Lemon Layer Cake With Lemon Curd

Lemon curd cake

Name: Lemon curd cake
Total time: 1 h
Yield: Serves 12
Ingredients: 250g butter plus a little for the tin; 250g golden caster sugar; 250g self-raising flour; 1 tsp baking powder; 4 large eggs; 2 lemons zested; 1-2 tsp milk; 250g butter very soft; 500g icing sugar; 3 lemons zested and juiced; 1 jar lemon curd; crystallised flowers to decorate

Janine Ratcliffe

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Serves 12

Easy

Total time: 1 hr

+ cooling

A star rating of 5 out of 5.4 ratingsRate

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A showstopping, lemon sponge layer cake with a delicious lemon curd icing and beautiful edible crystallised violets and primroses on top

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Alternatives

Complete the dish

Try our lemon layer cake recipe, then check out our lemon drizzle cake, vegan lemon drizzle cake, lemon loaf cake, olive oil cake , lemon and elderflower cake and lemon and blueberry cake.

For more classic cake recipes, why not try our vanilla cake, coffee cake or carrot cake. Also see our recipe for a basic cream cheese frosting.

Love the zingy flavour and creamy texture of lemon curd? Us too. It's even better in a cake, when you can use lemon curd as one of the key components in a really indulgent icing recipe. Just sandwich each sponge layer together with a normal lemon buttercream (butter, icing sugar and fresh lemon juice and zest), remembering to top the buttercream with a healthy swirl of lemon curd before adding the next sponge layer. We've used a whole jar of lemon curd for this recipe, but you can always reduce that amount if you haven't much of a sweet tooth.

If you want to make your layer cake even more special, try making your own lemon curd for it. Our recipe is so simple: all you need is butter, golden caster sugar, lemons and eggs, plus an hour-or-so of free time. It's well worth the effort and your jar of curd will last for up to two weeks if kept in the fridge.

Read our guide on where to buy edible flowers for advice on purchasing the perfect floral decorations for your cake

Check out the olive shop for more treats from artisan producers to enjoy or buy as gifts.

Easy lemon curd

Ingredients

Nutrition

250g butter

plus a little for the tin
250g golden caster sugar
250g self-raising flour
1 tsp baking powder
4 large eggs
2 lemons

zested
1-2 tsp milk

LEMON ICING AND DECORATION

250g butter

very soft
500g icing sugar
3 lemons

zested and juiced
1 jar lemon curd
crystallised flowers

to decorate

Nutrition: per serving

kcal724
fat22.7g
carbs91.2g
fibre0.9g
protein4.4g
salt1.1g

Method

step 1

Heat the oven to 180C/fan 160C/gas 4. Butter and line the bases of 3 x 20cm sandwich tins. Beat the butter, sugar, flour, baking powder, eggs and lemon zest together with beaters until you have a smooth batter. Add enough milk so the mix just drops off a spoon.
step 2

Divide the mixture between the tins and bake for 20-25 minutes, swapping the tins around halfway through so that they brown evenly. When they’re ready, a skewer poked in should come out clean. Cool on wire racks, cooked-side up.
step 3

Make the icing by beating the soft butter with the icing sugar, lemon zest and juice until light and fluffy. Use 2/3 to fill the cake and top each layer with some lemon curd. Frost the top with the rest of the buttercream and finish with sugar flowers.

More lemon cake ideas below:

Lemon drizzle cake

A classic afternoon tea lemon drizzle cake that sounds as good as it tastes. If you fancy some enjoyable baking, with a great reward at the end, then this recipe is for you.

Lemon meringue cupcakes

Spread some love with these lemon meringue cupcakes, whose zesty sponge is topped with a sweet frosting and meringue hearts. It only takes an hour of hands-on time to make them, too.

Lemon cupcakes

These cute little lemon cupcakes would work well for a kids party, baby shower or just a treat to serve with afternoon tea. The lemon zest topping is a great finishing touch.

Lemon polenta cake

This lemon polenta cake is a dense, rich cake with a boozy limoncello syrup. A great way to zest up an afternoon tea or coffee break.

Lemon and blueberry poke cake

This lemon and blueberry poke cake is sure to be a hit with the whole family. With lemon sponge, blueberry compote and a cream cheese frosting, it's an impressive bake that's surprisingly easy to make.

Shimmering edible flowers really make this cake what it is. We buy ours from eatmyflowers.co.uk, who sell everything from crystallised violets to spray roses.

Or alternatively, why not grow your own edible flowers to use with this cake recipe? Our friends over at gardenersworld.com recommend pretty nasturtium flowers (the leaves are edible too). You can learn how to grow edible nasturtiums right here.

nasturtium flowers

Plus, we've perfected three buttercream recipes too, click here for our expert tips.

Authors

Janine Ratcliffe in a short sleeved long dress sitting on a chair beneath palm trees on a balcony

Janine RatcliffeFood director

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