Lemon Layer Cake Recipe (2024)

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posted by Zainab Mansarayon Apr 17, 2017 (updated Mar 27, 2019) 24 comments »

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Thisclassic lemon layer cake recipe was previously published in 2013 but I am updating the pictures and recipe.

Lemon Layer Cake Recipe (1)

Hi friends! This lemon layer cake recipe is about four years old and I am reviving it with new pictures and an updated recipe for you. It is one of my favorite lemon cake recipes and rivals these classic lemon cupcakes for Spring desserts around my house.

We all know spring means lemon this and lemon that and I am a HUGE fan of lemon desserts all year round. There’s something about that lip-puckering tart and sweetness that’s just perfect. Thislemon layer cake starts with a sweet, tender white lemon cake that is fluffy and moist. I love the double dose of lemon zest and lemon extract in the cake giving it a vibrant burst of lemon flavor. The cake is filled with an equally delicious whipped lemon buttercream AND a lemon curd filling. For the lemon curd filling, I used a homemade recipe you can find here but you can also use any store-bought lemon curd you like.

Lemon Layer Cake Recipe (2)

Four years ago when I made this cake, it was allabout the rose buttercream technique. I was excited to try this technique for the first time in my baking adventure.

Here’s an excerpt from that post and the original image: “I’ve seen the idea around Pinterest for a while now (originally from I am Baker) and I figured I should give it a try. See my two favorite tutorialshere and here. I figured it could only help improve my piping techniques, or it could be a total disaster.”

Lemon Layer Cake Recipe (3)

As you can tell I was successful on that first try and I’ve since been using this easy technique to decorate celebration cakes like this Strawberry Rainbow Cake from last year.

And when I say it is easy, I really do mean it. All you need is a great recipe for decorating buttercream (seriously this is the KEY and my favorite is below),Wilton Tip 21 or 1M and a 16-inch piping bag. The rosettes are easy to pipe out and here is a great video TUTORIAL from I am Baker (the queen of rosettes).

Lemon Layer Cake Recipe (4)

For a show-stopping (easy) cake this Spring, consider this lemon layer cake with an ombre lemon buttercream.

Lemon Layer Cake Recipe (5)

Yield: 1 9-inch layer cake

Lemon Layer Cake Recipe

A classic lemon layer cake recipewith amoist, tender lemon cake filled with lemon zest and fresh lemon juices. The cake is dressed in a beautiful ombre lemon buttercream perfect for Spring entertaining.

Prep Time1 hour 30 minutes

Cook Time35 minutes

Total Time2 hours 5 minutes

Ingredients

Lemon Layer Cake

  • 1 ½ cups unsalted butter (3 sticks), room temperature
  • 3 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 tablespoon plus ¾ teaspoon baking powder
  • ¾ teaspoon salt
  • 2 ½ cups sugar
  • 5 large eggs, room temperature
  • 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
  • ½ teaspoon lemon extract
  • ½ teaspoon almond extract
  • Zest of 1 lemon
  • 1 ¼ cups buttermilk

For the Whipped Lemon Frosting:

  • 2 cups (4 sticks) unsalted butter
  • 1 pound powdered sugar
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • ¼ cup heavy cream
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 2teaspoons lemon juice

Assembly

Instructions

For the Cake:

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees C. Butter 3 9-inch cake pans, line with parchment circles and butter the parchment.
  2. Whisk together flour, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl.
  3. Combine buttermilk, vanilla, lemon and almond extract. Set aside.
  4. In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the butter and sugar on medium speed until pale and fluffy, about 5 minutes.
  5. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition and scraping down the side of bowl as necessary. Mix in lemon zest.
  6. With the mixer on low speed, add flour mixture in 3 batches, alternating with 2 batches of buttermilk and beginning and ending with flour.
  7. Divide batter among pans, smoothing the top with an offset spatula.
  8. Bake until golden brown and a cake tester comes out clean. About 30-35 minutes.
  9. Transfer pans to wire racks to cool for 10 minutes. Turn out cakes onto racks to cool completely.

For the frosting:

  1. In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the butter on medium-high speed for 6 minutes until light and fluffy. Add in the rest of the ingredients and mix on low speed for 1 minute or until combined. Increase speed to medium-high and beat the frosting for 5 minutes until fluffy and light.
  2. Divide the frosting, reserving 1 to 2 cups, into mixing bowls and add one to two drops of the gel color of your choice.

Assembly:

  1. Place your first cake layer on a cake plate.
  2. Fill a decorating bag with your frosting and pipe a border along the edge of the cake, creating a dam in the middle.
  3. Spread 1/2 cup of your lemon curd filling on the cake, within the piped border. Spread evenly. Top the curd with some frosting, about 1/3 cup and spread.
  4. Repeat the process with your next cake layer. Finally, frost the top and sides of your cake with a thin coat of frosting.
  5. Place cake in the refrigerator and let chill for 20 minutes.
  6. Meanwhile, color your frosting with your desired colors. I used purple gel coloring for this cake and divided the frosting into three to have three shades of purple.
  7. Using Wilton tip 1M or tip 21 fitted to your decorating bag, start with your darkest color and pipe rosettes around your cake in one row. Repeat the process, using lighter colored frosting, until the cake is covered in rosettes.

Making this Recipe?

Share it with us onInstagramusing#aclassictwistso we can see what you are baking up in your kitchen!

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originally published on Apr 17, 2017 (last updated Mar 27, 2019)

24 commentsLeave a comment »

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24 comments on “Lemon Layer Cake Recipe”

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  1. KaeReply

    Two questions:
    1. Where can I find the lemon curd recipe?
    2. Did you use the lemon buttercream for the icing used for the rosettes or is that a plain buttercream?
    Thank you!

  2. Pingback: Homemade Lemon Curd Recipe - A Classic Twist

  3. Doorstep CakeReply

    Hi there,

    Visiting your website always gives me a lot of ideas and I make delicious cakes for my customers. Actually, I operate an online cake shop in Noida and offers all types of cakes. It feels too good when I find something new recipe. Thanks a lot for sharing your ideas and great work with us.

    Warm Regards

    Doorstep Cake

  4. BridgetReply

    How many cups of batter does this recipe make? I’m looking to split it into two 10″ pans rather than three 9″. (Actually doubling to make four layers total)

    • Zainab MansarayReply

      Hi Bridget, I am not sure how many cups of batter this recipe made as I didn’t measure it. However, the full recipe should give you enough batter to split into two 10″ pans.

      • BridgetReply

        This worked beautifully! I did two batches (little oven) and came out with four 1.25 inch 10″ rounds.

        • Zainab MansarayReply

          YAY!! I am so happy to hear 🙂

  5. marcieReply

    This cake is SO beautiful — I love the ombre roses! It’s kind of fun revamping old posts isn’t it? It’s interesting to see how we’ve grown over the years. Your piping skills have certainly gotten even better — you’re a pro! 🙂

    • Zainab MansarayReply

      Thank you very much Marcie!! I have been having fun going through old posts. It really is great to see how far you have come.

  6. Nicole HeathReply

    This cake looks sooo good..So beautiful

    • Zainab MansarayReply

      Thanks Nicole!

  7. KearinReply

    Beautiful Zainab! Lemon all the things!

  8. Beth @ bethcakesReply

    Such a gorgeous cake, Zainab! I love the purple and your rosettes are perfect!! 🙂

    • Zainab MansarayReply

      Thanks Beth!!

  9. Pamela @BrooklynFarmGirlReply

    This cake looks so beautiful!

    • Zainab MansarayReply

      Thank you!!

  10. heather (delicious not gorgeous)Reply

    all this lemon!! 😋 back in the cupcake phase days, my favorite was a meyer lemon cupcake with lemon buttercream and lemon curd. this sounds just as fresh and lemony, and the piping is gorgeous (especially since purple is my favorite color!).

  11. AnonymousReply

    hi.do you store this cake in the fridge?

    • ZainabReply

      You can store at room temperature for up to 2 days or in the fridge for up to 5 days. Hope that helps.

  12. Laura PrestiaReply

    i loveeeee this one 🙂 you’re so talented!!! baker and photographer !

    • ZainabReply

      Thanks love!

Leave a Reply

Lemon Layer Cake Recipe (2024)

FAQs

How do you increase the flavor of lemon in a cake? ›

Add up to a few teaspoons of zest to your baked goods to provide background flavor notes. It can be used to boost the overall lemon profile of your bake or accent additional flavors, similar to vanilla extract. Add the zest to your recipe when called for or when adding the fat (butter, oil, etc.)

What to layer between cakes? ›

Filling: Filling is what goes between the cake layers. Cakes can be filled with frosting (like in this tutorial), mousse, ganache, whipped cream, fruit preserves, custard, and more. Frosting: Aside from being used as a filling, buttercream frosting is used to decorate the outside top and sides of the cake.

What does lemon juice do to a cake? ›

Lemon juice naturally contains citric acid which quickly reacts with the base present in the baking powder producing CO2 and sodium citrate. This may lead to undesirable flavors and poor crust color due to lower pH of the product after baking.

What happens when lemon juice is mixed with baking? ›

When baking powder is mixed with lemon juice, bubbles formed because of evolution of carbon dioxide gas. This is a chemical change, because in this reaction new substances are formed.

Can I use lemon juice instead of water in cake mix? ›

Incorporate citrus

Mix in 1 tablespoon of freshly grated orange, lime, grapefruit, or lemon zest. "For a citrus cake, also try using lemon juice or orange juice," says Waterson. Replace 1/8 cup of the water called for on the box with lemon or orange juice to amp up the flavor.

Why does my lemon cake not taste like lemon? ›

Lemon flavor: Let's all say it together: LEMON JUICE DOESN'T ADD LEMON FLAVOR (when added to the cake). Instead, try adding more zest, lemon extract, or a lemon soak.

What flavor enhances lemon? ›

There are a lot of flavors that go beautifully with lemons like lavender, strawberry, coconut, blueberry, and raspberry. It also goes perfectly with fresh herbs like basil! What cheese goes best with lemon? The delicious citrus flavor of the lemon goes perfectly with goat cheese and ricotta cheese.

What is Elvis Presley cake? ›

An Elvis Presley cake is a single-layer classic yellow cake that's topped with a pineapple glaze. Much like a poke cake, the syrup and juices of the pineapple will seep into the cake through fork holes, resulting in a decadent, ultra-moist cake.

What is a Kardashian cake? ›

For over 30 years, Hansen's Cakes in Los Angeles has been making cakes for the Kardashian-Jenner family — specifically their flower-topped basket weave cake. Recently, the cake gained viral fame when it was featured by TikToker @quinnhouses, whose birthday cake video quickly gained over 2.7 million views.

What is a godfather cake? ›

A two-tier Godfather themed cake featuring all hand-modeled and edible elements from the classic movie. The cake is lemon chiffon with a delicious raspberry butter-cream filling, covered in dark chocolate ganache and LMM fondant.

Can you put jam between cake layers? ›

You might just use regular jam as the filling between the layers. I make mine with a moist, gluten free vanilla layer cake, Strawberry Cupcake Filling, and Cream Cheese Frosting.

Can I put pudding between cake layers? ›

You betcha. My great aunt made a lemon coconut pudding cake that's still the family hit almost 100 years later. She made a white layer cake, in four layers, then cut each in half, so the cake would have 8 layers. She put lemon pudding between layers, then frosted the cake with a lemon coconut buttercream frosting.

Can I use store bought jam for cake filling? ›

Based on our first hand experience, GOOD GOOD's strawberry jam is the best store bought jam to layer your homemade cakes with. This is because it contains real berries and doesn't have any added sugar.

Can I substitute lemon juice for milk in cake mix? ›

Any liquid can be substituted for the milk in a recipe with a 1:1 ratio. Choose the best liquid for your recipe: Is your recipe sweet or savory? You may choose between a fruit juice, water or broth, depending on if your recipe's flavors.

Can you use lemon juice instead of fresh lemon in cake? ›

Can I just use lemon juice instead? You will get far better, more intense lemon flavor with zest than you will with juice. If you don't have zest, a good substitute is lemon oil, which is the source of the flavor in the zest.

Can I put juice in cake mix? ›

Switch up the liquid.

Or turn to citrus, from lemon to orange to lime to grapefruit, or even clementine. Add the zest and juice to vanilla cake batter and frosting for a supercharged citrus cake. You can also swap in canned coconut milk anytime your recipe calls for whole milk.

What happens if you put too much lemon juice in a cake? ›

Cutting too much lemon for a recipe can result in a dish that is excessively sour or acidic. This can overpower the other flavors and make the dish unbalanced.

References

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