Lemon Celebration Cake!
*This post may contain affiliate links. Please see my disclosure for more details!*
A delicious, light & lemony sponge filled with a dash of lemon curd and a luscious lemon buttercream! The perfect lemon celebration cake!
Lemon celebration cake!
After posting the recipe for my Victoria sponge celebration cake, I figured it would be so much fun if I experimented on this and produced different flavours! When I asked on my Facebook and Instagram page recently if anyone had any suggestions, and to my joy many of you suggested a lemon celebration cake!
I feel a lemon flavour for a celebration cake is always a safe flavour as (usually!) everyone likes lemon! I also find its perfect for after dinner as the zesty and fresh lemon cleanses your mouth leaving a refreshing aftertaste.
Lemon
I adore lemon drizzle cake – but I decided to do a variation on this for a bit more show! (Don’t worry though, I still have my lemon drizzle loaf cake recipe also!) I also used my homemade lemon curd recipe for the filling – feel free to use shop bought, but making your own is so surprisingly easy!
This cake ended up being a hybrid of a Victoria sponge into something super lemony and heavenly – and its delicious. I posted my recipe for my lemon & poppyseed cake a while ago and had a big success with that one, so I hope you guys like this too!
Two layer cake
Unlike my Victoria sponge I decided to keep this as a 2 layer cake so that its easier for others to make if they only have two tins, and its easier to bake two anyway! Two layer cake, normal cake, sandwich cake – whatever you want to call it, its still delicious regardless!
I tend to think some people prefer a two layer cake as you can simply slather buttercream in the middle and on top and you are done – its the perfect cup of tea pairing! I love using these tins for my sponge cakes and also this angled spatula for spreading buttercream. On this occasion I piped the buttercream but the choice is yours!
Drizzle
The drizzle aspect of this cake makes the sponge SO moist and scrummy, and the buttercream gives it the light sweetness that is often craved with cake – delicious. You simply mix the lemon juice and caster sugar together to make a yummy drizzle, and drizzle over the sponges whilst they are still hot.
This on top of the zesty buttercream and curd drizzle topping, you get the lemon taste in every bite of cake and it is just DELICIOUS! Of course I had to add some themed yellow sprinkles to the bake but they dont have to be yellow and they completely optional anyway!
Lemon recipes
I love a lemon recipe and have a fair few of them on my blog, and I can tell you guys do too – for example my lemon drizzle cheesecake, lemon drizzle cupcakes, lemon bars, even my lemon and blueberry blondies!
I love baking with lemon – as you can tell! I find that lemon bakes along or with a combination of another flavour is the perfect alternative if someone doesn’t want a chocolate themed bake. Its also a preference of mine in the middle of summer as it hits the sweet craving perfectly! ENJOY!
Recipe updated May 2017
Lemon Celebration Cake!
Ingredients
Cake
- 350 g unsalted butter
- 350 g caster sugar
- 7 medium eggs
- 350 g self raising flour
- zest of 2 lemons
- 75 ml lemon juice
Drizzle
- 75 ml lemon juice
- 75 g caster sugar
Decoration
- 2-3 tbsp lemon curd
- 200 g unsalted butter (room temperature)
- 400 g icing sugar
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
- spare lemon curd
Instructions
Cake
- Grease & line two 8"/20cm deep cake tins and preheat your oven to 180ºC/160ºC fan.
- Beat together the unsalted butter & caster sugar until smooth - this will take a couples of minutes!
- Once combined add the self raising flour, eggs, lemon zest and lemon juice and beat until combined - try not to over beat!
- Pour the mixture evenly into the two tins and bake in the oven for 35-40 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean.
Drizzle
- Towards the end of baking - in a bowl, mix together your 75ml lemon juice and 75g caster sugar together.
- Once the cake is baked, drizzle this over the cakes, whilst still in the tin. Let the cakes cool fully.
Decoration
- Beat the unsalted butter for a couple of minutes using the whisk attachment with a stand mixer - doing this will make it nice and smooth!
- Once smooth, start gradually adding the icing sugar until it’s all fully mixed in.
- Add the lemon juice, and beat for about 5 minutes on a medium-high speed until super light and whipped.
- Pipe some buttercream in a circle round the edge of the top of your first sponge, and then add the lemon curd into the middle.
- Place the other cake on top, and pipe on the rest of the buttercream however you wish.
- Drizzle on some spare lemon curd, and add some sprinkles and enjoy!
Notes
- I updated this recipe in May 2017 - the original recipe was 250g of each ingredient, and 5 medium eggs, and the cake was baked for about 25 minutes.
- This cake will last in an airtight container for 3-4 days - probably longer as it has so much moisture.
- Or you can freeze it for up to 3 months
- The layers are thick so if you wanted a more raised cake simply slice the two sponges in to two and have a 4 layer cake!
- If you dont have any lemon juice for the decoration, use 2 tsp lemon extract instead.
- I use these 8" cake tins
- I use this medium 2D closed star piping tip
- I use these piping bags
ENJOY!
Find my other recipes on my Recipes Page!
You can find me on:
Instagram
Facebook
Pinterest
Twitter
Youtube
J x
© Jane’s Patisserie. All images & content are copyright protected. Do not use my images without prior permission. If you want to republish this recipe, please re-write the recipe in your own words and credit me, or link back to this post for the recipe.
Hiya I want to make this for my dads birthday on Saturday but I only have a 9inch tin would this work or would the sponge end up being to thin ? Thank you can’t wait to make looks amazing xx
Hi Jane I’m making this for my nephews semi naked wedding cake, but I’ve read that lemon curd should always be refrigerated? Is that right?
Obviously now it’s got me worried that this would be a problem. I’m planning on making in advance and freezing, decorating the day before.
I’d appreciate your advice please thanks.
Made with Gluten Free flour maintaining an excellent rise with 6 eggs which I weighed to match the weight of the baking spread, sugar & flour.
I used the drizzle cautiously as being a GF cake their structure can be more delicate & I didn’t want it be soggy and sink. I needn’t have been concerned & next time will experiment with more drizzle.
Super tasty, moist & a perfect cake for a celebration!
Hi Jane, I have been asked to make a lemon and blueberry cake for someone’s wedding – would this work with added blueberries?? I know you’ve got a lemon and blueberry cake too, but the addition of lemon juice in the sponge mixture itself here sounds great, so I was going to do a hybrid of the two, if you think that would work?Thanks so much!!
I am looking at using this recipe for a 4 layer 4 inch cake. Can I just half the ingredients for the sponge and do two batches?
I’m making this to have tomorrow evening. Once I’ve decorated it shall I put it in the fridge in a covered cake stand or in the fridge in the covered cake stand?
Hi, love the recipe, tried it twice now, I wonder would it still work well if I substituted butter for margerine?
You can for the sponge, but not for the frosting x
Good evening,
Do you freeze the sponges with the lemon drizzle already added??
Many thanks
Marie
Hey, did you end up doing this? I am wanting to know the same thing as I need to make the sponges the night before.
Just made this cake and I am amazed because I’m not perfect at my frosting technique but I’m proud with what I did today! Thank you so much Jane for this recipe! I’ve also purchased two of your best selling books and can’t wait to use them!
Hi, how did it work with 7 eggs? It seems a lot x
Hey did you store it in the fridge once complete ? Thank you xx
I wondered how you got on with 7 eggs too!
Hello, I will be making my daughters wedding cake of starting from 14 or 12″ . Would it be wise to put lemon curd in the middle of one of the cakes or should I mix the curd with buttercream so that it withstands the stacking an the fondant. First wedding cake . Thank you
Just make sure to properly dowel your cake and you’ll be
fine with lemon curd. Pipe a ring of buttercream around
the outside of the layer to stop the curd spreading right to
the edges. Otherwise the weight can cause it to ‘slide’.
Hi Suzie – how did the wedding cake go? I’m making my daughter’s cake in July and want to use this lemon cake recipe for one of the layers. Thinking 3 different layers starting with 14”. Any tips to pass on?
Denise
Hi Jane, I made this lemon cake today and it was delicious. I would like to make another one for a fundraising event , but would need to make it in a 9 inch tin. I would like it deep so I can cut each cake in half to make 4 layers. How much more mixture would I need please and how much longer would I need to cook it for. Many thanks.
Hi Karen
I baked this cake this weekend in 9inch tins. I multiplied the ingredients by 1.27, as I saw how to calculate for a larger tin in another site. The cakes didn’t appear to be very deep, however I carefully split each one into two, and filled with lemon curd and buttercream , and it was absolutely delicious. The overall height was around 4 inches.
Hi Jane – I’d like to make this in 2x6inch round tins – do you think these measurements will work or shall i adjust?
I cannot wait to make this for mothers day 🙂
Did you do this by any chance I’m looking at doing the same but I have , 3 round six inch tins 🙂
I’ve just made this and it fits great in 3 x 6inch cake tins 🙂 if you do it in 2 it will produce thicker, taller cakes but I expect it will work just as well, but will bake a little longer 🙂
How would you make this cake vegan please
The best Lemon cake I have ever made. I made it for Mother’s day last year and I am making it again this year. This was the only dessert I have made that caused my Mother to ask if I bought it or made it (My mediocre icing work always gives it away 🙂 but this time – it was as close to perfect as I will get it and everyone loved it). Thank you!!!
Hi Jane. The cake sounds delicious. Can you skip the lemon drizzle part or does the cake really need it. I’m wanting to make the cake for my mam but if the drizzle is crunchy or makes the cake too sweet with the extra sugar she won’t eat it. Many thanks
It’s a bit of a personal taste thing – I would say it makes it taste more lemony, but she may still find it too much. You could definitely be fine without, or even half the amount of the drizzle x
I’d like to make this as 3 thick layers and will cover completely with the lemon buttercream. Please could you suggest quantity of ingredients? Also, would lemon curd heated be any good for a drip? Thanks.
Hi, did you make this in the end ? I would like to do the same but unsure of quantities? Thanks xx
Hi,
Did you make this in the end? I would also like to do this way and make as a drip cake but unsure of quantities as well. Thank you in advance xx