Celebrate Spring with this delicious Lemon Cake, filled with a tangy homemade lemon curd and covered in a zesty lemon cream cheese frosting. This post has been sponsored by Plugrá Butter. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Even though lemon is available all year round, I always think of spring when I think of lemon’s bright and refreshing flavor. This Lemon Cake is like a ray of sunshine breaking through that last winter cloud.
All the elements of this cake are made with Plugrá® Butter, from the lemon cake, to the lemon curd, to the lemon cream cheese frosting. And you can find all the ingredients at your local Albertsons in one shopping trip.
What you’ll need
Here’s everything you’ll need to make this lemon cake from scratch. Ingredient quantities are specified in the recipe card at the end of this post.
As I mentioned before, all three elements of this cake use Plugrá Unsalted Butter. While most butter is 80% butterfat, Plugrá is 82% butterfat, resulting in a richer and moister cake, with exceptional flavor.
Step by Step Instructions
Keep reading for the step by step instructions with process photos to guide you through making the cake, the filling and the frosting all from scratch.
Mini lemon cake
This lemon cake recipe yields a 2-layer 6” cake. It can also be baked in one 8” cake pan or you can double the recipe if you want a 2-layer 8” cake.
- First, whisk together the sugar and lemon zest to release the lemon oil.
- Add egg and vanilla to the sugar mixture.
- Beat until light and creamy, about 2 minutes.
- Sift together the dry ingredients and add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients.
- Stir until just combined. Then add hot milk and melted butter to the mixture while stirring to combine.
- Divide batter into 2 buttered and lined 6” cake pans. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the middle of the cake comes out clean. Allow to cool before adding frosting.
Homemade lemon curd filling
This recipe makes just enough lemon curd for the cake. If you want to make a larger batch for leftovers, see my homemade lemon curd recipe. It’s great on scones and pancakes as well.
- Add sugar, salt, lemon zest, lemon juice, and an egg to a small saucepan, whisk together over low heat until the mixture is thoroughly mixed. Add cubed butter to the saucepan and whisk until the butter melts completely.
- Continue to cook the mixture while stirring continuously until it thickens and coats the back of a spoon. Strain the curd through a fine mesh sieve and stir in a splash of vanilla. Let cool completely and refrigerate uncovered.
Easy lemon cream cheese frosting
The easy lemon cream cheese frosting is exactly the same as my go to cream cheese frosting with lemon zest and lemon juice added. It takes just 5 minutes to whip together.
- Cream butter and cream cheese together in a large mixing bowl.
- Add vanilla extract, lemon juice and lemon zest, beat to combine.
- Add powdered sugar and stir until incorporated, gradually increase the mixer speed and beat until fluffy.
How to assemble the cake
- Add frosting to the top of the first cake layer and crumb coat the side. Add a border of frosting around the edge and fill it in with ⅓ cup of lemon curd. Refrigerate for 30 minutes to allow the frosting and filling to firm up.
- Add the second layer on top. During this step, if you didn’t refrigerate your first layer, the cake could collapse. So don’t skip the refrigeration step.
- Add frosting on top and crumb coat the side of the second layer. Fill in the gap between the two cake layers for a smooth side. Refrigerate for another 30 minutes to allow the crumb coat to set.
- Add a thicker frosting to the top and side of the cake, reserving some frosting to pipe a swirl border on top.
- Add the remaining lemon curd inside the swirl border and spread it out. Refrigerate for 2 hours before serving.
Baker’s Tips
- I chose Plugrá butter for its higher fat content of 82% butterfat. The higher fat content will result in moister cake without having to add oil to the cake batter, preserving the pure buttery taste.
- If you’re using homegrown lemons, you may need to use the zest of more than 1 lemon to enhance the flavor. In my experience, store bought lemons tend to have a stronger lemony scent.
- The lemon curd will start to thicken about 3 to 4 minutes after the butter melts completely. Try not to overcook the curd, but if you do, straining the curd will help get rid of any overcooked egg bits.
- Refrigerating the frosted and filled first cake layer before adding the second cake layer will help firm up the curd and frosting and prevent it from being squeezed out due to the weight of the second cake layer on top.
Storage
Store this lemon cake and any leftovers in the refrigerator for up to a week. You can also freeze it for up to 3 months.
The easiest way to freeze leftovers is allow it to harden in the fridge first, then slice, wrap and freeze individual slices. This way you can thaw just what you need when you want a slice of sunshine.
Making ahead
This cake and all three elements of it including the lemon curd and the cream cheese frosting freeze well, which makes it very convenient to make ahead of time.
You can either freeze the whole cake already assembled or freeze the cake layers, the curd and the frosting separately. You can thaw and assemble the cake the day you are planning to serve it.
For the frozen frosting, allow it to thaw overnight in the fridge or for a couple hours at room temperature and re-whip it until light and fluffy before using.
Let’s make Spring happen with this refreshing lemon cake. Be sure to use Plugrá Butter and shop at Albertsons for all your baking needs! You can use the Albertsons app to check out your local store weekly ad, find coupons, and create your shopping list all in one place. Right now you can Save $1.00 when you buy any TWO (2) Plugrá products!
More lemon recipes
📖 Recipe card
Lemon Cake
Ingredients
Lemon Cake
- 5 tablespoons Plugrá® Unsalted Butter (71 g)
- 1 cup all-purpose flour (135 g)
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt (1g)
- 1 teaspoon baking powder (4 g)
- 2 large eggs
- ¾ cup granulated sugar (150 g)
- Zest of 1 lemon
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract (14 g)
- ½ cup whole milk (122 g)
Lemon Curd Filling
- 1 ½ tablespoons Plugrá® Unsalted Butter (cubed, 19 g)
- 2 tablespoons + 2 teaspoons of fresh lemon juice (39 ml)
- Zest of 1 lemon
- ⅓ cup granulated sugar (67 g)
- 1 large egg
- A pinch of salt
- A splash of vanilla extract
Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting
- 12 oz cream cheese (room temperature, 340g)
- 6 oz Plugrá® unsalted butter (room temperature, 170 g)
- ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
- Zest of 1 lemon
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- 1 ¼ cup powdered sugar (132 g)
Instructions
Make the cake
- Preheat the oven to 325°F.
- Butter two 6” cake pans and line the bottom of each pan with a piece of round parchment paper cut to fit.
- In a small mixing bowl, sift together flour and baking powder. Add the kosher salt, and mix with a whisk to distribute evenly. Set aside.
- Rub sugar and lemon zest together in the bowl of a stand mixer. Add egg and vanilla to the sugar mixture and beat until light and creamy, about 2 minutes. Add the flour mixture and stir until just combined.
- Microwave the milk and butter in a heatproof measuring cup or bowl for 1 minute, stir to ensure the butter melts completely. Add the hot milk mixture to the stand mixer bowl while stirring to combine. Scrape the bowl with a spatula to ensure thorough mixing.
- Divide cake batter evenly between the 2 prepared cake pans, about 290 g of batter per pan.
- Bake in the middle oven rack for 25 – 27 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the middle of the cake comes out clean.
- Remove from the oven and allow to sit until cool to the touch. Run a butter knife along the edge to loosen the cakes if necessary and remove them from the pan. Peel off parchment paper at the bottom and allow to cool completely on a wire rack.
Make lemon curd
- Add sugar, a pinch of kosher salt, lemon zest, lemon juice, and an egg to a small saucepan, whisk together over low heat until the mixture is thoroughly mixed.
- Add the cubed butter to the saucepan and whisk until the butter melts completely. Continue to cook the mixture while stirring continuously until it thickens and coats the back of a spoon. This will take 3 – 4 minutes.
- Strain the curd through a fine mesh sieve into a clean bowl, stir in a splash of vanilla. Let cool completely and refrigerate uncovered until ready to use.
Make lemon cream cheese frosting
- In a large mixing bowl or a stand mixer bowl, cream butter and cream cheese together until thoroughly mixed and creamy.
- Add vanilla extract, lemon juice and lemon zest, beat to combine.
- Add powdered sugar and stir until incorporated, gradually increase the mixer speed and beat until fluffy.
Assemble the cake
- Fill a pastry bag fitted with a large round tip (size 807) with some of the frosting and set aside.
- Line a cake stand or plate with a few strips of parchment paper and place 1 layer of cake on top.
- Add ⅓ cup of frosting on top of the cake and spread it out evenly with a spatula. Crumb coat the side of the cake with some additional frosting. Pipe a border around the edge of the cake layer using the previously prepared frosting in the pastry bag.
- Add ⅓ cup of lemon curd filling within the frosting border and place the cake in the refrigerator to allow the frosting and filling to firm up before adding the second layer of cake on top, about 30 minutes.
- Place the second cake layer on top of the refrigerated cake layer, and spread ⅓ cup of frosting on top. Crumb coat the side of the second cake layer and fill in the gap between the two layers with some additional frosting. Refrigerate for another 30 minutes to allow the crumb coat to firm up before finishing decorating the cake.
- Once the crumb coat is set, take the cake out of the refrigerator and add a thin layer of frosting on the side and top of the cake. Smooth out the frosting with an offset spatula.
- Add the remaining frosting to a pastry bag fitted with a star tip (1M), pipe a border around the edge. Add the remaining lemon curd within the border and spread it out carefully with the back of a spoon.
- Refrigerate for 2 hours to let the frosting set before serving.
Video
Notes
- If you’re using homegrown lemons, you may need to use the zest of more than 1 lemon to enhance the flavor. In my experience, store bought lemons tend to have a stronger lemony scent.
- The lemon curd will start to thicken about 3 to 4 minutes after the butter melts completely. Try not to overcook the curd, but if you do, straining the curd will help get rid of any overcooked egg bits.
- Refrigerating the frosted first cake layer before adding the second cake layer will help firm up the curd and frosting and prevent it from being squeezed out due to the weight of the second cake layer on top.
Nutrition
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I love everything on this site, but this one didn’t turn out for me. The icing was really thin and didn’t set up after being in the fridge. And the cake came out more like a dense pound cake. It tasted good, but it wasn’t pretty.
Hi Kristin, I’m sorry this cake didn’t come out as you expected. I’m curious if you are in a more humid climate? I’ve had readers complain about the cream cheese frosting not setting up but I’ve been using this recipe for many years. It isn’t the thickest cream cheese frosting because of lower sugar level but it’s always set up fine for me. Thanks for trying this recipe!
This is gorgeous. Love all the zingy lemon elements.
Thank you so much Marie!
I can taste it…yum
Sorry I didn’t save you a slice!