Lemon Cake | Mixed by Mark

This lemon cake is deliciously tart and rich. It's a perfect dessert for anyone who wants an impressive, not overly sweet, cake.
Jump to Recipe

I made this cake over the weekend, because my family got together to celebrate my mom’s birthday. She specifically wanted a lemon cake.

I honestly wasn’t sure if I was going to like it. I’m usually more of a chocolate girl. But this cake was absolutely delicious! The cake itself had a very subtle lemon taste. But it contains a lemon curd, which is very tart, and so yummy! I had some leftover curd, so I ate it with some graham crackers. It was an awesome snack!

Because you have to make the cake, lemon curd, and frosting, this is a more intricate baking process than just whipping up some cookies. You have to account for extra time to let the curd chill, allow the frosting base to cool to room temperature, let the cakes cool, and chill the crumb coat of frosting. It does take a while, but it was definitely worth it! One thing to note: I have 6 lemons in the picture to the right. I wasn't sure how many I would need, so I bought extra. But you will only actually need 2-3 lemons.

So where do we start?
Because the lemon curd needs time to chill, I recommend making it first.
Start by zesting the lemons and squeezing the juice out of them.
Place the eggs and sugar in a small pot. Whisk to combine them. Then add the lemon juice, zest, and butter. Cook over medium-low heat, whisking almost constantly, until the mixture thickens.

Transfer the lemon curd to a glass bowl. Lay plastic wrap directly on the surface of the curd. This will prevent the top from hardening slightly to form a skin. Place the curd in the refrigerator to chill for at least 2 hours.

While the curd is chilling, go ahead and make the cake. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease and flour two 8-inch cake pans. This will prevent the cakes from sticking to the pans.

In a stand mixer, cream together the softened butter and lemon zest until it's smooth. Add the sugar, and beat on medium-high speed until it's pale and fluffy.

Reduce the speed, and mix in the eggs and vanilla. The mixture will look very wet, and honestly, not very appealing. But it will get better once the flour is added.

In a separate medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, and salt.
In a separate small bowl, mix together the milk and lemon juice.
Alternate adding the flour mixture and the milk/lemon juice mixture into the batter, making sure to mix well between each addition. You may need to scrape down the sides of the mixing bowl every once in a while. Once the flour and milk are fully incorporated, your batter will be complete. Pour the batter evenly into the prepared cake pans. I recommend dropping the pans on the counter a couple times to remove any air bubbles.

Bake the cakes for 30-35 minutes, until they appear golden and an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Allow the cakes to cool for 10 minutes in the pan. Then remove the cakes from the pans and place them on a wire rack to cool completely.

Finally, it’s time to make the frosting. In a medium pan, whisk together the sugar and flour. Add in the milk and vanilla. Stir to combine all the ingredients. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring almost constantly, until the mixture boils. Continue cooking for 1-2 more minutes, still stirring almost constantly. This is your frosting base. When it is done cooking, it should have a consistence similar to pudding.
Remove the frosting base from the heat. Transfer it to a glass bowl. Place plastic wrap directly on the surface of the frosting base. This will prevent a skin from forming on the top.

Allow the frosting base to cool to room temperature. Once it is cool, beat the softened butter on high speed, until it is pale and fluffy. Add the cooled frosting base to the butter, one tablespoon at a time, mixing between each addition. Beat for another 2-3 minutes, until the frosting is smooth.

Once your cakes are cooled and the curd has been fully chilled, it's time to assemble the cake! Start by placing the first layer of cake onto a cake stand. Poke some holes into the top of this layer. Drizzle some simple syrup on the top. This will make the cake very moist and delicious. Then spread a thin layer of frosting on top of the first layer. Using a piping bag, pipe a border of frosting around the perimeter. Fill the interior with some of the lemon curd.

Place the second cake layer on top. Frost a thin crumb coat over the surface of the entire cake. Doing the crumb coat allows your final layer of frosting to look neater, without crumbs showing up everywhere. Chill the cake for 20 minutes so that the crumb coat will set.

Once your crumb coat is set, frost the top and sides of the entire cake. This frosting will be thicker than the thin crumb coat. Smooth the icing out as much as possible so that it will appear neat. This is always the part I struggle with, so don’t be too hard on yourself if it doesn’t look perfect. Then pipe dollops around the perimeter of the top. Chill your cake for another 20 minutes to allow the frosting to set slightly.
After the cake has chilled, fill the top with the remaining lemon curd. You may not need to use all of the curd. It depends on how much you want to layer on top.

Now it’s time to enjoy your masterpiece!

Make the lemon curd. Place eggs & sugar into a small pot; whisk to combine. Add lemon juice, lemon zest, & butter. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring almost constantly until mixture thickens.

Transfer lemon curd to a glass bowl. Lay plastic wrap directly on surface of curd. Chill at least 2 hours.

Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease & flour 2 8-inch cake pans.

In a stand mixer, cream together butter & lemon zest til smooth. Add sugar; beat on medium-high speed til pale & fluffy.

Add eggs, one at a time, mixing between each addition. Mix in vanilla.

In a separate medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder, & salt. Set aside.

In a separate small bowl, mix together milk & lemon juice.

Alternate adding flour mixture & milk/lemon juice mixture into the stand mixer, mixing well between each addition.

Spread batter evenly into the prepared cake pans.

Bake for 30-35 minutes, til an inserted toothpick comes out clean.

Let cakes cool for 10 minutes, before removing from pans & cooling completely on a wire rack.

Make the vanilla frosting. Place flour & sugar in a medium pan; whisk to combine. Add milk & vanilla; whisk to combine.

Cook over medium heat, stirring almost constantly, til mixture boils. Continue cooking & stirring 1-2 more minutes til the mixture thickens to a pudding consistency.

Pour frosting base into a glass bowl. Place plastic wrap directly on surface. Cool to room temperature.

Using a stand mixer, beat softened butter on high speed til pale & fluffy.

Add the cooled frosting base to the mixer, 1 tablespoon at a time, mixing between each addition. Beat for 2-3 minutes, til smooth & fluffy.

Assemble the cake. Place one layer of cake on a cake stand. Poke holes in cake with a skewer. Drizzle with simple syrup.

Spread a thin layer of frosting on top of the layer. Pipe a border of frosting around the perimeter. Fill the interior w/ the lemon curd.

Place second layer on top. Frost a thin crumb coat over the surface of the entire cake. Chill for 20 minutes.

Frost the top & sides of the cake. Smooth well. Pipe dollops around the perimeter of the top. Chill 20 minutes.

Fill the top w/ remaining lemon curd.