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.
295 Comments
Love it! I baked twice already with this recipe😋
Awesome! So happy you loved the lemon cake Connie 🙂
The taste of this cake is absolute delicious, however this is the third trial I’ve made and it has sunk in the middle every time, I’ve read your top tips on how to stop a cake sinking but nothing seems to work. I’ve seen on previous comments that you are working on making the recipe less likely to sink, which I am very excited to hear, as it tastes so good!
Hi Sam! 🙂 Yes it seems a number of users are having issues with the cake sinking. This could be due to slight variations in the ingredients used in different countries which is perhaps having an effect! I am working on this recipe as we speak and hope to share an updated recipe that is very similar to the taste and texture of this one soon 🙂
I made this cake a while ago, and if you’re asking yourself if you should do this cake just do it! believe me when I say this is one of the most delicious cakes I have ever had. The cake came out fluffy and airy and just delicious and moist, and the lemon curd OH MY GOD, it was to die for. My frosting didn’t come out as perfect as MK’s but that is because I used margarina which is like a vegan butter in Portugal, since I didn’t have butter at home, but it was still DELICIOUS.
I made the cake for my uncle’s birthday and everyone was obsessed!!!! I had to give the recipe to all my family members!
If I had to explain the cake in a few words it would be delicious lemon explosion. I have become obsessed with MK recipes and I will do this cake again!
Aww thank you so so so much for the wonderful feedback Racquel! 😀 So happy to hear you loved the lemon cake and hearing that your family was obsessed with the recipe truly makes me so so happy! Much love from NZ to Portugal 😀
Made this cake yesterday came out perfect! The cream cheese icing is the best icing, and is the all time FAVORITE of my family! Keep doing what you’re doing, I’m looking forward to your recipes! 💕
Hi can you freeze this cake once it’s all made? With the buttercream and curd etc? Too much to eat all at once! Thanks 🙂
Hi Ash! It should be fine to freeze, it’s just that the frosting may be a little curdled when the cake is thawed 🙂
Yay! So so happy to hear you and your family loved the recipe Faith, particularly the cream cheese frosting 😀 really appreciate all the love and support 🙂
I love this cake, it’s absolutely delicious but it always sinks in the middle and then breaks even though I do everything according to the recipe and I try to prevent the sinking 🙁 How do you have it so perfect?
Hi Mary! So happy to hear you love the taste of this recipe but so sorry to hear the structure isn’t quite coming out right! I am working on making this recipe more stable so it’s less likely to sink, while maintaining its flavor. In the meatime, check out this blog post for some troubleshooting tips: https://cakesbymk.com/recipe/why-did-my-cake-sink-in-the-middle/
In terms of the cake breaking, this is likely due to the cake batter being undermixed, or not enough flour in the recipe. I would highly recommend using the gram measurements (if you haven’t already) and mix a little extra at the end to develop more of the structure of the cake 🙂
Hope that helps!
I made this cake 2x and although the cake tasted very yummy, it was very crumbly (outside and inside) and both times i cooked it, it sunk in the middle:(
Hi Tracy! So happy to hear you loved how the cakes tasted but so sorry to hear they sunk and were crumbly – that can be frustrating! I would recommend mixing the batter slightly more at the end and ensure the cake layers aren’t overbaked to prevent crumbliness. Also check out this post for some troubleshoot tips on why cakes may sink: https://cakesbymk.com/recipe/why-did-my-cake-sink-in-the-middle/
It seems that a few readers are having this issue so I may look at amending this recipe soon to help prevent the cake layers from sinking 🙂
Would love to this one with frozen blueberries incorporated into the dough. Do I need to do anything different or do you suggest a different recipe?
I followed your exact instruction and the cake turned out AMAZING!!! So fluffy and the perfect amount of lemon, yum.
Awesome! So happy to hear you loved the recipe Melanie 🙂
Even after baking for 50 min the center of the cake was not cooked.. can I kno the reason
Hi there! 🙂 The most probable reason is that the oven temp was too low (if not using a convection oven with a fan then you need to increase the baking temp to 180C/350F). Another reason could be that you used a smaller cake tin, or put all the batter into 1 tin instead of two. I would recommend baking the cake layers separately if you didn’t already 🙂 hope that helps!
My cake came out dense.
Oh no! So sorry to hear that Elizabeth. The cake should be soft and fluffy, so I’m not too sure what may have gone wrong. My top tips would be 1) best to use gram measurements if you haven’t already, 2) make sure all ingredients are at room temp, and 3) ensure the butter is creamed properly. Check this video out for more troubleshooting tips 🙂 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DRy1KuFMdOo
Hope that helps!
What could I substitute for the yoghurt?
Hi Elizabeth! I haven’t tried a yoghurt substitute myself so can’t recommend anything at this stage sorry! Sour cream may work, but again I can’t say for sure 🙂
Sour cream works perfect! I never have yogurt around but sour cream is usually always a safe substitute for yogurt.