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lemon curd cake on a cake stand with lemon curd and lemons
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5 from 4 votes

Lemon Curd Cake

A moist lemon sponge cake filled with tangy lemon curd and frosted with a fresh lemon buttercream.
Prep Time45 minutes
Cook Time25 minutes
Chill Time20 minutes
Total Time1 hour 30 minutes
Course: Dessert, Snack
Cuisine: Fusion
Diet: Low Salt, Vegetarian
Servings: 12 servings
Calories: 667kcal
Author: Kachina

Equipment

Ingredients

Lemon cake

  • 270 g unsalted butter
  • 285 g white sugar caster
  • 2 lemons’ zest
  • 5 eggs
  • 1 ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 5 tablespoon milk
  • 3 ½ teaspoon vegetable oil
  • 285 g all-purpose flour ** plain flour
  • 4 teaspoon baking powder

Lemon buttercream

  • 175 g unsalted butter softened
  • 425 g icing sugar
  • 1 ½ tablespoon lemon juice fresh, roughly 1 lemon’s juice
  • 1 tablespoon milk or heavy cream optional
  • Pinch of salt optional

Cake filling

Instructions

Lemon cake

  • Preheat oven: 180°C / 160°C (fan) / Gas Mark 4 / 350°F
  • For the sponges, cream together the butter, sugar and lemon zest, either using a spatula, electric hand mixer or stand mixer, until light and pale.
  • Beat in the eggs one at a time, then beat in the milk, oil and vanilla extract until fully combined.
  • Sieve in the flour and baking powder, folding gently together until only just combined.
  • Divide the batter evenly between two greased and lined 8-inch cake tins and bake in the oven for 25-30mins until risen and skewer comes out clean from the middle of the cakes.
  • Allow the cakes to cool in the tins for 20mins then remove from the tins and transfer to a wire rack while you make the buttercream.

Lemon buttercream

  • Beat the butter (either by hand, using an electric mixer or stand mixer) until pale, light and fluffy. This could take several minutes.
  • Sieve half of the icing sugar into the butter and beat until combined, then repeat this with the remaining half of icing sugar.
  • Add in the lemon juice and salt (if using), mixing until only just smooth.
  • If needed, stir in milk or cream 1 teaspoon at a time until you get a thick but spreadable consistency.

Assembly

  • Once the cake sponges have cooled, place one onto a flat plate or cake board and pipe a circle of your buttercream around the edge in a ring to make a wall.
  • Spread roughly ½ jar of lemon curd inside the frosting ring, then place the second sponge on top.
  • Cover the cake (top and sides) in the rest of the frosting, smoothing lightly with a spatula.
  • Decorate your cake with buttercream swirls, slices of lemon and/or edible flowers, and enjoy!

Notes

* I like to use a piping bag to pipe a ring of frosting to hold the lemon cake filling inside. You can instead use a plastic freezer bag with the corner cut off.
** You can swap the plain flour for self-raising flour of the same quantity and reduce the baking powder in the recipe down to 1 tsp.
*** You can use a premade store-bought lemon curd (usually need ½ a standard jar) or make your own from scratch using this lemon curd recipe.

Nutrition

Calories: 667kcal | Carbohydrates: 88g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 34g | Saturated Fat: 21g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 9g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 149mg | Sodium: 225mg | Potassium: 74mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 69g | Vitamin A: 1036IU | Vitamin C: 2mg | Calcium: 111mg | Iron: 2mg