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    Home ยป Recipes ยป Cake

    Lemon Cake

    Updated: Mar 21, 2025 โ€ข Published: May 4, 2022 by Sam Merritt โ€ข 184 Comments

    This post may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Please read my disclosure policy.
    Jump to Recipe Jump to Video
    collage of lemon cake pictures: slice on top, full cake in bottom left, lemon curd on bottom right

    My fluffy Lemon Cake recipe makes a plush, lemon flavored cake using real lemons–no extract or pudding mix required! It’s filled with a tart lemon curd and frosted with an airy whipped cream cheese frosting for one refreshing slice! Recipe includes a how-to video.

    slice of homemade lemon cake filled with lemon curd and iced with a whipped cream cheese frosting

    A 100% From-Scratch Lemon Cake

    This sunshine-y lemon cake recipe is the real deal. It uses no extract, no pudding mixes, and no fancy ingredients–just fresh-squeezed, real lemon flavor. Truly the perfect balance of sweet and tart, this recipe will be a hit with lemon lovers, or anyone who enjoys their desserts on the lighter, less-rich side of things.

    The cake layers themselves are super soft, fluffy and plush thanks to whipped egg whites (more on that below!). Even though there’s lemon flavor in the cake, I take things even further with a bold, tart lemon curd filling. We’ll finish it off with a not-too-sweet, whipped version of my cream cheese frosting to complement all that tartness.

    If you’ve ever made my white cake or strawberry cake, then you’re already familiar with the process I’m using for this lemon cake recipe. To create a soft and fluffy crumb, you will need to whip egg whites to stiff peaks before folding them into the batter. If you’ve never done this before or just need a refresher, don’t fret–I’ve included some tips to help you below.

    What You Need

    spoon spreading lemon curd onto a layer cake piped with a white icing dam

    Here are a few of the ingredients you’ll be using in today’s lemon cake recipe:

    • Lemons. I find this recipe typically requires 3-4 lemons, and I always zest my lemons before juicing them–it’s almost impossible to zest a juiced lemon!
    • Cake flour. I prefer cake flour for my lemon cake, but I do have instructions on how to use all-purpose flour if that’s all you have. Whichever you use, make sure you measure your flour properly!
    • Egg whites. I do not recommend carton egg whites as most will not whip properly (and even say so on the side of the container!).
    • Lemon curd. While you could use store-bought, I highly recommend using my homemade lemon curd. Not only does it taste better, but it also uses the exact number of egg yolks that you’ll have leftover after separating your eggs! If you choose to make my recipe, make it first so it has time to cool down. Also note that you’ll have a little extra leftover, so save that for scones or petit fours!
    • Cream Cheese. Do not use the tub-style cream cheese for the frosting; use full-fat, brick-style cream cheese and make sure it’s softened, but still slightly chilled. If it is too warm, your frosting will be too soft to spread properly and you’ll need to stick it in the fridge before using.

    SAM’S TIP: Always combine your wet and dry ingredients by hand using a spatula–never use an electric mixer for this step! Over-mixing is one of the quickest ways to end up with a dry, dense, or cornbread-y tasting lemon cake.

    Remember, this is just an overview of the ingredients I used and why. For the full recipe please scroll down to the bottom of the post!

    Tips for Whipping Egg Whites to Stiff Peaks

    electric mixer beating egg whites to stiff peaks
    • Make sure you use a completely clean, completely dry, completely grease-free bowl.
    • Don’t let any yolk contaminate your whites–not even a tiny drop!
    • Use an electric mixer and make sure the beaters are also clean, dry, and grease-free.
    • You’ll know you’ve reached stiff peaks when the egg whites have increased in volume and are thick and fluffy. If you pull your beaters out of the mixture, the peak that forms will hold its shape and not fold over or melt back into the bowl (hence the term “stiff” peaks).

    SAM’S TIP: Make sure you are using a spatula or spoon to gently fold your egg whites into the cake batter; using an electric mixer or too rough of a hand can deflate all the air you just whipped into them.

    How to Make Lemon Cake

    two layers of cake
    1. Zest and juice your lemons. Set the zest aside for now and combine the juice with the milk.
    2. Combine the oil, butter, sugar, reserved lemon zest, and vanilla extract in a separate bowl.
    3. Combine the dry ingredients in another separate bowl, then begin adding this to the wet ingredients in 3-4 parts, alternating with the milk/lemon juice mixture.
    4. Use an electric mixer to whip the egg whites to stiff peaks in a separate (clean, dry, grease-free) bowl before gently folding them into the cake batter by hand.
    5. Divide the batter among greased, floured, and lined pans and bake for 28-31 minutes.
    6. Let the cakes cool completely before filling with lemon curd, stacking, and frosting.

    SAM’S TIP: Over-baking is cake’s #1 enemy! Always bake in the center rack and make sure your oven temperature is accurate (I keep two oven thermometers in my oven to be sure). Even a minute or two too long in the oven can make your lemon cake dry.

    lightly frosted lemon cake consisting of two layers of white cake filled with lemon curd

    Frequently Asked Questions

    Does lemon cake need to be refrigerated?

    Yes! You will want to keep your lemon cake refrigerated in an airtight container. It will last for up to 5 days when stored this way. This cake also freezes well–just wrap it tightly and freeze for up to 3 months. 

    Can this frosting be used for decoration?

    This frosting is very light and delicate and best suited for a thin, semi-naked covering. I would not recommend using if you are making a cake that is taller than two layers, or if you plan to do decorative piping; instead, I’d recommend using my cream cheese frosting, buttercream frosting, or Swiss meringue buttercream.

    How do I make lemon cake in advance?

    To make the cake layers in advance, allow them to cool and then wrap well with plastic wrap. Store at room temperature for up to one full day before assembling, or freeze for up to a month before assembling.

    The lemon curd layer may be made up to 5 days in advance of assembling the cake, and I recommend making the frosting just before assembling. 

    Can I add blueberries to this cake?

    While you could, the blueberries sink right to the bottom of this light batter as the cake bakes (even if you toss them with cornstarch or flour). Instead, I recommend my lemon blueberry cake, which was specially designed for this purpose.

    slice of white cake filled with lemon curd and iced with a whipped cream cheese frosting surrounded by pink flowers

    One bright and fruity bite of this lemon cake will have you forgetting about that extra egg white step–I promise 😊

    Enjoy!

    Let’s bake together! I’ll be walking you through all the steps in my written recipe and video below! If you try this recipe, be sure to tag me on Instagram, and you can also find me on YouTube and Facebook

    slice of lemon cake with bright yellow curd in the center on white plate

    Lemon Cake Recipe

    A soft and fluffy lemon flavored cake with a cheerful lemon curd filling and a light and airy whipped cream frosting.
    For best results, I recommend read through the tips in my post and watch my how-to video before beginning.
    4.96 from 86 votes
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    Prevent your screen from going dark
    Course: Dessert
    Cuisine: American
    Prep Time: 45 minutes minutes
    Cook Time: 30 minutes minutes
    Total Time: 1 hour hour 15 minutes minutes
    Servings: 12 slices
    Calories: 530kcal
    Author: Sam Merritt

    Ingredients

    • 3 Tablespoons fresh lemon zest¹
    • ⅓ cup (80 ml) fresh lemon juice I usually need 3-4 lemons, zest your lemons before juicing
    • ⅔ cup (160 ml) whole milk
    • ½ cup (118 ml) Avocado, vegetable or canola oil
    • 4 Tablespoons (57 g) unsalted butter softened
    • 1 ¾ cup (350 g) granulated sugar
    • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
    • 3 cups (330 g) cake flour² see note to substitute all-purpose/plain flour
    • 1 Tablespoon baking powder
    • 1 teaspoon salt
    • 6 large egg whites room temperature preferred
    • ¾ cup (175 ml) lemon curd ³

    ICING⁴

    • 4 oz (113 g) cream cheese softened, but still slightly cool (use the brick-style, full-fat cream cheese, do not use the spreadable kind sold in tubs)
    • 1 cups (125 g) powdered sugar divided (often called “icing sugar” outside the US)
    • ¾ teaspoons vanilla extract
    • ⅛ teaspoon salt
    • ¾ cups (175 ml) heavy cream cold

    Recommended Equipment

    • Mixing bowls

    Instructions

    • Preheat oven to 350F (175C) and prepare two 8” round cake pans by spraying with baking spray and lining the bottoms with parchment paper. Set aside.
    • Zest your lemons and set zest aside. Juice lemons until you have ⅓ cup of juice, whisk this with your milk and set aside.
      ⅓ cup (80 ml) fresh lemon juice, ⅔ cup (160 ml) whole milk
    • In a large bowl using an electric mixer or in a stand mixer, beat together oil, butter, sugar, reserved lemon zest, and vanilla extract until completely combined.
      3 Tablespoons fresh lemon zest¹, ½ cup (118 ml) Avocado, vegetable or canola oil, 4 Tablespoons (57 g) unsalted butter, 1 ¾ cup (350 g) granulated sugar, 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
    • In a medium-sized bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and salt and whisk well.
      3 cups (330 g) cake flour², 1 Tablespoon baking powder, 1 teaspoon salt
    • Stirring by hand, gradually alternate adding the flour mixture and lemon/milk mixture to the butter mixture, stirring until just combined after each addition (I start and end with the flour and add the flour mixture in 4 parts and the milk mixture in 3 parts).
    • Place egg whites in a separate clean, dry bowl, and beat on high speed with an electric mixer until stiff peaks form (see video or photo in post for a visual if needed).
      6 large egg whites room temperature preferred
    • Using a spatula, gently fold egg whites into cake batter until completely combined (don’t use your electric mixer at this point or you will over-beat the batter). Divide cake batter evenly into prepared pans and bake on 350F for 28-31 minutes or until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs.
    • Allow cakes to cool in pans for 10 minutes then run a knife around the edges to loosen cakes from pan and carefully invert onto cooling rack to cool completely.
    • Once cakes have cooled completely, prepare frosting.

    ICING

    • Combine cream cheese, ½ cup (62g) powdered sugar, vanilla extract, and salt in a large bowl and use an electric mixer to beat together until creamy and smooth.
      4 oz (113 g) cream cheese, 1 cups (125 g) powdered sugar, ¾ teaspoons vanilla extract, ⅛ teaspoon salt
    • In a separate bowl, combine remaining ½ cup (62g) powdered sugar, and heavy cream. Beat with an electric mixer until stiff peaks form (mixture should be thick, billowy, and the same consistency as Cool Whip).
      ¾ cups (175 ml) heavy cream
    • With mixer on low speed, stir together the cream cheese and whipped cream until completely combined.
    • Pipe a dam/border along the inside rim of one cooled layer of cake (see photo in post). Fill with lemon curd and spread evenly inside the dam.
      ¾ cup (175 ml) lemon curd ³
    • Top with second layer of cake. Frost the entire cake with remaining frosting.
    • Keep cake refrigerated in an airtight container when not eating. Enjoy!

    Notes

    ¹Be sure to avoid the pith, or white papery layer just above the lemon flesh, when zesting. The pith is bitter and will make your cake bitter.
    ²You may substitute all-purpose flour, you will need 2 ⅔ cup/330g of all purpose flour.
    ³Store-bought lemon curd will work, but I recommend making my homemade lemon curd. You would only need a half-batch for this recipe, BUT a whole batch uses 6 egg yolks. Since you need 6 egg whites for this cake, I recommend making a full batch and enjoying the second half on whatever you’d like!
    ⁴This recipe makes enough for a semi-naked cake covering. If you want to fully cover the cake or pipe designs decoratively on top of the cake as shown in the photos, I recommend increasing the recipe by 50% or even doubling.

    Nutrition

    Serving: 1slice | Calories: 530kcal | Carbohydrates: 73g | Protein: 7g | Fat: 24g | Saturated Fat: 16g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 42mg | Sodium: 332mg | Potassium: 214mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 49g | Vitamin A: 486IU | Vitamin C: 5mg | Calcium: 88mg | Iron: 1mg

    Nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered an estimate only. Actual nutritional content will vary based upon brands used, measuring methods, cooking method, portion sizes, and more.

    Tried this recipe? Show me on Instagram!Mention @SugarSpun_Sam or tag #sugarspunrun!

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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Viv

      November 22, 2021 at 10:43 am

      Hi there! Can I add ginger to this recipe?

      Reply
      • Sam

        November 22, 2021 at 11:01 am

        That should work. I don’t really have any suggestions as far as how much, but let me know how it turns out. ๐Ÿ™‚

        Reply
    2. Elisia

      October 30, 2021 at 3:50 pm

      Hi there – can this cake be made a week early and frozen? Obviously without frosting!
      Thanks

      Reply
      • Sam

        October 31, 2021 at 10:34 pm

        Yes that would be fine! I hope you love it, Elisia!

        Reply
    3. Mel

      October 30, 2021 at 3:25 pm

      Hi Sam, I have made this Lemon cake to the t’s and it worked perfectly well, the best so far. I’m wondering if I could make a vanilla version just by swapping lemon juice for water and omitting the zest?

      Reply
      • Sam

        October 31, 2021 at 10:36 pm

        Hi Mel! I’m so glad you enjoyed the cake! For a vanilla version I would refer you to my white cake recipe, it is the vanilla version of the lemon cake and the inspiration I used to develop the lemon version. I hope that helps, and I hope you love it just as much! ๐Ÿ™‚

        Reply
    4. Meridith

      July 10, 2021 at 7:59 am

      5 stars
      I love your videos and made your lemon cake/curd/cream cheese frosting for my partner’s birthday celebration last night, and it was a huge hit! Thanks for the great recipes and fun, helpful videos!!

      Reply
      • Sam

        July 11, 2021 at 9:57 pm

        I’m so glad you enjoyed it so much, Meridith! ๐Ÿ™‚

        Reply
    5. Neidra Davis

      June 14, 2021 at 6:19 pm

      Hi Sam!!!

      Love your recipes! I was wondering if I could follow these exact steps except to use limes making it key lime cake?! What do you think?

      Reply
      • Sam

        June 15, 2021 at 3:55 pm

        Hi Neidra! While I have never tried this with lime juice I think that would be totally fine and probably super delicious! Would you let me know how it turns out for you if you try it?

        Reply
    6. Gina

      May 05, 2021 at 8:22 am

      Hie Sam

      Do you think i can use the ermine frosting instead of cream cheese? I have fallen so much in love with your ermine frosting.

      Reply
      • Sam

        May 05, 2021 at 3:26 pm

        Hi Gina! Yes ermine frosting would be totally fine on this cake, enjoy! ๐Ÿ™‚

        Reply
    7. Tamara Manney

      April 27, 2021 at 2:48 am

      Hello there Sam Iโ€™m going to try this recipe for my hubby birthday. Can I use two 9 inch pans and how long should the cook time be?

      Reply
      • Sam

        April 28, 2021 at 3:34 pm

        Hi Tamara! Yes that should be fine, I find that cakes usually need less time in 9″ pans, I would start checking at 24-28 minutes. I hope that helps!

        Reply
      • Joan

        October 23, 2021 at 1:08 pm

        I would like to make this with raspberry mousse as filling. Do you think this would be good and do you have a recipe for that type of filling?

        Reply
        • Sam

          October 24, 2021 at 2:58 pm

          Hi Joan! That sounds delicious! Unfortunately I do not have a raspberry mousse filling recipe (yet!).

    8. Jenny Spencer

      April 03, 2021 at 12:34 pm

      Hello Sam! I am making this for Easter and I was wondering, if I made this cake today and refrigerated till tomorrow would that be ok? Would it change the fluffiness of the cake?
      Thanks!
      -Raine

      Reply
      • Sam

        April 03, 2021 at 3:47 pm

        Hi Raine! It will be fine in the refrigerator if you have a container to put it in to keep it covered that’s even better. ๐Ÿ™‚

        Reply
        • Jenny Spencer

          April 03, 2021 at 8:07 pm

          Ok. Perfect thank you!
          My cakes are cooling and I am getting ready to make the frosting!

        • Mona Henson

          May 25, 2021 at 10:53 pm

          Can I make cupcakes with this receipe?

        • Sam

          May 28, 2021 at 10:19 am

          Hi Mona! That should work just fine. ๐Ÿ™‚

    9. Ed

      March 22, 2021 at 7:48 pm

      Hi,

      How would you substitute meyer lemons for regular lemons? Would you do anything different? Thanks!

      Reply
      • Sam

        March 22, 2021 at 9:22 pm

        Hi Ed! Meyer lemons will work just fine without any changes. Enjoy! ๐Ÿ™‚

        Reply
    10. Maria Marcy

      March 19, 2021 at 11:33 am

      You have 3 tablespoons of lemon peel, but in the video I noticed it was 3 teaspoons, can you let me know for sure which one it is

      Reply
      • Sam

        March 19, 2021 at 1:13 pm

        Hi Maria! It is 3 Tablespoons. I just double checked the video and it says Tablespoons there as well, was it somewhere else you saw it said “teaspoons”? I just want to make sure I don’t have a typo somewhere.
        Thank you and I hope you love the cake! ๐Ÿ™‚

        Reply
    11. Stella

      March 17, 2021 at 8:32 pm

      Sorry I mean can I make this cake in three 6 inch pans. thank you for your time

      Reply
      • Sam

        March 18, 2021 at 9:25 am

        Hi Stella! This will work in 3 6 inch pans. You may have a little extra batter so make sure you don’t overfill your pans. ๐Ÿ™‚

        Reply
    12. Johnna

      March 03, 2021 at 10:56 am

      Hi, Could I add in strawberries or blue berries to the cake batter?

      Reply
      • Sam

        March 03, 2021 at 10:24 pm

        That should work fine. Blueberries will work better. The strawberries will add some extra moisture to the batter and change the final product. Enjoy! ๐Ÿ™‚

        Reply
        • Saba

          March 09, 2021 at 4:21 am

          Hi Sam, I trust your blog completely so now that i have to make a lemon cake, I automatically knew where to look. I want to make 3 6 inch layers from this cake batter, however I only have 2 pans. Will the batter be fine sitting out until the 2 layers bake, cool and come out of the pan ? I am asking because usually with cakes that have whipped egg whites, you need to put them immediately into the oven.

        • Sam

          March 15, 2021 at 9:32 am

          This batter should be fine to rest while the other two cakes cook. ๐Ÿ™‚

    13. Jennifer Mielke

      February 23, 2021 at 10:44 am

      5 stars
      This cake is amazing! I just made it last night but used your buttercream frosting instead. I also made your homemade lemon curd the night before and it’s absolutely delicious. How do you think this cake would be using the lemon curd in the middle and adding blueberries to the cake?

      Reply
      • Sam

        February 24, 2021 at 10:58 am

        Hi Jennifer! That sounds delicious. ๐Ÿ™‚

        Reply
    14. Lily

      January 25, 2021 at 12:41 am

      5 stars
      Best cake ever always turns out great

      Reply
    15. Cheryl

      January 22, 2021 at 9:11 pm

      Egg whites are best separated while cold but beat up to the best volume when room temperature. College Foods class๐Ÿ™‚

      Reply
      • Rimz

        March 03, 2021 at 11:58 am

        Can I use mascarpone instead soft cream cheese for frosting?

        Reply
        • Sam

          March 03, 2021 at 10:12 pm

          That should work here. ๐Ÿ™‚

        • Michelle

          March 23, 2021 at 1:35 pm

          Can this recipe be used in a mini bundt cake pan?

        • Sam

          March 24, 2021 at 2:08 pm

          Hi Michelle! That should work, but you will want to make sure to not overfill the pans and your bake time will be different. ๐Ÿ™‚

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