so that it can hold together and support the filling.
- Lemon Emulsion gives you that strong lemon flavor! It’s superior to lemon extract because the flavor doesn’t evaporate in the oven. You can use lemon extract, but I highly recommend getting lemon emulsion instead!
- Buttermilk, Lemon Juice, and Sour Cream adds moisture, a subtle tang, and create a soft, tender crumb. Together, they make the cake plush, velvety, and moist for days.
- Salted Butter and Vegetable oil come together to make this into an incredibly moist cake. You’ve got structure and flavor from the butter and oil comes in to keep the cake moist for days!
- Cream Cheese for the frosting – as opposed to all of the other ingredients, I actually want the cream cheese to be cold. Cold cream cheese creates a stable frosting – if you’ve ever made cream cheese frosting and it runny or loose – not this time! This is a pipable frosting that holds its shape beautifully.
How To Make The Best Lemon Layer Cake
(the full recipe can be found in the recipe card)
Prep: Grease three 8-inch cake pans with butter and dust with flour. Whisk together the dry ingredients and set aside.
Step 1: Make the homemade lemon curd filling first. Whisk egg yolks, sugar, and lemon juice over a double boiler over medium-low heat. until thick and pudding-like (it should coat the back of a spoon), then whisk in butter and refrigerate until fully set.
Step 2: Build the lemon cake batter. Rub lemon zest into the sugar to release the oils, then cream with softened butter and oil in the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment. Gradually mix in the eggs, egg whites, and extracts, then alternate adding dry ingredients with the wet ingredients until a thick batter forms. Divide the batter evenly between the pans and bake 40–45 minutes
Step 3: Make the lemon syrup and frosting. Simmer water and sugar to create a simple syrup, then stir in lemon juice and set aside. Separately, whip butter and powdered sugar until fluffy, then add lemon flavorings and cream cheese to create a smooth lemon cream cheese frosting.
Step 4: Assemble and chill the cake. Cut the cake layers in half with a cake leveller or serrated knife. Place onto a cake stand, brush each with lemon syrup, and layer with lemon curd and frosting. Chill to set, then finish with a crumb coat and final layer of frosting around the entire cake. Garnish with lemon slices.
Pro Baking Tips
Use room temperature ingredients (unless specified otherwise) – this is critical to the success of the cake! If any of the ingredients are cold – eggs, sour cream, buttermilk, etc – it can cause the cake batter to split.
If your lemon curd looks lumpy, strain through a fine-mesh sieve before chilling. Sometimes this can happen if the curd cooks too quickly.
If you don’t want to make your own lemon curd, store bought works just fine. Of note, if the store bought kind is runny, pipe a buttercream dam around the perimeter of the cake to ensure that the filling doesn’t seep out.
When assembling the cake batter, scrape down the sides of the bowl frequently with a rubber spatula. This ensures that the batter is coming together properly and all of the ingredients are mixed together.
Recipe FAQs
This specific batter should not be baked in a bundt pan, however, I have a lemon bundt cake recipe that’s wonderful that you can make instead.
Yes, because of the cream cheese frosting, this cake will need to be refrigerated. I recommend storing in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
Yes, but keep in mind the texture will be different upon thawing. To freeze, wrap slices tightly in plastic wrap and place into a freezer bag to prevent it from getting freezer burnt. Store for up to 2 months, then thaw in the refrigerator before eating.
Fresh lemon juice is always best for the brightest flavor. Bottled lemon juice can work in a pinch, but it often lacks the vibrant citrus taste that fresh lemons provide.
More Layer Cake Recipes
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If you make this recipe, please leave a star rating on the recipe card and comment below! You can also tag @BritneyBreaksBread on Instagram and hashtag #britneybreaksbread so I can celebrate your beautiful creations!
Lemon Layer Cake with Lemon Curd Filling
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Equipment
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Offset Spatula (optional)
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Bread Knife (optional)
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Cake Collar (optional)
Ingredients
Lemon Curd
- 4 Egg Yolks
- 1/2 cup Sugar
- 1/3 cup Lemon Juice
- 4 tbsp Salted Butter
Lemon Cake
- 4 cups Cake Flour
- 2 tbsp Milk Powder (optional)
- 1 tbsp Baking Powder
- 1/4 tsp Baking Soda
- 1 1/4 tsp Kosher Salt
- 4 tbsp Lemon Zest
- 2 1/2 cups Sugar
- 1 cup Salted Butter (room temperature)
- 2/3 cup Vegetable Oil
- 4 large Eggs (room temperature)
- 2 Egg Whites (room temperature)
- 1 tbsp Lemon Emulsion (or lemon extract)
- 1/2 tbsp Butter Vanilla Emulsion (or vanilla extract)
- 1/2 tsp Almond Extract
- 1 cup Buttermilk (room temperature)
- 1/3 cup Lemon Juice (room temperature)
- 2/3 cup Sour Cream (room temperature)
Lemon Simple Syrup
- 1/2 cup Water
- 1/2 cup Sugar
- 2 tbsp Lemon Juice
Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting
- 1 cup Salted Butter (room temperature)
- 4 cups Powdered Sugar
- 2 tbsp Lemon Juice
- 1 tsp Lemon Emulsion (or lemon extract)
- 16 oz Cream Cheese (cold)
Instructions
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Start by making the lemon curd – it’ll need time to cool and set.
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Fill a small saucepan with about 2 inches of water. Place onto the stove over low heat and bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce heat to low heat.
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Add egg yolks, sugar, and lemon juice to a medium heat safe bowl. Whisk together and place on top of the saucepan, whisking constantly so as to not cook the eggs. Continue to whisk until the consistency becomes pudding-like (or reached 170-180 degrees F), about 10-15 minutes. Once this consistency is reached, remove from head and add in butter. Whisk until melted, then cover with plastic wrap and place into the refrigerator set. 4 Egg Yolks 1/2 cup Sugar 1/3 cup Lemon Juice 4 tbsp Salted Butter
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Now let’s bake the lemon cake. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Grease and flour 3 8-inch cake pans. Set aside.
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Whisk together the dry ingredients in a large bowl – cake flour, milk powder (if using), baking powder, baking soda, and kosher salt. Set aside. 4 cups Cake Flour 2 tbsp Milk Powder 1 tbsp Baking Powder 1/4 tsp Baking Soda 1 1/4 tsp Kosher Salt
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Add lemon zest and sugar into the bowl of a stand mixer. Pinch the lemon zest into the sugar for about 2-3 minutes, until the sugar takes on a pale yellow color and the sugar becomes fragrant and lemony. Add in room temperature butter and vegetable oil and attach the paddle attachment. Mix on medium speed for 4 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl halfway through. 4 tbsp Lemon Zest 2 1/2 cups Sugar 1 cup Salted Butter 2/3 cup Vegetable Oil
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In a small bowl, whisk together eggs, egg whites, lemon emulsion (or extract), butter vanilla emulsion (or extract), and almond extract. Reduce mixer speed to low speed and begin slowly pouring in the eggs, adding about 1/3 of the egg mixture at a time, ensuring each addition of eggs are fully incorporated prior to adding more. 4 large Eggs 2 Egg Whites 1 tbsp Lemon Emulsion 1/2 tbsp Butter Vanilla Emulsion 1/2 tsp Almond Extract
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Add half of the dry ingredients and mix until just combined, about 15 seconds. Then add buttermilk, lemon juice, and sour cream and mix until combined, about 20-25 seconds. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, ensuring everything is smooth and incorporated. Then add the remainder of the dry ingredients and mix until a thick batter forms. 1 cup Buttermilk 1/3 cup Lemon Juice 2/3 cup Sour Cream
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Divide batter equally among the three pans and bake for 40-45 minutes, until a wooden skewer inserted into the center of the cake comes out with just a few moist crumbs. Allow the cakes to cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then turn over onto a wire rack to cool completely.
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While the cakes are baking, prepare the lemon simple syrup. Add water and sugar to a small saucepan over medium heat. Cook for about 5-7 minutes, until the sugar dissolves. Remove from the heat and add in lemon juice. Stir together and set aside. 1/2 cup Water 1/2 cup Sugar 2 tbsp Lemon Juice
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Lastly, make the lemon cream cheese frosting. Clean out the bowl of the stand mixer and attach the paddle attachment. Add the butter and powdered sugar and beat on low speed for about 1-2 minutes, until the mixture begins to come together (it’ll look chalky at first but it will come together) and then increase speed to medium-high. Mix for 3 minutes, until smooth and fluffy, scraping down the sides of the bowl halfway through. Add in the lemon juice and lemon emulsion and continue to mix on medium-high speed until smooth and incorporated, about 20 seconds. 1 cup Salted Butter 4 cups Powdered Sugar 2 tbsp Lemon Juice 1 tsp Lemon Emulsion
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Add cream cheese and mix for 2-4 minutes, until combined and smooth. 16 oz Cream Cheese
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Now let’s assemble everything. Use a bread knife or long sharp knife to cut the cake in half, lengthwise.
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Remove the lemon curd from the refrigerator and whisk together for about 1 minute just to fluff it up, until it’s smooth.
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Place one cake half onto a cake stand and use a pastry brush to coat the top of the cake with the lemon simple syrup. Add about 1/3 of the lemon curd on top. Then place the second cake layer on top and brush with lemon simple syrup, then add a thin layer of the lemon cream cheese frosting. Repeat with remaining layers.
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Once the cake is assembled, wrap with cake collar (this is an optional step that helps to keep the cake stable while icing. You can just go straight to adding the frosting – just be careful) and allow the cake to set in the refrigerator for about 1 hour. Remove the cake collar from the refrigerator and aoat with a thin layer of the lemon cream cheese frosting. Place back into the refrigerator for an additional 30 minutes, then coat the cake with the remaining frosting.
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Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Before serving, let it sit at room temperature for about 1 hour for best texture.
Nutrition
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