Moist Lemon Cake {With Lemon Curd}

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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Moist Lemon Cake Recipe

Prep Time: 20 mins

Cook Time: 40 mins

Decorating time: 20 mins

Total Time: 1 hr 20 mins

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

Yield: 9 slices

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 tbsp Lemon zest
• 1 tsp Lemon emulsion oil , or lemon extract
• 1 tsp Baking powder
• 1 tsp 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: 8×2). 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: 446kcal, Carbohydrates: 57g, Protein: 5g, Fat: 22g, Saturated Fat: 3g, Cholesterol: 64mg, Sodium: 177mg, Potassium: 170mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 35g, Vitamin A: 200IU, Vitamin C: 11.6mg, Calcium: 61mg, Iron: 1.2mg

Course: Cakes, Dessert

Cuisine: American

Calories: 446

Author: Abeer Rizvi