Triple Lemon Cake

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This lemon curd cake is made of 4 layers of tender, sweet, perfectly tangy lemon cake filled with lemon curd and frosted with smooth lemon buttercream! Prepare yourself for a gloriously mouth-puckering dessert.

Why You’ll Love This Lemon Dessert

From the curd to the cake to the buttercream, this mouth-puckering lemony dessert is loaded with flavor from real lemon juice and fresh lemon zest. Here are just a few of the reasons you have to try it. Like, now.

  • Perfect lemon curd. I used my classic lemon curd recipe. It really brings this dessert together. It’s the perfect combination of sweet and tangy and I love its smooth, silky texture. It’s the perfect filling for this lemony layer cake.
  • Just the right amount of tart. People (including me) often hold back a little bit in lemon desserts for fear that the finished product will be too tart. I didn’t do that in this recipe. If you’re a lemon lover, you’ll be overjoyed at how this dessert makes your mouth pucker just the right amount.
  • Texture. The cake itself has a nice density to it. Not too fluffy and not too heavy. It’s super satisfying to sink your teeth into. Plus, the use of oil instead of butter makes it so nice and moist.
  • No fancy mixing methods. One great thing about this cake is that it doesn’t require much to put it together. The cake batter itself is particularly easy to make. Just whisk together the dry ingredients before mixing in the wet ingredients followed by the sour cream. It’s as simple as that.
Overhead image of lemon curd cake with a slice taken out of it.

What You’ll Need

You won’t need much to make this lemon curd cake and you might already have a lot of the ingredients in your kitchen. Here’s a shopping list for you. Be sure to scroll to the recipe card below for exact measurements.

Ingredients for lemon curd cake separated into bowls.

Lemon Cake

  • All-purpose flour – Be sure to measure your flour correctly, either with a food scale or using the spoon and level method. A quality 1:1 gluten-free flour should also work.
  • Sugar
  • Baking soda and Baking powder – A combination of the two gives the best rise and texture.
  • Salt – This amplifies the flavors in your cake. Without it, the cake would be bland.
  • Eggs – Be sure to use large size eggs, not medium or extra large.
  • Vegetable oil
  • Fresh lemon juice – Fresh. Seriously. The bottled stuff just isn’t the same.
  • Sour cream

Lemon Curd

  • Fresh lemon juice – Use fresh lemon juice. I know it takes a little extra effort but it’s just so much tastier.
  • Lemon zest – Be sure to zest the lemons before you juice them.
  • Sugar – Adds sweetness and volume to your curd.
  • Egg yolks – These thicken your lemon curd and add to the tart flavor.
  • Unsalted butter

Lemon Buttercream

  • Unsalted butter – If the butter is too cold, you’ll get a lumpy frosting. Too melted and your frosting will be runny. Allow it to soften at room temperature before using.
  • Powdered sugar – For volume and the right consistency.
  • Fresh lemon juice – Real, freshly squeezed lemon juice really does make a difference here. So ditch the bottled stuff and grab your lemon press!
  • Lemon zest
  • Vanilla extract
  • Salt – You don’t have to add salt, but it does help cut the sweetness a bit.
  • Heavy cream – Use as much as needed to get the right consistency frosting.

How to Make Triple Lemon Cake

Ready to start baking? Here’s a quick look at how to make this outstanding triple lemon cake. Be sure to scroll to the recipe card below for more detailed instructions.

Cake layers

  • Prep. Preheat the oven to 350°F, line the bottom of two 8-inch cake pans with parchment paper, and grease the sides with non-stick baking spray.
  • Combine the dry ingredients. Whisk together the flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
  • Add the wet ingredients. Whisk the eggs, vegetable oil, and lemon juice into the dry ingredients followed by the sour cream.
  • Bake. Divide the batter between the cake pans and bake for 22-27 minutes.
  • Cool. Allow the cakes to cool in their pans for 2-3 minutes before transferring to cooling racks.

Lemon curd

  • Combine. In a double broiler set over simmering water, combine all of the ingredients. Heat until they begin to melt/thin out.
  • Cook. Cook, whisking constantly, until the mixture reaches 160 degrees F or coats the back of the spoon.
  • Chill. Transfer the lemon curd to a large bowl, press a layer of clear wrap over the top, and chill in the refrigerator.

Lemon buttercream

  • Make the buttercream. Beat the butter until smooth. Mix in half of the powdered sugar followed by the lemon juice, lemon zest and vanilla extract, and salt. Mix in the remaining powdered sugar.
Lemon buttercream frosting in a mixing bowl.

Assemble the cake

  • Turn 2 layers into 4. Remove the domes from the top of the cakes and cut each cake horizontally to make 4 layers of cake total.
Cutting a layer of lemon cake in half horizontally to make 2 layers.
  • Build the cake. Place the first layer of cake on a serving platter, pipe a dam of frosting around the outer edge, and fill the dam with half of the lemon curd. Add a cake layer and top with 1 cup of frosting. Add another cake layer, pipe a dam around the edge, fill the dam with frosting, and top with the last cake layer.
Adding a dam of lemon buttercream and a filling of lemon curd to the 3rd layer of lemon curd cake.
  • Frost. Add a thin (crumb coat) of frosting to the outside of the cake and chill in the fridge for 1-2 hours before frosting the outside of the cake.
  • Decorate. Pipe swirls of buttercream on top of the cake and garnish with lemon slices.
  • Chill. Refrigerate the cake until ready to serve.
Lemon curd cake on a serving platter.

Tips for Success

When done right, this lemon cake with lemon curd is one of the dreamiest desserts ever. Pay close attention to these tips and tricks in order to get it there.

  • Don’t overmix. When combining the wet and dry ingredients for the cake layers, don’t over-mix. This can cause the glutens in the flour to overdevelop which will cause the cake to become tough and overly dense.
  • Use fresh lemon juice. In the cake, the curd, and the frosting. Bottled lemon juice will not give the same flavor.
  • Cook over low heat. When making the lemon curd, cook over low heat. This, in combination with constant whisking (see my next point), will help keep the eggs from scrambling and will ensure that the lemon curd doesn’t burn.
  • Whisk constantly. When cooking the lemon curd, whisk constantly. This will help prevent the eggs from scrambling and/or burning. It will also help add air and volume to the custard.
  • Don’t overcook the custard. If you overcook the custard, it will become thick and lumpy and will not spread evenly over the cake layers. Cook it just until it is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.
  • Cool the curd. As the curd cools, it will thicken to the perfect consistency to spread over the cake. So give it some time to chill in the fridge before you use it in this dessert.
  • Room temperature butter. Take the butter out of the fridge for a while before using it in the buttercream. You want it to soften otherwise you might find yourself with a lumpy frosting.
  • Cool cakes. Allow the cake layers to cool completely before filling and frosting. Otherwise, the frosting and the curd will melt right off.
  • Do your homework. Stacking, filling, and frosting a cake can be a little tricky. So I suggest looking through my posts on how to level and torte a cake, how to fill and stack a layer cake, and how to frost a smooth cake with buttercream while your cakes bake. They are full of information that will make the process a piece of cake (ha!).
A slice of lemon curd cake on a plate with a bite taken out of it.

How to Store Leftovers

Store this scrumptious lemon curd cake in an airtight cake carrier. If you don’t have one, wrap the dessert in a double layer of plastic wrap. I suggest using toothpicks to prop the plastic away from any decorations. If you’ve already sliced the cake, arrange the slices in a single layer in an airtight container. Whichever method you choose, store the cake in the fridge for up to 4-5 days.

Can I Freeze This Lemon Cake with Lemon Curd?

You can! Pop the cake in the freezer for a couple of hours to firm up before wrapping it in a double layer of plastic wrap. Alternatively, arrange slices of cake in a single layer in an airtight container. Either way, you can store the dessert in the freezer for up to 3 months.

Allow the cake to thaw in the fridge before serving.

More Lemon Desserts

You can’t get much more lemony than this triple lemon cake but if you’re on the hunt for more lemon desserts, here are some of my favorites.

Print
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Overhead image of lemon curd cake with a slice taken out of it.
Recipe

Triple Lemon Cake

  • Author: Lindsay Conchar
  • Prep Time: 1 hour
  • Cook Time: 35 minutes
  • Total Time: 1 hour 35 minutes
  • Yield: 12-14 Slices
  • Category: Dessert
  • Method: Oven
  • Cuisine: American

Description

This lemon curd cake is made of 4 layers of tender, sweet, perfectly tangy lemon cake filled with lemon curd and frosted with smooth lemon buttercream! Prepare yourself for a gloriously mouth-puckering dessert.


Ingredients

Lemon Cake

  • 2 cups (260g) all-purpose flour
  • 1 1/2 cups (310g) sugar
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 3/4 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 3 large eggs
  • 2/3 cup (160ml) vegetable oil
  • 2/3 cup (160ml) fresh lemon juice
  • 3/4 cup (173g) sour cream

Lemon Curd

  • 1/4 cup (60ml) fresh lemon juice (about 12 lemons)
  • 2 tsp finely grated lemon zest
  • 1/3 cup (69g) sugar
  • 4 large egg yolks
  • 3 tbsp (42g) unsalted butter

Lemon Buttercream

  • 3 cups (672g) unsalted butter, room temperature
  • 12 cups (1380g) powdered sugar
  • 6 tbsp (90ml) fresh lemon juice
  • 1 tbsp finely grated lemon zest
  • 3/4 tsp vanilla extract
  • Pinch of salt
  • 12 tbsp (15ml-30ml) heavy cream

Instructions

Cake Layers

  1. Preheat oven to 350°F (176°C) and prepare two 8-inch cake pans with non-stick baking spray on the sides and parchment paper in the bottom.
  2. Add the flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder and salt to a large bowl and whisk together to combine.
  3. Add the eggs, vegetable oil and lemon juice to the dry ingredients and whisk together to combine. Do not over mix.
  4. Add the sour cream and whisk together until well combined. Do not over mix.
  5. Divide the batter evenly between the prepared cake pans and bake for 22-27 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out with a few moist crumbs.
  6. Remove the cakes from the oven and allow to cool for 2-3 minutes, then remove to a cooling rack to finish cooling.

Lemon Curd

  1. Combine all the ingredients in a double boiler (or in a metal bowl over a pot of simmering water). Heat while whisking constantly until mixture thickens and reaches 160 degrees, or coats the back of a spoon.
  2. Pour the lemon curd into a heat proof bowl, cover with clear wrap pressed onto the top of the curd to avoid a film developing, and refrigerate until cold.

Lemon Buttercream

  1. To make the buttercream, add the butter to a large mixer bowl and beat until smooth.
  2. Add half of the powdered sugar and mix until well combined and smooth.
  3. Add the lemon juice, lemon zest and vanilla extract and salt and mix until well combined and smooth.
  4. Add the remaining powdered sugar and mix until well combined and smooth. Add heavy cream, as needed, to get the right consistency of frosting.

To Build the Cake

  1. To put the cake together, use a large serrated knife to remove the domes from the top of the cakes, if needed, so that they’re flat. Next, cut each cake horizontally to make 4 layers of cake total. See my tutorial for how to level and torte a cake.
  2. To build the cake, place the first layer of cake on a cardboard cake circle or a serving platter. Pipe a dam of frosting around the outer edge of the cake, then fill it with about half of the lemon curd. (For more help with building the cake, see my tutorial for how to fill and stack a layer cake)
  3. Add the second layer of cake on top, then spread about 1 cup of lemon buttercream evenly on top.
  4. Add the third layer of cake, another dam of frosting and the remaining lemon curd. Top the cake with the final layer of cake.
  5. Add a thin (crumb coat) of frosting to the outside of the cake, then place in the fridge to firm up for 1-2 hours. Once the frosting is firm and the cake is a little more steady, frost the outside of the cake. See my tutorial on how to frost a smooth cake with buttercream for help, if needed.
  6. Pipe swirls of buttercream on top of the cake with the remaining buttercream, if desired. Add lemon slices, if desired.
  7. Refrigerate the cake until ready to serve. Cake is best served cool, but not cold. Store in an air tight cake carrier or well covered. Best if eaten within 3-4 days.

Nutrition

  • Serving Size: 1 Slice
  • Calories: 1044
  • Sugar: 110.8 g
  • Sodium: 224.1 mg
  • Fat: 58.9 g
  • Carbohydrates: 128.3 g
  • Protein: 6.2 g
  • Cholesterol: 156.1 mg

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381 Comments
  1. Emily

    Thank you so much for having a recipe that doesn’t require expensive kitchen equipment. It’s really hard to find recipes where you do everything by hand. I’m going to spend the afternoon trying this one. Will comment again when it’s done. 🙂

  2. Lisa

    Best lemons cake hands down!!
    I made this cake once for my dads birthday, ever since it’s the requested cake for his birthday and all 3 of my kids birthdays! It is the BEST lemon cake I’ve ever tasted and ever made!!! My daughter now makes desserts for the restaurant she works at and this is the lemon cake she makes.






    1. Lindsay

      This cake doesn’t really rise all that well. They layers aren’t super thick. So I’m not sure it’s the best for cupcakes. I might use my actual lemon cupcakes and just add the lemon curd filling.

  3. Susana

    Thank you Lindsay for this awesome cake. Made it for my sister’s birthday, hoping it would be something special for her as she’s always making great cakes for others. She absolutely loved it! Her family did too!!
    As it’s quite a big, rich cake, is it OK to freeze for a few weeks?

    Thank you!






    1. Lindsay

      I’m so glad it was a hit! I would recommend freezing individual slices. You can just slice the cake and wrap the individual slices in clear wrap and foil, and then thaw them in the fridge before using them.

  4. Jean Fleming

    2nd comment. I finished making the cake even though I thought the layers were not quite “box” cake high. 😁 Could not wait for it to rest in refrig just had to taste test. It is delicious. Homemade curd was spot on. Like the strawberry frosting the lemon frosting is also the best I have tried. Thanks again for sharing your baking talent with all of your fans.

  5. Jean Fleming

    My cake layer did not really rise as high as I thought they should have. I have fresh baking soda and baking powder. Any thoughts?

    1. Lindsay

      These cake layers aren’t super high. Certainly not as high as my usual cakes. It’s possible that they are as they should be, but just different than you expected.

  6. Maria Shell

    This cake rocks!! I’ve made it twice and I love it. It’s super moist, and sooo delicious! I like a lot of lemon, so I added a dash of lemon extract and some zest in the curd, cake batter, and buttercream. So good! 🙂






  7. Kath

    I’ve made this twice and love the recipe! A really stupid question if I wanted a moist vanilla sponge cake could I just make the cake without the lemon juice? Would it work?
    Thanks






  8. Tiff

    World’s best lemon cake!
    Sometimes I cheat and use store bought lemon curd. I also usually don’t make the full amount of buttercream.






    1. Jean Fleming

      I have used store bought card and really like it; however, I made Lindsay’s and was very pleased. Her re re pie is not as tangy.🥰

  9. Rhonda Jennings

    I made this cake for a birthday at a restaurant. I gave the waitress a piece, which she shared with the owner. He came out to our table and said that was the best cake he had ever tasted in his life. I have made it many times since, and it has always had that effect on everyone who has eaten it. Thanks so much!






    1. Lindsay

      I guess it depends on how much more. You’d probably want to replace something else and too much more could add more acid than the cake can handle.

  10. Jeanette T

    I’ve made your recipe many times and everyone loves it. But, The layers I baked yesterday were not to my satisfaction. Could you tell me how many grams of flour are in one of “your cups” ? A cup of flour could range from 120-145g per cup depending on how one places the flour in a measuring cup. Thanks so much






  11. Mel

    This was great! I quartered the recipe and made cupcakes out of it. I hollowed out the center of the cupcakes and filled with the lemon curd. I also didn’t have fresh lemons so I subbed with bottled lemon juice and dried lemon peel. Delish!






    1. Lindsay

      Shortening is a butter substitute. Feel free to replace it with the same amount of additional butter. I’m not sure exactly how much lemon curd it is but it should be enough for the cake.

  12. Tina Kaye

    How far in advance can I make the cake?
    I’m making it for a 50th wedding aniversary on Saturday but need to decorate and I am working on thd Friday so need to make weds/ Thurs ?
    Will it be OK??






    1. Lindsay

      I haven’t heard of anyone trying it with this recipe. It typically works with other recipes of mine so it would be worth trying.

  13. Lori H

    There is enough frosting to frost 3 cakes. Next time I will cut the frosting recipe in half.
    Very delicious cake though. Easy to make too.

  14. Frances Gee

    You say 1-2/2 cups of butter AND 1-1/2 cups of shortening in the buttercream. What sort of shortening? I want to make this tomorrow fir a friend’s birthday.
    Thank you

  15. Jody Davis

    Hi, what can I use as shortening in the buttercream? In Australia we usually use just butter in icing [frosting], so I’m a bit confused as to what to use.

  16. Melissa

    Would you help me understand how would I make this as a 5in cake? Would I just bake for less time and make more layers? Thank you!

  17. Jeanette T

    I made this cake for my daughter’s 50th surprise BD party. Everyone loved it. My problem is now a friend of hers wants this cake this weekend but I don’t have time to assemble it for a Saturday pick up. How long will the curd stay in the fridge. How long can it stay assembled in the fridge covered tightly? Can I assemble and frost then place it in the freezer? Any suggestions as I need to go out of town on Thursday but he wants to pick it up on Saturday. Thanks






  18. Rhonda L Krambs

    I’ve never been successful with scratch layer cakes. Tried my best on this one measured precisely every detail. ONLY thing I did was 9 ” pans. My layers are so thin I had to make two more layers with a lemon cake mix I had. I’m afraid they are going to taste better, but we’ll see. 🤞

  19. Miriam

    Can I use butter instead of shortening, and, can I bake this cake in a 9” springform pan make it 3 layers?

  20. Donna

    I loved this cake and so did all my family! It had lots of fresh lemons in the cake & lemon curd .I don’t like shortening in my frosting so I used a different icing with cream cheese &
    lemon juice which was amazing. Highly recommended the cake & lemon curd! It was bakery worthy!

  21. Lindsay

    Made this cake and it was to die for! I have never made a curd before and I was over the moon by the taste! Will be making it again.






  22. Linda Koffler

    Hi Lindsay,
    I made this cake last night and it was delicious! I think it was the most lemony cake I’ve made. My husband, who loves lemon, loved it too. It’s the first time I’ve made curd – turned out fantastic!
    I do have a question though, my cake came out a little short, each cake pan was maybe an inch tall. Any ideas what I can do differently next time to get a thicker cake? It was maybe a little dense compared to fluffy. Great recipe, I’ll definitely make it again!






  23. Nora Ayres

    I always follow the recipe the first time. The cake didn’t rise well. Next time I will add the four egg whites whipped before I bake the cake. It makes a lot of frosting. I have enough to frost some cupcakes. I will try it again but I will adjust the instructions.






  24. Eva

    Oh wow, better than our favorite bakery! Thanks so much for this fantastic recipe. The cake is so good, you can eat it by itself. We made the cake, the lemon curd and just served the two together with whipped cream for my mother in law’s birthday. It was a huge hit!!!






  25. Jim Walls

    I have a lemon tree, so was on the prowl for recipes to use some of them. Made this cake several times out of last season’s lemons and will make it again each lemon season.

  26. JP

    I’m going to try this recipe out in the next couple of days. I only have 9 inch cake pans currently. I ordered some 8 inch ones online so hopefully they come in before I have to start (the cake is for a birthday). The only part that confuses me slightly is when you cut the cakes. You cut them to make four roughly equal sized cakes. What kind of knife should I use, and have you ever had issues with crumbling? I’m nervous to try it as I’ve never seen a recipe like this where you slice a cake into two.

    1. Lindsay

      It’s actually a fairly common thing to do and I have a tutorial that shows a couple options for how to do it. That said, 9 inch layers will be thinner than 8 inch layers and will be a little tricker to cut.

      1. JP

        Thank you! This will be the first of your recipe’s I’ve tried but it looks very interesting. Never made a curd before either so it’ll be a learning experience.

  27. Jennifer

    I made this today for my husband’s birthday. Thankfully I just happened to have a lot of lemons on hand.  When I went to make the frosting I realized I didn’t have shortening so I used another lemon frosting recipe that thankfully had a lot less sugar. I couldn’t bring myself to do that much. It turned out PERFECT. Husband said “Now that’s a lemon cake.”  The lemon curd definitely makes the cake. Amazing!






  28. Katy

    So I have been trying your recipes for the past 6 months, so I know this one will be amazing. I have to do a 10” base tier for a 3 tier wedding cake and was wondering by how much I would need to add to this recipe. Would I double or triple it for a 2 layer? And how much time do you suggest adding? Thanks in advance! I love lemon so much so I know this cake will be awesome. 

    1. Lindsay

      I’m glad you’ve enjoyed the recipes! Having not made a 10 inch version, it’s hard to say. I’d try it out and see.

    1. Lindsay

      You can use store bought, but I truly think homemade is so much better. Like, a big difference in flavor. So much more in the homemade version.

  29. Rich Signell

    It’s my wife’s birthday today, she loves lemon cake, and she picked this over the Silver Palate lemon cake, which is really saying something. I think the only tricky part of this is knowing when to take the lemon curd off the heat. So how about this to make things easier: just whisk the curd gently until it reaches an temperature of 155F (68C) on an instant-read thermometer. Also recommend chilling the two cake layers to make it easier to cut them into four layers. Also, others say “too much frosting”. Bah! My wife says “no such thing!” 🙂

  30. Michelle

    My son requested a lemon blueberry cake for his 12th birthday. I (of course) came to life love & sugar bc the recipes are fail proof. I made the recipe as shown except I reduced the icing and filled two layers with whole blueberries. I topped it with more blueberries and it was a smash hit!  

  31. Kathy C.

    I made this recipe exactly as written and I couldn’t be happier with the results! My family said it was the best lemon cake that could easily be sold in a top notch bakery! (Their words, but I agreed!)






  32. Cynthia Simpson

    I love this recipe – I make it for my birthday every year now! The cake is moist and bakes perfectly every time. The lemon curd is perfectly tart. When it comes to the icing, you only need one third of the recipe. What is indicated here will make enough for a three tiered wedding cake! Some will find it super sweet so I would suggest a lemony buttercream. 






  33. Ella

    The sugar in the frosting is off the charts because it is an American Buttercream recipe. This type of buttercream is always over the top sweet. This is why I almost always make an Italian Buttercream. It is delicious and calls far less sugar yet it is the perfect amount of sweetness and creaminess! It is actually very easy to make. I follow the Preppy Kitchen recipe and it comes out perfect every time. As for this lemon cake – wow! Absolutely delicious!!! Thanks for this amazing recipe!






  34. Jackie

    Pretty much follow this recipe except I use butter in the cake instead of oil. I also use butter in the fasting instead of shortening. It was delicious and I have been asked over and over again to make it.

  35. Lori Vess

    Truly the best!
    I used this recipe for my son and daughter-in-law’s baby reveal cake. I tripled the recipe because the design needed two tiers, three layers each.
    Due to the style of the cake, I covered it using fondant.
    I received so many compliments!
    Thank you so much!
    My son said he ate the rest of the cake the week after the party, lol.
    He said he loved it and was ready for another.

  36. Diane

    This recipe was amazing!! I had never made lemon curd before but it turned out delicious. I actually made this into cupcakes and filled the inside with the lemon curd. I didnt change anything except for the buttercream as I didnt want to make so much. My coworkers loved it






  37. Ericka

    I’m a beginner so I think that this recipe would be greatly improved by the addition of pictures at ambiguous and difficult steps. The steps I had most trouble with was “Bake for 25 minutes or until done” and during the cake assembly. I dont know what color this cake should be when it’s finished so I did a toothpick test after 24-25 minutes. According to that, the cake was done but it still fell apart when I tried to pull it out of the pan (maybe due to my lack of experience). Then when I tried to assemble, you could imagine my frustration when trying to piece together crumbled bits of mess with lemon curd and frosting. I think many would also greatly appreciate any tips you have on getting cakes out of the pan in one piece, butterfyling cakes and transfering larger cake pieces when stacking. In regards to taste, I have yet to try it as a whole, but individually the components tasted pretty good.

    1. Lindsay

      I’m sorry you had trouble. When preparing the cake pans, I like to spray the sides with non-stick spray and put a parchment circle in the bottom of the pan. As for help with assembly, I have a couple new tutorials you might find helpful – one on torting layers and one on building a cake. I hope that helps!

  38. Alex

    The cake didn’t work at all. I followed the recipe to a T and it came out dense and not good at all. The frosting with 12 CUPS of powdered sugar was disgusting. DON’T WASTE YOUR TIME!!!!






  39. Ally

    I made this cake for my husband’s birthday last year and he loved it. So did I, and I’m not a fan of lemon sweets. The curd was THE BEST PART! I’m making this again this weekend. Can’t wait to eat it…yummy!






  40. Michelle

    Hi!!

    On the hunt for a cake, Mum wants a 60th cake with lemon & orange, 3 tiers. There’s a reason for the 3, wife, Mum and Granny. Dreading it as I normally only do Christmas cakes. Any tips on how to make this go smoothly for a sponge cake virgin?

  41. Christina

    My friend requested a lemon smash cake for her son’s first birthday and I found this recipe! It turned out great!  I used two 6-inch round cake pans and and baked them around 40 minutes, rotating half way through. I was surprised that there really wasn’t that much left over batter. After letting them rest overnight they sliced in half quite easily. I cut the frosting amount in half though, only due to using smaller pans than suggested. I colored the frosting a mint green with rainbow sprinkles on top and white detail icing on the edges. Great recipe! 






  42. Linda

    Lindsay, I can’t say enough good about your recipes! This is the 3rd recipe that I have tried, all my life I have loved sweets in so I have always done a lot of baking, and I’ve made a lot of lemon cakes, but this one is by far and away the very best!
     It is absolutely the perfect combination of sweet and tart, and I think the perfect amount of filling. Thank you so much for sharing your recipes, you bring a lot of joy into a lot of lives with your sharing! Extra blessings for you!






  43. Leah

    I am curious as to why the cake part of this recipe is so different than the one you published just a month prior. This one has oil and sour cream and the other one had butter. Can you explain why the two are different and how they are different in the results?

    1. Lindsay

      I’m not sure which other recipe you’re referring to, since I have several lemon cakes on the site. This was literally the second post I ever shared on this site, so the others would all be more recent than this one. 🙂

      As for why they would be different, they’re simply different cakes. Sometimes oil is nice, sometimes butter. If you let me know which other one you’re referring, I might be able to compare them a bit. Generally though, this cake is fairly dense, while my other lemon cakes are a little lighter. I hope that helps!

  44. Rachel Dowty

    I’ve made this 3 times and it’s been amazing every time. I use all butter in the frosting, no shortening. It’s a huge frosting recipe, so I either cut it down by a third or make a side batch of vanilla cupcakes to put the rest on. It’s fluffy and light, some of the best frosting I’ve ever made. This is also great with fresh raspberries. I love how moist the cake is, no worries about dry cake ever. I have frozen the cakes and defrosted a few days later to assemble, and it worked fine. Just wrapped in plastic wrap.






    1. Lindsay

      I’m so sorry for the trouble! There was an issue today that affected thousands of sites – mine included. It looks like it’s been resolved, so you should be able to access it here now. Sorry about that!

  45. Leanna

    Occasionally you come across a recipe that makes you stop looking for new recipes of that particular food. This is that lemon cake. I’ve probably made it half a dozen times by now and usually make raspberry frosting for it. Super delicious!






  46. angelle

    A little bit of work, but easy to follow – I made in 3- 9″ pans -with lemon curd and buttercream in between – the flavors were tangy and sweet – Definitely a keeper and I make a lot of recipes that get thrown away…This is one to make again and again






  47. Sharon

    I made this cake for a birthday, turned out beautifully, got rave reviews. Will definitely be keeping this recipe and making again. I did omit the shortening from the frosting as I just Will not use it. But a fantastic recipe, Thank you for sharing.






  48. Mindy McMaster

    My daughter had this cake as her B-day cake three years ago and has requested it again!! It was certainly a hit! I remember how yummy the lemon curd was and I hope that it is ok if I make it a day in advance. 

  49. Cynthia Samoorian

    Lindsey,
    Do you have a more exact times for beating the batter. ( email didn’t arrive)
    Thank you,
    Cynthia 

    1. Lindsay

      It’s been quite a while since I made this cake, but I do remember that it was fairly dense. I don’t remember specific times. It’s possible that you did it correctly. For a more updated lemon cake that should be a little more fluffy, you could try this one or this one.

  50. Cynthia

    Made your cake today. The cake was very thin. After reading some of the reviews I realized that’s the way it should be. Was wondering if you had a more exact time to beat the batter after each addition.

    1. Lindsay

      I haven’t made it in 9 inch pans. The cake layers would definitely be thinner and you’d want to reduce the baking time a bit. Some people have had success with doubling the recipe when using 9inch pans.

  51. Margueritta Leal

    Hi Lindsay, the recipe was great. Shared it with my colleagues at work and they thoroughly enjoyed it. I only used 6 cup of icing sugar and added more lemon juice to the butter cream and it was sufficient to ice my cake. The lemon curd is excellent. I will use it for scones in the future. I always love trying new recipes and this is definitely a keeper. Thank you.






  52. Brett Auclaire

    This recipe really works!!!  It will be a hit, I can assure you!!!  I experienced much initial anxiety as the cakes were quite thin, moist & dense, making it hard to believe one can easily split each cake into 2 layers (but it can be done).  Because I wanted to avoid overcooking them / burning them I cooked cakes just enough for toothpicks to come out clean – just under 20 minutes at 350.  The moistness of the cakes, combined with the pouring on the lemon curd (curd only got so thick with refrigeration for an hour – I could have chilled this longer to get thicker) had me anxious the whole cake would just be mush!  But it was OK!  It was great fun to make a 1-2 inch wide thick ring of frosting around the  edges of the 1st & 3rd layer which held the curd in.
    I made the cakes ahead of time & refrigerated them x 2 days.  I used 10 cups (rather than 12) of confectioners sugar.  I used all butter (6 sticks) in place of shortening – high quality Kerry Gold butter.  Softened.  I think I went through like 20 lemons.
    I think it’s about the best cake I’ve ever had.  And it cuts BEAUTIFULLY 






  53. Deborah Pitzer

    This looks amazing! Could this recipe be turned into cupcakes? I thought about piping the lemon curd into the inside of the cupcake?






  54. susan

    Lemon cake can be lovely, but shortening in the buttercream? Seriously? 
    Shortening is not a food and is seriously bad for ones health. PLease update this recipe to reflect current research. Real, pure, healthy fats are health-building.
    Shortening is a trans-fat and produces heart disease and other health problems. 

    1. Judith

      Take a breath Susan. The only way the shortening in this cake frosting would hurt you is if you ate enormous amounts of shortening every day and were completely sedentary. This is highly unlikely. The occasional treat will not hurt anyone. There is no need to change this recipe.

  55. Susan

    I made this as a test cake for a bride.  The groom was adamant that he wanted to also have my red velvet cake decades that is what he loved.  After tasting this cake, I am only making lemon.  It was spectacular.
    Now… I need to scale it up to a three tier cake.  I should have measured the amount of batter it produced when I made it the first time.  Could you please tell me how many cups of batter this recipe makes?  






    1. Lindsay

      I’m so glad you enjoyed the cake! Unfortunately, I don’t know how many cups of batter the recipe makes. I’m sorry!

    1. Lili

      Made the cake tonight with my daughters and was amazed at how moist and delicious it was! The only change we made was we substituted plain greek yogurt for sour cream since that’s what we had on hand. Topped it with a cream cheese frosting and had an amazing dessert that tasted like a mix of lemon cake (my favorite) and cheesecake (his favorite). We’ll definitely be making this again, oooohhhh maybe we’ll add some fresh strawberries. Thank you!






  56. Jan

    I really enjoyed this cake, after some adjustments.
    First, I made a mistake by buying 11 smaller lemons. They were all the store had. I ended up going back to a different store and getting 4 large lemons, and a bottle of the lemon juice that comes in a lemon shape. When you buy lemons, I would suggest you buy 13-15 large lemons.
    Second, I made four layers by doubling the recipe, because these layers were small, and with the amount of icing recipe was so big, I knew I would have a ton left over.
    Third, I made a double recipe of the curd. This recipe only makes enough to fill one layer. You can tell by the picture that a lot of icing has been used to supplement the curd filling.
    Fourth, the curd should be cooked longer than it takes to coat a spoon. I tried that with the first batch, and had to add corn starch to thicken it. The second batch I cooked until it was thick but not stiff. It came out much better.
    Fifth, the icing was still way too much. Unless you plan to do a ton of piping, you can half the recipe for icing. And I did pipe a thin ring around each layer to make the sides easier to ice.

    It took a ton of time for me to make, but if you use these tips you will cut out extra trips to the store and adjustment time.

    Thanks for the recipe.

  57. Jaqueline Richard

    I made it for my one year old’s birthday party, complete with a mini smash cake. It was incredible, so delicious and beautiful to boot. Thanks for the recipe!

  58. Chrystina Rafferty

    This is a family favorite! I make it every spring for my Father in law’s birthday, and everyone adores it. I was thinking of switching things up, and making this for a graduation, and wanting to turn it into a bundt cake. Have you had any success with it as a bundt?

  59. Sabrina

    Delicious! I made these into cupcakes filled with lemon curd and they were amazing! I did lessen the sugar in the cake batter by a third, and used Wilton’s buttercream frosting recipe with all butter and some lemon and vanilla extracts. This lemon curd recipe was much better than another one I had used for lemon bars, so I’ll be using his from now on. The cake is so simple and yummy it can whipped up whenever you have a sweet tooth. Thanks for sharing!

  60. Teri W

    I made this cake (just the cake and lemon curd as we are not big fans of buttercream) three times, and all three times, the cake tasted and smelled like flour. I dunno where it went wrong. Anyone having the same issue?

    The first two times I used buttermilk instead of sour cream. The third time I followed the recipe exactly.

    First I thought it was the oil I used, so on the second time I used a newly opened bottle of corn oil. Same flat, floury taste.

    Then I thought maybe it was the buttermilk. So I decided to give the recipe a 3rd chance and followed it exactly. Sorry still the same floury smell and taste.

    I am pretty sure it wasn’t the flour cos I used the same flour in other cake recipes and they turn out fine.

  61. Lana

    I never comment on recipes, but I have to say, I LOVE how you wrote this. Short simple and to the point. One of my biggest pet peeves is when people over explain or add comments in their recipes. I apologize if that came out rude, I just like to follow the recipe and move on. Thank you!!
    The cake was amazing!!!! Will make many more times

    1. Donna @ What the Dog Ate

      Totally agree with you Lana. I love this cake. I’ve made it at least five times and it always comes out great. So easy to make and so delicious.!

  62. Tibet

    I tried this recipe with cupcakes today — they seemed to be doing fine in the oven until they lost all their strength and deflated after rising! Not sure what went wrong there.

  63. Christine

    I just made this cake and absolutely love it! I only made the cake…so far. I feel like every cake a make is on the dry side. This one was perfect! Thank you!!!

  64. Sandy

    I made this cake for a baby shower, amazing! I did bake the cake in three 8″ cake pans and I used your recipe for whipped mascarpone frosting instead of buttercream. What a great cake! This is now the sixth recipe of yours I have tried, everyone has been a winner!

  65. Sandy

    FANTASTIC cake! I’ve been baking and cake decorating professionally for over 20 years. This is by far my favorite lemon cake recipe! Thank you for sharing it! Even the curd is amazing. The only thing I did differently was cut the sugar in the frosting WAY back. I only used a 2 lb bag instead of the 12 cups and used 1/4c of the lemon juice called for (or it would be too runny with the lack of sugar). Still had plenty to fill and decorate a 7″ layer cake. I served this to a group of elderly ladies who were celebrating their Spring birthdays. They ALL raved about how wonderful it was. “Now THIS is a cake,” one of them said. :)) So very good thanks again!

  66. Jess

    I made this for my mother-in-law this weekend, as she requests a lemon cake for her birthday each year. She rarely gives compliments, but I heard her mmm-ing while she took bites when she thought no one was watching! My husband and I agree, this recipe is a keeper. Thank you very much!

  67. Keyera

    I used this cake in a contest for school and I won first place with it the judges said it was really moist and it had the perfect amount of lemon this is really a good recipe it was amazing i cant believe i won and i didnt change anything in the reciepe

  68. Brittany

    Hi Lindsay! I’ve made two of your cakes now and I can’t wait to try this one! I saw that you used unsalted butter in the lemon curd. Did you use unsalted butter in the icing as well? Thanks!

    1. Lindsay

      I usually use salted butter when I do half butter/half shortening. If you were to choose to use all butter, I’d do half salted/half unsalted or just add some salt.

  69. Rachel

    Hi will this be enough for a half sheet pan? Looking to get a tight neat crumb cake to be able to stack and carve- will this be ok?  If so- will this be at the same temperature? And any idea how long for? Thanks!

    1. Lindsay

      I don’t make any sheet cakes really, so I’m not sure if this batter will be enough. It is a denser cake, so that should be fine.

  70. Judith

    This is delicious and so easy to make, but I have two comments, if they haven’t been made before. I had almost 4 cups of frosting left over; honestly I think the frosting recipe could be halved. And also: when you divide the two cake layers in half, you only have 3 layers to frost (because one will be the top of the cake), so I used the lemon curd for two of them, and the butter cream for one, and then the rest of the butter cream to frost the entire cake. Thanks!

  71. Zara

    Hi,

    You state ‘sugar’, does it matter what type of sugar I use. Do I use caster sugar or granulated white sugar? Or does it not matter.

    Thanks.

  72. Patricia Ferreira

    I made this cake the day before yesterday and it was very dense! I thought the cake itself with the lemon curd was really good, but the amount of powdered sugar (3lbs!) seems like a lot! I followed directions exactly and yes, that frosting was THICK and soooooo/TOOO
    sweet! i would have used 1/2 the amount . Made for family birthday party and most of the frosting was left on everyone’s plates. They did enjoy the cake part though, as I did. Honest Assessment~

  73. Stephanie

    I’m not a fan of lemon at all. But at the request of my father in law for his birthday, he requested lemon cake. My daughter’s (14&16) and I made this. It turned out beautiful and incredibly delicious. My FIL said it was the best he’d ever had, better than any store bought. I wish I could post our pic with it. Great recipe!

  74. Princess

    Hello Lindsay I have a question can you use lemon concentrate instead of fresh lemon

    If I wanted to use incorperate cream cheese in my icing how would that work?

  75. Kim

    I just made this triple lemon cake. And it’s really heavy it’s not fluffy at all has anyone else had this happen with a his recipe ?

  76. Paula

    Hello. I am interested in trying this recipe, but maybe you can answer my question first…I am a big fan of tall cakes. Like 5-6″ tall. I am wondering, if I want a tall 6″ cake, should I double the recipe? I read that people doubled the recipe for 9″ layers. What is your opinion on 6″ layers, for a tall cake. Thank you.

  77. Monica

    Hello! Is this cake moist enough as a base for a mousse cake? I want to make this sponge with a generous layer of orange mousse and dark chocolate orange ganache as glaze. Thanks in advance! (And i would much appreciate-and I bet not only me- if you would post recipes in grams, too) ☺☺☺
    Monica

  78. Melanie

    I made this cake for one of my colleagues. I probably should have halved the recipe for the icing as I did not have time to decorate it beautifully like you did and did not need it all. Instead I saved the leftovers and put it on cupcakes later.

    This cake is delicious! My colleague took it home and sent me a picture of her family devouring it. 🙂 Will make again!

  79. Karen

    I plan to make this for a party this weekend and have several questions:

    Have you ever made this using 9″ pans?

    If I make this the day before do I need to refrigerate it?

    And will this buttercream crust so I can cover with fondant?

    Thanks much 🙂

    1. Lindsay

      I haven’t made it in 9 inch pans. The cake layers would definitely be thinner and you’d want to reduce the baking time a bit.

      I would suggest refrigerating because of the lemon curd.

      The buttercream does crust.

      I hope you enjoy it! 🙂

      1. Karen

        Thank you. I saw another person coomented they doubled the recipe for 9″ pans and I tried that–perfect!! I also doubled the lemon curd. Nice high cake, super moist and delicious. I searched a lot of recipes for the perfect lemon cake recipe and so happy I chose this one, it’s a keeper. 

  80. The Other Lindsay

    Oops, I forgot to include this in my previous comment. To those who are having problems with too-dense cake, you might try mixing the wet ingredients in a separate bowl and having your cake pans greased and ready before you mix. The moment that lemon juice hits the baking soda and baking powder, the leavening reaction begins! You need to mix it and get the cake in the oven ASAP or the carbon dioxide bubbles will all escape before they can be trapped by the cooking batter and make it into fluffy cake. When I lick the spoon after the cake goes in the oven (yes, yes, I know, living dangerously) the batter almost feels fizzy on my tongue. Most cake batters don’t. I think this cake might have a faster reaction time than most other cakes I’ve baked, probably due to the lemon juice.

  81. The Other Lindsay

    Hi Lindsay! I just thought I’d tell you how much my family (including me!) love this cake. It’s surprisingly hard to find a properly lemony lemon cake, most of them have a pathetic amount of lemon juice and don’t taste very much like lemon. Your cake has a perfect balance of tart and sweet. I’ve made it for my brother in law’s birthday and my dad’s birthday for several years now, both of them love lemon desserts.

    This year I made a strawberry lemonade variation; strawberry jam instead of lemon curd and halved fresh strawberries covering the top of the cake. Yummy! And easy, no piping. I should have put strawberries around the bottom too, people kept asking for more berries on their slice.

  82. Sophie

    Hi lindsay, i want to bake this cake tomorrow but we dont have sour cream in my country so i want to if i can leave the sour cream out or if there’s a substitute for it? 

    1. The Other Lindsay

      Is yogurt available where you live? Plain full fat yogurt would probably work, I’ve substituted that for sour cream in baking before.

  83. John Jung

    I also made this cake and the cake came out very dense thicker than a custard. I read a number of reviews and more than a few have had this same issue. Obviously we’re all doing the same thing wrong, whatever that is

  84. Emily

    I tried this recipe and the cake was super dense and didn’t cook evenly. I cooked it for nearly an hour and it was JUST baked. I just ended up making my own variation of a lemon cake and turned this cake recipe into cake-pops. 

  85. Sarah

    I have no idea what I did wrong, but the cake is so dense. I could only cut 1 in half. I also have more than half the frosting left. Ugh. I don’t have time to make another one so I guess I’ll see what the cake tastes like later. The frosting is delicious so I’m not worried about the cake flavor just the dense stickiness. Any thoughts on what I did wrong? I followed the recipe exactly. Altitude? Oven? Your cake looks stunning btw.

    1. Lindsay

      This is more of a dense cake. It’s possible that yours turned out more dense than it should have, I’m not sure. It can be a little tricky with the acidity of the lemon sometimes. I hope it turned out ok.

  86. CindyV

    I made this cake yesterday for my friends birthday.  It was such a hit.  I make a lot of desserts and I am super picky.  I made your maple pumpkin streusel cake (I think that is what it was called) and loved it.  This cake was the perfect amount of tart and sweet which is so essential with lemon desserts.  It was so fun to take and your instructions were really easy to follow.  I just bought your cookbook and look forward to making more of your cakes.  Thank you.

  87. LulaB

    This is very delicious cake that would make everyone craving for more!!! I used the recipe and it came out fantastic! Thank you for the inspiration 🙂

    Have a great day!

  88. Julie Lawson

    I am working on a project I call, “Baking for Haiti.” I will be going on a mission trip with DriButts.com next July, so in an effort to raise awareness for this mission, along with raising financial support for my trip, I’ve started offering homemade cakes and desserts in exchange for a donation. This Triple Lemon Cake is the most popular of all of the items I’ve baked! I have an order for one this week and another in two weeks! Everyone just LOVES this, even me who isn’t a big fan of lemon desserts! Thanks so much for sharing this!

    1. Lindsay

      How awesome to hear about your mission trip Julie! I hope it goes wonderfully and I’m so glad to know that the recipe is a hit and helping you make the trip happen!

  89. Marie

    This cake was made for a special occasion and there was frosting left over. The frosting was used on a homemade When making the frosting I did not add all the sugar suggested,because it seem like to much sugar and it was. TOO sweet.

    1. Lindsay

      I typically don’t refrigerate it with half butter/half shortening. If you choose to make an all butter frosting, I’d recommend refrigerating it.

  90. Lauren

    I made the cake and lemon curd (but switched out a lemon cream cheese frosting) for my husband’s birthday. It was outstanding!!! Thank you!

  91. Bruce

    Great cake and a favorite for my wife’s birthday every year now. I do have a problem dumping 3 lbs of sugar into anything, so I cut the confectionery sugar in half (1 1/2#), and it’s still plenty sweet, and I have plenty of frosting left over. But a great recipe for lemon lovers!! Thanks!

  92. Monet

    I was in the middle of baking this and I realized I didn’t have enough lemons. I bought a bag (it was about 6 lemons) I used and spread out what I could. The total juice came out to be about 3/4 cups but it was tpo late to buy more. So it might not have the strong lemony flavor I am looking for. Plus I used buttermilk in place for the sour cream. Unfortunately, I can’t eat it because this is for someone else but I am confident it will taste great!

  93. Darlene

    Delicious!  Full of lemon flavor with rave reviews.  Decorated mine with candied lemon peel.  Thank you for sharing!

  94. Amanda

    This cake recipe is so versatile. I usually add zest to the cake batter as well. I have used orange juice and raspberry juice, substituted milk with coconut milk for yummy Lemon Coconut Cake. Also used plain yoghurt instead of sour cream. Never had a fail yet. Used for wedding cake. Holds up well to fondant and delicious with white chocolate ganache. Family love the cake trimmings warmed with custard or ice cream for dessert.

  95. Christine

    I am very picky with my lemon cake especially with curd however, I must say that this is by far the best tasting cake I have had. I made this cake and brought it in to my co-workers and they agreed that it was fabulous! The only thing I did was added fondant daisies to the top of the cake.

    I can not wait until I chose another cake of your and test it out.

    Keep posting! 🙂

  96. Patti

    This cake is amazing! I made it for my mom’s birthday and everyone loved it. Thank you so much for sharing! My mom said it was the best lemon cake she had ever tasted and the lemon curd was hands down the best she has ever had. Even my 5 and 3 year olds gobbled it up! I will be making this cake a lot in the future 🙂

    1. Julie Lawson

      I made them as cupcakes but didn’t make the curd. They turned out perfectly and one recipe made 24 cupcakes. The next time I might make just make 20 so the cupcakes would be a little larger. I just put LOTS of the yummy buttercream on top and they looked lovely!

  97. Cristina

    Made this cake over the weekend for a baptism. It was one of the best lemon cakes I had. It was a huge hit. The lemon curd was what the best part. Thank you so much for sharing this recipe. It’s a keeper 🙂

  98. Mayme

    I absolutely love this cake! I have made it for multiple birthdays, I have even done a key lime version that’s just as amazing.

  99. Susan N

    Just wondering what those tiny yellow balls are that are in the piped border? Are they some type of lemon flavored candy? They are a nice decorative touch!

  100. Rebecca

    This looks amazing!!!. With the lemon curd , instead of using fresh lemon juice could you just use regular lemon juice?

  101. Borislava

    Lindsay, this cake is awesome. I am new to cooking, but the challenge was accepted and I did my own with some twists, thanks to your recipe and instructions! Your photos are amazing and I am sure it is delicious. The whole place you have built here is beautiful 🙂

    All the best and I am going to keep eye on you 😛

    Regards,
    Borislava

  102. Ken Topham

    This is a wonderful recipe. I made it last night for a birthday today and it was a huge hit. Everyone loved it. I always enjoy your posts and recipes. Every one I have made has been spectacular and delicious. Your photos are great and make me want to make everything!

  103. Meghan Cibelli

    Looks Yummy!
    It says yields one 8 inch cake, is the recipe for the lemon curd and the frosting also only for an 8 in cake?

    1. lifeloveandsugar@gmail.com

      Hmm, yes, I can see how that’s confusing. I will update it. It makes two 8 inch cakes, that are both sliced to yield 4 total layers that are then stacked to make the final 8 inch cake (which was what I meant for the yield).

  104. Em

    Is it 350 Fahrenheit for the cake to cook ? I want to make the cake now for a birthday but I don’t know if it’s Celsius or Fahrenheit

  105. THYMETOBAKE.COM

    I just made this cake, and it definitely has the strongest lemon flavor of any cake that I have ever made, but wonderfully so! Citrusy without being overly tart, and balancing out the sugary sweetness amazingly, it is simply delicious.

  106. Linda Billingsley

    Made this cake with double the recipe. I made this cake in two ten inch pans! Decorated it with variegated pink roses! I also put some simple syrup with fresh lemon juice brushed over the layers! The lemon curd was awesome! I will make this again and again. I will send a picture! Thank you linda

  107. Anne

    This is a very forgiving recipe. I made this cake for my mother in laws birthday….while potty training a two year old and caring for an infant. I forgot to put the eggs in the cake, my two year old needed to go potty. So after reviewing the recipe, once the cake was in the oven I saw that I needed to add eggs! Took the cake out, scraped it back into the bowl and added eggs. Cleaned pans, put cake back in and baked! Hen I was making e curd and the same emergency happened…. Left the curd un attended on the stove…. Rescued it at the last minute! Here’s hoping hat the icing goes well.

  108. Stephanie

    Because I hate how blogs don’t have ratings for anyone else who is looking for a rating I give this 5 Stars! I just made this cake this past weekend for a family event and my only regret is that I didn’t double the recipe! Everyone loved the cake, even my Dad who doesn’t like Lemons wanted seconds. It is a great balance of tart and sweet. I used my own Lemon Cream Cheese Recipe instead of the Buttercream recipe here. Because I needed to get my frosting nice and smooth and it was incredibly hot in my house I placed the cake in the freezer unwrapped, several times (for several hours) and it still was very moist for the event. This was the first recipe I’ve tried from here but now it will definitely not be my last. Thank you!!

    BTW I plan to try and alter the Lemon curd into a Passion Fruit Curd when I get the chance! Have you tried this before? If so how was it? If not, I’ll let you know how my experimentation goes

    1. lifeloveandsugar@gmail.com

      I’m so glad everyone liked it Stephanie! I haven’t tried a passion fruit curd before, but it sounds delicious! I’d love to know how it turns out!

  109. Alicia Jenkins

    I just made this and it is absolutely delicious! For those wondering about thin cakes if you’re using 9″ pans… I used 2- 9″ pans and doubled the cake recipe and it turned out great. I had to cook it for around 45-50 minutes at 350 degrees. I also doubled the lemon curd, but probably could’ve gone with just 1.5 recipes. I’ve never had lemon curd before until now and I am in love! Thanks for such a delicious recipe!

  110. Tiffani

    I made this cake today and was extremely disappointed. The cake did not rise at all. I threw the first cake out because I thought that I accidentally left out an ingredient. The same thing happened the second time . It came out very gummy. I baked with all new ingredients so that was not the problem. I wasted a lot of time and ingredients on a bad recipe.

    1. lifeloveandsugar@gmail.com

      I’m sorry you didn’t have a good experience with the recipe. I know a lot of other have enjoyed it. I’m not sure what went wrong, but I hope you try out some of the other recipes on the site. Thanks!

    2. Jg

      Agreed. This recipe is not balanced.  It has a terrible texture and taste. Maybe fluff the whites? A little vanilla or almond extract? Cake flour? I dunno.  But not good.  

  111. Stephanie

    Stumbled upon this cake recipe and it is amazing!! The cake is so moist and I just added a few fresh blackberries on top of the lemon curd and wowzer!!

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  113. Rolew

    Hi! I’m about to assemble the cake and my cakes seem so thin. I used all new ingredients, but in 9 inch pans. anyhow! was I supposed to make two batches of the cake mix for each pan? Oh well. Guess it will be a thin cake 🙁

    1. lifeloveandsugar@gmail.com

      I’m sorry, it seems like a few people are having that problem while others aren’t. I’m really not sure what’s causing it. I hope it still tasted great though!

      1. Cheri

        I am about to try this recipe and I noticed the same thing. At the top it says makes one 8 inch cake and then in the directions it says bake in two 8 inch pans. I guess I’ll make one layer and then see if I need to cut it in half or make another 8 inch cake.

      2. lifeloveandsugar@gmail.com

        I can see how that’d be confusing. I meant that it’s a full 8 inch cake at the top. You will actually bake two cakes, as it says in the instructions.

  114. Michele

    Hi,
    My cakes also came out small, as though they didn’t rise much. My baking soda was unopened and tje baking powder was a month or 2 old. When you say “beat until smooth,” how long are you beating it for? I didn’t beat it very long, thinking that smooth meant just until incorporated but I may jave not beat them enough.
    Thanks, Michele

    1. lifeloveandsugar@gmail.com

      My guess is you probably mixed it fine. Until smooth is just more than incorporated – everything mixed together well and not lumpy. It’s really hard for me to say what exactly happened. I’ve heard that the acidity levels of lemons can sometimes be off – it’s possible that that could have been a factor. I’m not enough of an expert in cake chemistry to know for sure, I’m sorry.

  115. Michele

    Hi,
    This looks wonderful! I love the lemon curd.I’m making the cake tonight for tomorrow. Should I refrigerate it overnight?

    Thanks,
    Michele

    1. lifeloveandsugar@gmail.com

      I don’t refrigerate my cakes usually. I think they stay moister unrefrigerated. But if you prefer to refrigerate, you certainly can.

  116. Linda billingsley

    If I made the cake ‘in six inch pans, how many cups go in each pan? Also, can you use coconut oil for the oil in the cake? Thank you!

    1. lifeloveandsugar@gmail.com

      Unfortunately, I haven’t tried either of those things so it’s hard for me to say Linda. With 6 inch pans, you’ll either have much taller cake layers, or you’ll want to do more than 2. If you make taller layers (more batter per pan), you’ll need to bake them longer.

  117. Alice

    Hi I want to make this cake for my mother in laws bday this weekend but I have to be honest I find it hard to understand some of the ingredients in England most recipes are in lbs or ozs but I am going to hope for the best also will be using a deep 9inch round tin so I’m thinking with need to add maybe 50% on the ingredients?

    1. lifeloveandsugar@gmail.com

      You could make a 9 inch without changing anything, you’d just have thinner layers and you’d probably want to cook it a little less. If you increase it by 50%, you might need to bake it longer. As for the ingredient measurements, there are a number of conversion websites that should be able to help with the correct amounts. I hope you love it!

  118. Greta

    Hi, I don’t know if this is a silly question but what us shortening please? I would live to make this cake this weekend but don’t know where to find shortening from. When I looked it up, it said it is vegetable fat. Is it the veg fat used to make a pudding please

    1. lifeloveandsugar@gmail.com

      Shortening is a fat similar to butter. They can be used in place of one another. I like to use some shortening in my icing with the butter to cut down on the butter flavor, but you can use all butter if you want. Vegetable shortening is usually found on the aisle in the grocery store where vegetable oil is.

  119. Rainshine

    I just made this cake, and am so so disappointed it basically did not rise at all. Certainly not enough to cut each cake in half. 🙁

    1. lifeloveandsugar@gmail.com

      I’m sorry about that. I’ve made this cake a number of times and have never had a problem. It really is delicious though if you want to give it another try!

  120. Kristen

    My daughter requested a lemon cake for her birthday, so I made this. Delicious!!!! 1/16 of the cake is 978 calories and 50 grams of fat, though! So the 1/8 size slice my husband had was 1,956 calories and 101 grams of fat…….he just won’t be able to eat tomorrow LOL!!!

  121. Susan

    I made this cake for my friends 60th birthday party. I got my piping bag out and piped roses around the edges and had little orange flowers to add to it, it was beautiful everyone was very impressed and of course everyone loved eating it. I didn’t have a printer at the time and lost this recipe but with a little time and effort I m so happy I found it, so now I’m planning on making it next month for my bosses birthday as he loves lemon. I think I will make 1/2 a batch more of the lemon curd to add to the layers of cake next time

    1. lifeloveandsugar@gmail.com

      That’s awesome Susan! I’m glad it was a hit and that you found it again! I hope you’ll check out some of my other cake recipes as well! 🙂

  122. Blueberry Baker Girl

    Thank you for posting this amazing recipe! The cake texture is perfect. I did make a couple changes to the flavor, it’s really quite versatile! This will be my standard base scratch recipe for now on. Again, thank you it’s a wonderful cake recipe!

  123. Erica

    This sounds wonderful! I’ve been looking for a lemon cake to make for my birthday! I’m going to try it out this weekend!

  124. Bill

    Now that’s a lemon cake! I LOVE lemon curd so I can only imagine how good this cake is. Thanks for another great post.

  125. Bill

    Now that’s a lemon cake! I LOVE lemon curd so I can only imagine how good this cake is. Thanks for another great post.

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  130. sheila

    Made this cake today, smelled awesome however the cake shrunk up a lot while cooling. Was this and issue for anyone else?

    1. Life, Love and Sugar

      Hi Sheila, I haven’t heard of anyone having that problem. I’m sorry that you did. I’m not sure why that would happen – maybe check your baking soda and baking powder and make sure they are still good.

    2. Melissa

      Beautiful!!
      Last easter I made a very similar cake, cheating I used a cake mix, but I’m definitely trying this out today with a scratch cake and I have no doubt it will be the best cake I ever made. Only change I’ll make is I want a lemon vanilla cream cheese frosting.. who couldn’t love lemon?!?! Your family story is funny, mine is the same way.. til they tried that cake last easter lol.






  131. sheila

    Made this cake today, smelled awesome however the cake shrunk up a lot while cooling. Was this and issue for anyone else?

    1. Life, Love and Sugar

      Hi Sheila, I haven’t heard of anyone having that problem. I’m sorry that you did. I’m not sure why that would happen – maybe check your baking soda and baking powder and make sure they are still good.

  132. Cinnamon Flowers

    I made this cake tonight It was fantastic!!!!! i did cut the buttercream recipe in half just using the butter since I was not decorating mine all fancy. it still made for a great amount of frosting on the cake. Thank you so much for this recipe!!!! My whole family LOVED it!!!

  133. Cinnamon Flowers

    I made this cake tonight It was fantastic!!!!! i did cut the buttercream recipe in half just using the butter since I was not decorating mine all fancy. it still made for a great amount of frosting on the cake. Thank you so much for this recipe!!!! My whole family LOVED it!!!

  134. Cyrena

    here’s a quick tip c:
    *use Pam(original) and parchment paper

    Before pouring the batter,trace your pan over the parchment paper, cut it out and stick it to the bottom of your pan with a little pam, then coat the sides using pam as well. This is so easy, all my cakes come right out no mess at all! Hope those helped c:

    (i use to have the same trouble)

  135. Jess

    This sound absolutely tasty! Will this cake stack well? Was thinking of making a simple 2 tier cake for my sister’s wedding. 10″ bottom, and 6″ top. What do you think?

    1. Life, Love and Sugar

      I don’t think you’d have any trouble stacking it with a few dowels. It’s a fairly dense cake, so it should hold up well.

  136. Jess

    This sound absolutely tasty! Will this cake stack well? Was thinking of making a simple 2 tier cake for my sister’s wedding. 10″ bottom, and 6″ top. What do you think?

    1. Life, Love and Sugar

      I don’t think you’d have any trouble stacking it with a few dowels. It’s a fairly dense cake, so it should hold up well.

  137. tabithascobra

    My friends and I made this last night. We ended up modifying it tiny bit though. we added about a teaspoon of vanilla to the cake. We also added a full teaspoon of vanilla to the buttercream because we were a bit short on lemon zest. We chose to bypass the shortening completely in the buttercream, using just butter instead. It’s a very tasty cake.

  138. tabithascobra

    My friends and I made this last night. We ended up modifying it tiny bit though. we added about a teaspoon of vanilla to the cake. We also added a full teaspoon of vanilla to the buttercream because we were a bit short on lemon zest. We chose to bypass the shortening completely in the buttercream, using just butter instead. It’s a very tasty cake.

  139. Lynn

    I saw your cake on Pinterest and thought I’d try it for my sister’s baby shower. It was a HUGE success…everyone loved it! Thanks for sharing!

  140. Emmy

    I’m assuming you prepared the pans prior to baking? Do you use spray, grease and flour, some other magic? 🙂 Thanks!

  141. Emmy

    I’m assuming you prepared the pans prior to baking? Do you use spray, grease and flour, some other magic? 🙂 Thanks!

  142. Sharanda

    This cake was WONNNNDERFUL! I made it for our Easter luncheon at church and there wasn’t a slice left. Everyone kept talking about how good it was, and I even got a request to make it for our pastor’s birthday celebration in a couple weeks! Thanks SO MUCH for sharing this. This is going into my baking faves! 🙂

  143. Sharanda

    This cake was WONNNNDERFUL! I made it for our Easter luncheon at church and there wasn’t a slice left. Everyone kept talking about how good it was, and I even got a request to make it for our pastor’s birthday celebration in a couple weeks! Thanks SO MUCH for sharing this. This is going into my baking faves! 🙂

  144. Crystal

    Great recipe! I made just the cake part and paired it with rasberry filling and vanilla buttercream for a wedding. It was loved by all and people went back for seconds.

  145. Crystal

    Great recipe! I made just the cake part and paired it with rasberry filling and vanilla buttercream for a wedding. It was loved by all and people went back for seconds.

    1. Misty

      Oh, gosh…it’s been almost two years since you’ve posted. I don’t know if replies go to your e-mail or not, but I would love to know how you did the raspberry filling. Do you have a recipe you use or a special product you buy?

      1. Misty

        No, I was replying to Crystal. She said she swapped the lemon filling for raspberry filling and I’d love to do that. I’m a semi-advanced cook, but have never made a raspberry filling and am not quite sure how to do that.

      2. lifeloveandsugar@gmail.com

        Oh, I’m sorry! I haven’t made a raspberry filling before either. You could try a raspberry preserves though.

  146. Colin

    Just finished making this cake and although I am quite new to baking cakes your recipe was very easy to follow. Had a little problem pulling the cakes from the cake pans so I just used the lemon curd in between the two cake layers instead of cutting them in half. (they wouldn’t have held together otherwise)

    The lemon flavor is fantastic! Very much enjoyed making this. We’ll see how the family likes it. Thanks for sharing!

    1. Cyrena

      here’s a quick tip c:
      *use Pam(original) and parchment paper

      Before pouring the batter,trace your pan over the parchment paper, cut it out and stick it to the bottom of your pan with a little pam, then coat the sides using pam as well. This is so easy, all my cakes come right out no mess at all! Hope those helped c:

      (i use to have the same trouble)

  147. TM

    Thank you so much for sharing this. I made the curd and it is wonderful. I just put the cakes in the oven and even the cake batter looked great. I can’t wait to have the finish product all together. I have no doubt it is going to be great!

  148. TM

    Thank you so much for sharing this. I made the curd and it is wonderful. I just put the cakes in the oven and even the cake batter looked great. I can’t wait to have the finish product all together. I have no doubt it is going to be great!

    1. Life, Love and Sugar

      Haha, that’s great Nikki! I’m glad you liked it! Thanks so much for the comment – I love to hear when people try my recipes 🙂

    1. Life, Love and Sugar

      Haha, that’s great Nikki! I’m glad you liked it! Thanks so much for the comment – I love to hear when people try my recipes 🙂

  149. Life, Love and Sugar

    Haha, thanks Jennifer! I’m glad you liked it! If the frosting is a little thick while mixing next time, just add a little more water (or cream – whichever you prefer) 🙂

  150. Jennifer

    This is a great recipe, thank you for sharing. I did almost blow my mixer on the frosting but the little guy made it through. I’m saving the frosting recipe and going to use it for cupcakes next.

    1. Life, Love and Sugar

      Haha, thanks Jennifer! I’m glad you liked it! If the frosting is a little thick while mixing next time, just add a little more water (or cream – whichever you prefer) 🙂

  151. Diane Funaro

    THis cake was amazing, I used cream instead of water in the frosting, I also reduced the amount of sugar in the frosting

      1. Lindsay

        I’m guessing this cake would be quite dense as a 9 x 13. And I’ve never tried swirling the lemon curd, so I’m not sure. I’m sorry!

  152. Diane Funaro

    THis cake was amazing, I used cream instead of water in the frosting, I also reduced the amount of sugar in the frosting

  153. Anne

    Would it be OK to make this cake a day in advance? Have you ever baked the cake part and then frozen it? I’m considering doing this for a dessert auction, but wouldn’t be able to make it the day of the auction…

    1. Life, Love and Sugar

      It’s definitely ok to make the cake a day in advance. In fact, I think most cakes like this are best after sitting for about 24 hours. It seems like once it’s filled and iced and sits for a bit, all the flavors really come together and everything gets even moister. I have not ever frozen the cake layers, but I don’t think that’d be an issue. Just make sure you wrap it lightly in clear wrap and then aluminum foil before freezing it. You may also want to defrost it in the fridge. I’ve heard that can help it retain it’s moisture while thawing. Good luck with the auction!

    2. Brooke

      Did you end up ever trying this recipe and freezing it? I would like to know if it works because the cake is perfectly moist without freezing but I need to try it again and will need to freeze it this time!

  154. Anne

    Would it be OK to make this cake a day in advance? Have you ever baked the cake part and then frozen it? I’m considering doing this for a dessert auction, but wouldn’t be able to make it the day of the auction…

    1. Life, Love and Sugar

      It’s definitely ok to make the cake a day in advance. In fact, I think most cakes like this are best after sitting for about 24 hours. It seems like once it’s filled and iced and sits for a bit, all the flavors really come together and everything gets even moister. I have not ever frozen the cake layers, but I don’t think that’d be an issue. Just make sure you wrap it lightly in clear wrap and then aluminum foil before freezing it. You may also want to defrost it in the fridge. I’ve heard that can help it retain it’s moisture while thawing. Good luck with the auction!

  155. Janet

    This is fabulous! So lemony. I loveee sweets. I too was shocked at the amount of icing sugar. My family don’t love the sweets like I do, so I decided to have the buttercream. It was more than enough.

  156. Janet

    This is fabulous! So lemony. I loveee sweets. I too was shocked at the amount of icing sugar. My family don’t love the sweets like I do, so I decided to have the buttercream. It was more than enough.

    1. lifeloveandsugar

      Yes, it sounds like a lot doesn’t it! When I was writing it I checked multiple times just to make sure. You could reduce the buttercream recipe by maybe a third if you wanted to, but you wouldn’t really have enough buttercream to do a border around the top or bottom of the cake and the icing layer on the outside of the cake would end up quite thin. Depending on how much icing you like, that may or may not be ok.

    2. Jennifer

      This recipe is amazing!  I tried 2 different recipes f for a lemon cake for a 40th birthday party with crazy steps and many ingredients..that did not turn out.  I was getting worried and frustrated until i came across yours!  This cake is so light fluffy, moist and so easy!!  I just did 2 layers with a cream cheese frosting mixed with lemon curd.  Thank you so much!  For others having a tough time: i made sure all my ingredients were room temperature.  I mixed the oil eggs and lemon together before i added to flour mixed then added sour cream until just blended!  I had to bake for 30 mins 






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  159. Chrissy Osborne

    I’m going to have to try this cake some time. I’ve loved lemons since I was a little girl and I used to suck the juice out of lemons off the side of my glass at restaurants when my family went out! So this kind of cake sounds just perfect for me!

  160. Chrissy Osborne

    I’m going to have to try this cake some time. I’ve loved lemons since I was a little girl and I used to suck the juice out of lemons off the side of my glass at restaurants when my family went out! So this kind of cake sounds just perfect for me!

  161. allyoudoiseat

    This is stunning!! And it looks delicious! Your husband is definitely missing out!! More for you though I guess! I will have to try it for an upcoming birthday! Thanks!

  162. allyoudoiseat

    This is stunning!! And it looks delicious! Your husband is definitely missing out!! More for you though I guess! I will have to try it for an upcoming birthday! Thanks!

    1. Thea

      Absolutely Fabulous! My Family loved this recipe. I will definitely be using this recipe over and over again. Thank you.

Lindsay
About Lindsay

I'm a wife and a mom to twin boys and a baby girl! And I've got a serious sweets addiction! Bring on the treats!

Scripture I’m Loving

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” Matthew 11:28-29