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    Home » Recipes » Cakes

    Moist Lemon Cake {With Lemon Curd}

    Modified: Jul 7, 2022 by Abeer Rizvi · This post may contain affiliate links · 41 Comments

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    Moist lemon cake recipe with lemon curd filling and seven minute frosting, homemade from scratch with simple ingredients. Super soft and moist.

    After going through loads of lemon cake disasters in the kitchen, I can now safely say this is the ultimate moist lemon cake recipe made from scratch. It's bursting with zesty lemon flavor, thanks to the use of fresh lemon juice and lemon zest. I also enhanced the lemon flavor by filling and topping this cake with lemon curd. A few other great lemon desserts to try include my Lemon Pound Cake and Lemon Bundt Cake.

    Moist Lemon Cake on White Cake Stand

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    How to make moist lemon cake recipe from scratch?

    1. Whisk together- All dry ingredients in a mixing bowl.
    2. Mix in- Eggs, oil, lemon juice, or emulsion oil and lemon zest.
    3. Add in- Sour cream and mix until just combined.
    4. Pour batter- In two round greased/floured cake pans.
    5. Bake- Until inserted toothpick comes out clean.
    6. Make- The lemon curd and frosting.
    7. Place cake- On a cake stand, top it off with frosting and lemon curd, then place the other cake on top.
    8. Frost cake- Roughly with frosting.
    9. Pour- Some lemon curd on top of the cake with some berries.
    10. Keep refrigerated- Until ready to serve.
    Slice of Lemon Curd Cake on White Plate

    Variations for best lemon curd cake

    • Lemon poppyseed cake- Give a different overall flavor and texture by adding in some poppyseeds to the batter.
    • Glaze cake/ Drizzle cake- With this tasty Lemon Drizzle Icing instead of the 7 minute frosting.
    • Decorate cake-Using Fondant Flowers, Royal Icing Flowers, or Homemade Sprinkles. You can also use fresh edible flowers, thin lemon slices, or dried lemon peels. 
    • Use other cake pan sizes– For example, you can use mini pans to make several mini cakes or just make one large rectangle cake for easy decorating.
    • Try other frostings- Such as Marshmallow Frosting, Lemon Frosting, or Blackberry Buttercream, Strawberry Buttercream, or White Chocolate Buttercream Frosting.
    • Try other fillings- Such as Chocolate Whipped Cream, Homemade Vanilla Custard, Homemade Vanilla Pudding, Homemade Caramel Sauce, or Blueberry Pie Filling.
    • Add other berries- Such as strawberries, black raspberries, or blueberries.
    • Add other extracts- Almond extract would be amazing, but you can also try others, such as vanilla, lemon, or even maple.
    Slice Removed From Summer Citrus Cake- Closeup Shot

    Tips and techniques for easy homemade lemon layer cake

    • Use full fat sour cream- This lemon layer cake might be the softest cake I have ever made because of the use of sour cream. Be sure it is full fat, original sour cream for the perfect amount of moistness.
    • Don't over-mix the batter- Because it will make your cake more chewy and less soft.
    • Use a spatula to apply frosting- Because this helps to give it that rough, naked look.
    • Use a combination all-purpose and cake flour- Because it yields the best texture.
    • Use lemon emulsion oil rather than lemon extract- Because it doesn't evaporate when baking and has a stronger taste and fragrance. If you must use extract, try to use the best quality extract you can find.
    • If you don't have sour cream use plain greek yogurt- Because it yields similar results as long as it is thick, good-quality greek yogurt.
    • Don't use store-bought lemon juice- Because fresh lemon juice tastes so much better and gives the best flavor!
    • Don't skip on lemon zest- Because it adds a lot of flavor to this lemon cake.
    Spoonful of Lemon Raspberry Cake on White Plate

    Storage of lemon raspberry cake- 

    Fridge- Leftovers can be stored in a sealed container in the fridge for up to 3 days. 

    Freezer- Cakes can be frozen separately for one month. Then thaw and apply the frosting, curd, and berries before serving.

    More easy lemon desserts-

    • Easy Lemon Bars (Lemon Squares)
    • Lemon Fudge (2 Ingredients)
    • Lemon Meringue Pie
    • Lemon Cake Balls (Cake Truffles)
    • Lemon Cupcakes (With Cream Cheese Frosting)
    • Easy Lemon Cookies

    Recipe

    Moist Lemon Cake With Lemon Curd Filling on White Cake Stand

    Moist Lemon Cake Recipe

    Abeer Rizvi
    Moist lemon cake recipe with lemon curd filling and seven minute frosting, homemade from scratch with simple ingredients. Super soft and moist.
    4.88 from 8 ratings
    Print Recipe Pin Recipe
    Prep Time 20 minutes mins
    Cook Time 40 minutes mins
    Decorating time 20 minutes mins
    Total Time 1 hour hr 20 minutes mins
    Course Cakes, Dessert
    Cuisine American
    Servings 9 slices
    Calories 446 kcal

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    Ingredients
      

    Lemon Cake

    • 1 cup All-purpose flour
    • 1 cup Cake flour
    • 1½ cups Sugar
    • ⅔ cup Oil
    • ⅔ cup Fresh lemon juice
    • 3 Eggs
    • ¾ cup Sour cream
    • 1 tablespoon Lemon zest
    • 1 teaspoon Lemon emulsion oil or lemon extract
    • 1 teaspoon Baking powder
    • 1 teaspoon Baking soda

    Filling, frosting, decoration

    • Homemade lemon curd
    • Seven minute frosting or Buttercream icing
    • 1 cup Fresh raspberries and blackberries

    Instructions
     

    • In a mixing bowl,whisk together the cake flour, all-purpose flour, sugar, baking powder and baking soda.
    • Now, add eggs, oil, lemon juice, or emulsion oil and lemon zest. Mix until everything is smooth
    • Add sour cream and mix until just combined. Don't over-mix!
    • Pour this batter in two round greased/floured cake pans (Dimension: 8x2). Bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.
    • While the cake is baking and then cooling down, make lemon curd and frosting.
    • Place one cake on a cake stand and top it off with a thin layer of frosting and lemon curd. Place the other cake on top of all this. Press your cake down with your hands (some of the frosting and curd will come out from the sides but don't worry about it!)
    • Now, use a spatula to frost the entire cake roughly with frosting.
    • Finally, pour some lemon curd on top of the cake and place some berries here.
    • Keep this cake refrigerated until you are ready to serve.
    • Note: Prior to serving, if any frosting or curd has come out from the sides along the center of the cake, just run a spatula around the cake again. And you are done!

    Notes

    • Read all my tips above.
    • Leftovers can be stored in a sealed container in the fridge for up to 3 days. 

    Nutrition

    Calories: 446kcalCarbohydrates: 57gProtein: 5gFat: 22gSaturated Fat: 3gCholesterol: 64mgSodium: 177mgPotassium: 170mgFiber: 1gSugar: 35gVitamin A: 200IUVitamin C: 11.6mgCalcium: 61mgIron: 1.2mg

    An automated tool is used to calculate the nutritional information. As such, I cannot guarantee the accuracy of the nutritional information provided for any recipe on this site.

    Tried this recipe?Leave a comment below or rate and tag @cakewhiz on social
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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Marie

      September 05, 2020 at 12:24 am

      OMG OMG OMG! This is the best lemon cake ever! Holy smokes. I just made it tonight and used a super fluffy and lower sugar american buttercream on it since thats all I had time for. So good. Light, moist, lemony. Perfect! Thanks for the amazing recipe!5 stars

      Reply
      • Abeer Rizvi

        September 07, 2020 at 12:46 pm

        Yayyyy! I am so glad you agree it's the best too. I have tried so many recipes and this one always rocks!

        Reply
    2. Jane

      December 21, 2019 at 12:31 pm

      Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you! This is the best lemon cake recipe! My friends and I have already made it 4 times. For anyone else living 5000 feet above sea level, you don't have to change a thing. Love it!5 stars

      Reply
      • Abeer Rizvi

        December 21, 2019 at 10:11 pm

        Yayyyyy! That makes me so happy. Good to know about the high altitude too.

        Reply
    3. Tammie

      May 29, 2019 at 7:16 pm

      I absolutely recommend this recipe!!! It would be my fourth attempt at making lemon cake and I won’t make any other recipe but this one. Good job!5 stars

      Reply
    4. Annette W.

      January 16, 2018 at 7:49 am

      Hi, can you use store bought lemon curd?

      Reply
      • Abeer Rizvi

        January 16, 2018 at 7:08 pm

        Yes, absolutely. It will save you some time!

        Reply
    5. Tanya Reeves

      September 17, 2017 at 4:23 am

      Hi could I add poppy seeds to this cake?

      Reply
      • Abeer Rizvi

        September 18, 2017 at 7:15 pm

        Yes, absolutely!

        Reply
    6. Barb W

      August 12, 2017 at 2:48 pm

      Can this be done as cupcakes and if so how many would you say it would make?

      Reply
      • Abeer Rizvi

        August 13, 2017 at 10:59 pm

        I have not tried this recipe as a cupcake. So, I really don't know... Sorry!

        Reply
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    4.88 from 8 votes

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    Hello, I'm Abeer Rizvi, the author and founder of CakeWhiz.com—a cherished dessert blog dedicated to baking, cake decorating, doctored cake mix recipes, and all things sweet. As a skilled food writer, baker, recipe developer, and cake decorator, I take pride in wearing multiple hats.

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