Bright, zesty, and so flavorful. This lemon cake is the perfect balance of fresh citrus notes and creamy indulgence. It’s a dreamy dessert suitable for all sorts of occasions.
The changing of the seasons brings so much hope and excitement. I’m looking forward to all the spring greens, beets, and rhubarb about to hit the markets.
While we wait for strawberries to make their appearance, let’s continue with the citrus love. For the most part, lemons are harvested all year long (especially in Southern California). I’ve always associated lemon and other citruses as winter fruits.
During cold days, lemons are my go-to. Be in to a flavor a cake, season meats and veggies, or squeezed in some hot tea, fresh lemons are a kitchen staple.
Lemon Cake
This lemon cake recipe is special to me. It’s the same one I used in this rosemary lemon cake – which is one of the cake layers I made for our wedding cake!
Instead of infusing the cake with any spices or herbs, I kept this cake clean. I wanted the lemon to shine. The cake is frosted with a rather light feeling buttercream made from a mixture of unsalted butter and mascarpone cheese.
Mascarpone cheese is best known for its role in tiramisu. The mascarpone adds a nice soft, creaminess to the otherwise thick American buttercream.
Ingredients
You will need the standard cake ingredients of: all-purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, butter, sugar, and eggs. Here are the remaining ingredients with additional explanations:
- Sour Cream: Use full-fat sour cream for best flavor. Otherwise, you may sub in full-fat Greek yogurt or plain yogurt.
- Milk: Whole milk provides the most flavor. However, any milk or milk alternative such as soy milk, almond milk, or oatmilk works.
- Lemon Juice: Use fresh squeezed lemon juice to achieve bright citrus taste. Store-bought lemon juice is often pasteurized which dulls the natural brightness, often making the juice taste metallic.
- Lemon Zest: Fresh grated lemon zest is packed with flavor! There is a ton of natural lemon oil in the peel which results in even more citrus notes.
- Lemon Curd: I used store-bought lemon curd from Trader Joe’s. If you’ve like a homemade version, I suggest these recipes: lemon curd from Baking a Moment or lemon curd from Epicurious.
The buttercream frosting is a simple mixture of butter, confectioners’ sugar, salt, and mascarpone cheese. Just like the cake, it is flavored with lemon zest and fresh squeezed lemon juice.
Cake Assembly
This recipe makes three 8-inch cake layers. To assemble the cake, start with one cake round.
- Spread a thin layer of mascarpone buttercream on top of cake. Then pipe a small border of mascarpone buttercream along the perimeter of the cake round.
- If desired, pipe a double border like I did in the image above. This border will serve as a barrier when you fill the cake with lemon curd.
- Carefully spread a layer of lemon curd within the buttercream boundaries. I used about two tablespoons. You’ll do this for the first two layers of the cake. The final (third) top layer will not have any lemon curd
Once the cake has been filled, lightly frost the outside of the cake with the remaining mascarpone buttercream.
Troubleshooting: The mascarpone butter is separating! How to fix it?
When frosting the cake, you may notice the mascarpone buttercream start to separate. Do not worry! Let the frosted cake chill in the fridge for 15 minutes or so to allow the buttercream to harden and come back together.
Cake Slicing Tips
I decorated the finished lemon layer cake with a simple piped border using an 18mm Ateco 829 star piping tip. This serves two purposes:
- The piped topping gives the cake texture and dimension. It also allows the confetti sprinkles something to attach to.
- The piped decor serves as a portioning guide. I cut the cake slices based on the piped stars. This way everyone gets an equal sized cake slice!
Serving Suggestions
Cold cake directly out of the fridge is the easiest to slice into clean portions. Use a sharp knife to slice cake. Wipe knife clean after each slice.
Let cake slices sit at room temperature for about 20 minutes to let cake and frosting soften before serving.
Store uncut, assembled cake in the fridge for up to two days before serving. Once sliced open, cover exposed cake with plastic wrap, wax paper, or parchment paper to prevent cake from drying out.
Alternatively, place cake slices in an airtight container in the fridge. Sliced cake keeps in the fridge for up to two days.
The cake and buttercream will be dense immediately out of the fridge. Let cake and frosting come to room temperature before eating. The buttercream should be silky smooth and cream at room temperature.
More Lemon Recipes
Lemon Layer Cake with Mascarpone Buttercream
Ingredients
Lemon Cake:
- 2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour, (295 g)
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¾ cup unsalted butter, (170 g) softened
- 1 ¼ cup granulated sugar, (250 g)
- 3 large eggs, room temp
- ⅓ cup sour cream , (76 g) room temp (or full-fat Greek yogurt)
- ⅔ cup whole milk, room temp
- 5 Tablespoons fresh squeezed lemon juice
- 1 Tablespoon finely grated lemon zest
- ¼ cup lemon curd, store-bought or homemade
Mascarpone Buttercream:
- 1 ¼ cup unsalted butter, (283 g) softened
- 4 ½ cups confectioners’ sugar, (510 g)
- 1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
- 2 teaspoons fresh squeezed lemon juice
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- 8 oz mascarpone cheese
Instructions
Lemon Cake:
- Preheat oven to 350° F. Line three 8-inch cake round pans with parchment paper. Lightly grease and set aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream butter. Add sugar and whip until smooth. Add eggs and continue to mix on medium speed until incorporated. Add sour cream and mix. Scrape down bowl as needed to ensure thorough mixing.
- Add flour mixture in three additions, alternating with milk. Begin and finish with flour mixture. Add lemon juice and lemon zest and mix until well incorporated.
- Divide batter evenly among the three prepared cake pans. Level batter using a mini offset spatula, or the back of spoon. Bake for 30-35 minutes until a toothpick inserted in center of cake comes out clean. Let cake cool in pan for 5 minutes, then run a mini offset spatula around the cake and unmold. Let cake cool to room temperature on wire rack.
Mascarpone Buttercream:
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat butter, confectioners’ sugar, lemon zest, lemon juice, and salt until smooth. Scrape down bowl as needed to ensure thorough mixing.
- Add mascarpone and mix until just combined. If buttercream is too thick, add 1 tablespoon of milk (half & half, or heavy cream) and mix until smooth.
Assembly:
- Fit a decorating bag (piping bag) with a small round tip. Fill the bag with about ½ cup of buttercream. Set aside.
- If necessary, level cake layers. Place one cake round on a cake turntable. Spread a thin layer of buttercream on cake using a small offset spatula. Using the filled piping bag, pipe a small border of mascarpone buttercream along the perimeter of the cake round. This will serve as a barrier when you filled the cake with lemon curd.
- Add about two tablespoons of lemon curd to fill the buttercream boundaries. Place second cake layer on top. Repeat filling cake layer with buttercream and lemon curd. Place the final third layer on top. This layer will not have lemon curd
- Spread buttercream around the cake to create a “crumb coat” layer to seal in any crumbs. Chill cake in the fridge for 15-20 minutes to set frosting. If desired, generously coat the chilled cake with additional buttercream. Chill cake if not serving immediately.
- Use an 18 mm star piping tip to pipe a border along the top layer of the cake. Decorate cake with confetti sprinkles as desired. Let chilled cake sit at room temperature for at least 20 minutes before serving to allow cake to soft.
Notes
- Use fresh squeezed lemon juice for best flavor. Store-bought lemon juice is often pasteurized which dulls the natural brightness, often making the juice taste metallic.
- I recommend the lemon curd from Trader Joe’s.
- Lemon cake can be baked ahead of time. Cool to room temperature before wrapping in plastic wrap.
- Can be stored in the freezer and used at a later time. Simply allow cake to defrost at room temperature before use.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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This was so good. My sister-in-law made it for my baby shower. Everyone loved it. Thanks.