When I say this lemon cake recipe kept me up at night, I really mean it! After hours and hours of recipe testing, I present to you the most incredibly delicious and soft lemon cake recipe! With delicate, moist lemon cake layers, filled with a zesty lemon curd and topped with a super delicious cream cheese frosting, this lemon cake is TO DIE FOR!
What makes this the best lemon cake?
I know it’s bold to claim something as ‘the best’, but here is why I truly feel this cake stands out! I bet you’ll be making it over and over again for dessert once you try it out 🙂
Ingredients
This recipe uses a few key ingredients to ensure the cake layers are soft and moist. Some notable mentions include cornstarch (used in conjuction with all purpose flour to act as a cake flour substitute). Cornstarch doesn’t have any gluten in it, and so substituting some of the all purpose flour with cornstarch results in a wonderfully soft cake (read more about this here)!
Secondly, this recipe uses a combination of butter and oil to provide moisture to the cake. Further to this, milk and yoghurt are used to thin out the cake batter and provide additional moisture. I LOVE using yoghurt in lemon cakes as I find the tartness found in yoghurt helps to amplify the lemon flavor in the cake.
Lastly, this recipe uses HEAPS of lemon zest and lemon juice, to make sure you’re getting that lemon flavor in every bite!
Fillings & Toppings
In addition to the lemon cake layers, this recipe also boasts an incredibly delicious lemon curd filling, and cream cheese frosting.
The lemon curd used in this recipe is literally the best I’ve ever had. It’s an eggless lemon curd too, so you don’t need to worry about the eggs scrambling or the lemon curd tasting eggy! Best of all, the lemon curd is like a literal hit of lemon – but in a good way! It works perfectly in this cake.
My frosting of choice for this cake is my all time favorite cream cheese frosting. It’s not too sweet, has a wonderful tangyness from the cream cheese, and adds another layer of flavor to this cake.
Updated Recipe
This recipe was updated on April the 24th, 2024. Some readers were having problems with the cake layers sinking in, so I decided to update the recipe to make it a little sturdier. Additional structure to the cake layers help to prevent the cake layers sinking in. I promise it still has the same great flavor and texture as the original 😀
The main changes I made was adding in more eggs and replacing some of the oil in the recipe with butter.
I know many of you love the original recipe too, so I have left the original quantities in the notes section of the recipe card.
How to make Lemon Cake
Begin by preheating your oven to 180 °C (350°F) conventional (see note 2 if using a convection oven with a fan) and grease two 8 inch round cake pans (I use my homemade cake release) and line the bottoms with parchment paper.
Sift together flour, cornstarch, baking powder and salt. Mix together using a whisk and set aside.
In a large mixing bowl add in butter, vegetable oil, sugar and lemon zest. Using a hand or stand mixer on a medium speed, cream together for 2 minutes until light and creamy. If using a stand mixer then you want to do this with the paddle attachment.
Add in eggs one by one, mixing well in between each addition.
Add in milk, yoghurt and lemon juice. Mix until well combined – the batter may look curdled, but that’s okay. Now set your mixer aside as the remainder of the batter will be finished by hand.
Add your flour mixture to your wet ingredients, and using a spatula, fold together until just combined. Do not overmix.
Distribute the batter evenly into the prepared pans, and bake for 33 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean (or with a few moist crumbs).
Once baked, allow the cake layers to cool in the cake tins for about 15-20 minutes, and then turn them out onto a wire rack to completely cool.
Lemon Curd and Cream Cheese Frosting
In addition to the lemon cake layers, prepare the eggless lemon curd and cream cheese buttercream. I have both of those recipes on my blog and you’ll just want to make 1 batch of each recipe 🙂
How to decorate this lemon cake
You can decorate this cake however you like, but if you’re new to using a filling then checkout the steps below of how I decorated my cake so that the filling doesn’t seep out of the edges 🙂
So I started off by placing my first cake layer onto my cake stand and spreading out a generous amount of frosting using my offset spatula. I then piped a thin (double) border of frosting around the edges, and I used a 1M piping tip for this.
I then filled the middle with a layer of lemon curd, and then placed my second cake layer on top.
I then went ahead and covered the entire cake in frosting. I used a cake scraper to smooth out the edges, and then used my offset spatula to bring the top lip of frosting into the middle of the cake so that I had some nice smooth edges.
I then used a 1M piping tip to pipe a border on the top of the cake, and then filled the middle with more lemon curd.
And that is it! The cake is ready to serve 🙂
Commonly Asked Questions
How do you store lemon cake?
This cake can be left at room temperature for the day, however overnight it will need to be refrigerated due to the cream cheese in the frosting. The fat and sugar in the frosting will prevent the cream cheese from going off immediately, which is why you can keep it out at room temperature for an extended period of time.
When storing, place it into an airtight container, and into the refrigerator. Allow it to come to room temperature before serving.
Can I use lemon extract or essence in the cake layers?
The cake layers do have a lot of lemon flavor, so I personally feel there is no need to add in more. This is particularly true if you make the lemon curd, which has a very bold lemon flavor 🙂
Soft Lemon Cake
Print Pin VideoIMPORTANT: For accuracy, I would recommend using the gram measurements provided, as those are the exact quantities I use. Cup measurements are given as estimates (based on US cup measurements) to make it easier for those who do not have a scale.
Ingredients
Lemon Cake
- 2 cups (240 g) flour - regular, all purpose
- ¼ cup (30 g) cornstarch
- 2½ tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp salt
- ¾ cup (170 g) unsalted butter - room temperature
- ¼ cup (60 g) unflavoured vegetable oil - I use canola oil
- 1½ cups (300 g) white granulated sugar
- 3 tbsp lemon zest - see note 1
- 4 large eggs - room temperature
- ⅓ cup (90 g) milk - room temperature
- ½ cup (115 g) yoghurt - unflavored and unsweetened. Greek yoghurt okay but regular type preferred.
- ¼ cup (58 g) fresh lemon juice
Lemon Curd
- 1 batch of my eggless lemon curd recipe
Cream Cheese Frosting
Instructions
Lemon Cake
- Preheat oven to 180 °C (350°F) conventional (see note 2 if using a convection oven with a fan) and grease two 8 inch cake tins (I use my homemade cake release) and line the bottoms with parchment paper.
- Sift together flour, cornstarch, baking powder and salt. Mix together using a whisk and set aside.
- In a large bowl add in butter, vegetable oil, sugar and lemon zest. Using a hand or stand mixer on a medium speed, cream together for 2 minutes until light and creamy.
- Add in eggs one by one, mixing well in between each addition.
- Add in milk, yoghurt and lemon juice. Mix until well combined - the batter may look curdled, but that's okay. Now set your mixer aside as the remainder of the batter will be finished by hand.
- Add your pre-sifted dry ingredients to your wet mixture, and using a spatula, fold together until just combined. Do not overmix.
- Distribute the batter evenly into the two 8 inch cake tins, and bake for 33 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean (or with a few moist crumbs).
- Once baked, allow the cake layers to cool in the cake tins for about 15-20 minutes, and then turn them out onto a wire rack to completely cool.
Assembly
- See the end of the blog post above for assembly instructions or watch the recipe video for a visual demonstration 🙂
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional information are estimates only as they are automatically calculated by a third party application. Actual values may differ based on brands and types of products used.
289 Comments
I baked this the other day and it smelled so good. The first cake crumbled as I took it out of the cake tin and I remember reading another review that mentioned this, so I lined my second tin with baking paper and it came out perfect.
The cake was so soft, so moist and the lemon flavour was delicious. This cake did not last long in the house.
So so happy to hear you enjoyed the recipe Adele! Really appreciate the feedback 😀 and awesome to hear that lining the bottom of the cake tin helped solve the problem 🙂
Hi Maryam, would this cake be suitable and hold its shape as a 3 layer 8” filled with curd & SMBC for the top tier of a wedding cake please?
Hi Shaar! Yes as a top tier 3 layer cake it should be fine especially if using SMBC which is a great stable frosting 🙂 the cake layers are very soft through so any more than 3 layers then you may need extra support!
I have made this twice. The flavor is amazing, but my cake in sinking in the middle. What am I doing wrong?
Hi Julie 🙂 so sorry to hear the cake is sinking in the middle – that can be frustrating! There could be a few reasons why, including perhaps the eggs that you’re using being slightly smaller than mine so there isn’t enough structure. You could try adding another egg in the recipe, or check out this blog post for some troubleshooting tips and if you notice that it could perhaps be something from the blog post then try that first before resorting to the extra egg 🙂 https://cakesbymk.com/recipe/why-did-my-cake-sink-in-the-middle/
Hope that helps!
can i skip yogurt?
also is this cake good for open area party?
costal city like karachi
regular temperature of the day between 30-35
Hi Naureen! 🙂 The yoghurt is an important part of this recipe so I wouldn’t recommend skipping it. For an outdoor party in very hot weather, you may want to try a more stable frosting, or reduce the amount of cream cheese in the frosting and this will make it more stable (but slightly more sweet). Hope that helps! 🙂
Can I make this in a 9 x 13“ pan?
Yes that should be fine Mary! 🙂
Hi, I’d like to use 9” pans. Would it work if I reduced the baking time or should I increase the recipe?
Hi Karen! Yes if you reduce the baking time it should be fine just keep in the mind the cake layers will be thinner 🙂
Since I love lemons I was very tempted to try your cake (the title had my attention 😄), then when I saw the texture of the cake I said I have to try it now! The lemon curd without eggs was very interesting since my favorite is an eggy one.
I have to admit this is by far the best lemon cake ever! Fluffy, rich, zesty… I have only a remark concerning Cream cheese frosting, it is delicious but not ideal for building the layers so I made my 2 recipes (a slightly light one for frosting the inside+ crumbs that has lemon taste in it) and the second CCF for coating and decoration. My family and I were so happy! Thank you so much MK, I trust your recipes. Keep up the good work! I know it takes a lot to develop a great recipe. You rock 🎉🎉
So so happy to hear you enjoyed the recipe Rania! 😀
Hello dear, I just made this recipe today. The cake layers came out too soft, I mean too soft to even handle that one layer broke in my hands . Otherwise the cake was so soft , melt in your mouth but i was planning to make a 4 layer cake with this recipe which I think the cake would not be able to hold . Please tell me what can I do to troubleshoot this ??
Also in your recipes where you use cornstarch, soda with some acid like vinegar or in this lemon juice and yogurt, when I mix the dry ingredients at end with spatula, there are lumps of batter that form? And I fear that they might be flour pockets and also don’t want to overmix , is this normal ?
Hi there! 🙂 So this cake is a very soft cake but it should still be able to hold it’s shape. What I would recommend is mixing a bit more at the end to help develop more of the structure of the cake, and you can also add in a little more flour if you want a sturdier cake 🙂 in terms of the lumps, if they’re little lumps then that’s fine even my batter is sometimes a little lumpy in the end, the main thing is that there aren’t big lumps of unmixed flour. You can also use a mixer to mix it on a low speed at the end to get rid of some of the lumps if you prefer and this will also make the cake a little more sturdy just be careful not to over mix 🙂
I would like to make the cake plain without the curd. Can I put all cake batter into one 8 inch cake tin and increase baking time? Rather than have the 2 cakes? Any advice appreciated
Hi Mark! This recipe produces a very soft cake, so adding it all into one cake tin may not allow it rise the way it should (and it may sink in the middle if checked too early as it’s quite delicate). For best results I would recommend using two cake tins, or halving the recipe for 1 8 inch cake tin. Hope that helps! 🙂
hi i accidently messed up the recipe
i measured the yogurt wrong because there was a cloth under the measuring scale and i added a lot of yogurt is there a way to fix this it tastes like yogurt
Hi Sumaiya 🙂 Ohh no so sorry to hear that! Unfortunately if the cake is already baked then you can’t really save it 🙁 you could maybe try soaking it with some lemon syrup to add more lemon flavour 🙂