If you are looking for a light fluffy Lemon Cake, then look no further. This Lemon Cake is moist and tender. The Lemon Curd filling gives it a great tangy lemon flavor while the whipped cream topping gives it just the right amount of sweetness and topped off with the candied lemon slices just finishes it, so all together its the perfect bight.
To me, the bright fresh flavor of Lemons just scream Spring and warmer weather. Every year as Spring rolls around I find myself drifting away from the more rich heavy dessert and gravitating to the fresh lighter desserts and that is usually anything Lemon.
That is why this cake is the perfect choice. It’s cake layers are moist and tender with a hint of Lemon, while the Lemon Curd Filling is bursting with that tangy lemon flavor and the soft sweet whipped cream just brings it all together.
How To Make Lemon Layer Cake:
The first thing I did was to make my candied Lemon for the top of the cake. This is a really easy process and so worth the little extra effort.
Candied Lemon Slices:
Ingredients:
- 3 To 4 lemons sliced to 1/8” thickness
- 1 Cup granulated sugar
- 1 Cup water
Instructions:
- Place a large frying pan over medium heat. Pour water and sugar into the frying pan and cook until sugar is completely dissolved. Add sliced lemons in a single layer and simmer for 20 minutes, flipping at the 10 minute mark.
- Remove lemon slices from pan and place on a wire wrack lined with parchment paper. Let sit for several hours to cool and dry out.
Lemon Cake:
For the cake, I preheated the oven to 350º. I lined two 8” baking pans with a piece of parchment paper and then sprayed it with cooking spray.
I added room temperature butter and vegetable oil to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. I beat the butter and oil on high speed until combined, about 2 minutes.
I slowly added my sugar and continued mixing for 5 minutes or until fluffy and pale yellow in color.
Now I am going to give you a little piece of advice. Always crack your eggs into a spare bowl. I do this because it is a lot easier to fish out a piece of shell from a clean bowl rather then trying to get it out of the batter.
Add your eggs one at a time, mixing between each one. This is a great time to scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl, then mix once again until combined.
In a large bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt, and set aside.
To a Pyrex dish or a small bowl add milk, yogurt, lemon zest, lemon and vanilla extract and whisk together until smooth.
Alternate adding the flour and milk mixtures to the stand mixer in three batches, starting and ending with the flour. Continue mixing until completely combined but be careful not to over mix or your cakes will be tough. Pour batter into prepared cake pans and place in the preheated oven and bake for 35 to 40 minutes or until toothpick inserted in the middle of the cake comes out clean.
Remove the cakes from the oven and let cool completely before removing them from the pans.
Place cake upside down on a cake stand.
Using a skewer poke several holes in the top of the cake. Spread the top of the cake with a thin layer of Lemon Curd.
Top with some fresh whipped cream. Repeat with another layer of cake then a thin coating of Lemon Curd and finally top the cake with whipped cream.
Now I actually made a three layer cake but you don’t have to. Two layers are just as good, but if you want to do a three layer cake you will have to cook up another batch of cake. The good thing is you will have one extra cake to snack on.😊. If you are going to use three layers, just repeat with poking holes in the cake add a thin layer of Lemon Curd and top with the whipped cream.
Now as you can see, I like a naked cake ( No whipped cream covering the sides ). If you would prefer a dressed cake, go right ahead and cover the entire cake with whipped cream.
I topped off the cake with some swirls of whipped cream and buried 1 Candied Lemon slice and some peppermint leaves in each one.
This cake was absolutely delicious. Light and fluffy. It was everything you would expect from a Lemon Cake and more. So give it a try, I’m sure you are going to love it.
Lemon Layer Cake
Ingredients:
For The Cake:
- 1/3 Cup unsalted butter at room temperature
- 2/3 Cup vegetable oil
- 1 1/2 Cups granulated sugar
- 3 Large eggs
- 2 3/4 Cup all purpose flour
- 1 1/2 Teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 Teaspoon baking soda
- 1 Teaspoon salt
- 1/3 Cup milk
- 1 1/4 Cups plain Greek yogurt
- 1 Tablespoon fresh lemon zest
- 1 1/2 Teaspoons lemon extract
- 1 Teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- Lemon Curd
- Candied lemon slices ( recipe above )
For The Whipped Cream:
Ingredients:
- 1 Container heavy whipping cream 16 ounces
- 2 Tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1 Teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Instructions:
- Preheat oven to 350º. Line two 8” cake pans with parchment paper and spray with nonstick baking spray. Set aside.
- To a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment combine butter and oil and mix for 2 to 3 minutes. Slowly add the granulated sugar and continue mixing for 4 to 5 minutes on high or until light and fluffy and pale yellow in color.
- Add eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Scrap down the sides of the bowl, then continue mixing for another minute or until completely combined.
- In a separate large bowl sift together the all purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt and set aside.
- To a separate small bowl whisk together the milk, yogurt, lemon zest, lemon extract and vanilla extract.
- Add the flour and milk mixtures to the butter mixture is three additions, alternating between them, starting and ending with flour and mixing after each addition. Continue mixing until combined, but being careful not to over mix.
- Pour the batter into prepared cake pans, about 3/4 full. Place in preheated oven and bake for 35 to 40 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Remove from oven and let cool completely.
- Meanwhile to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, add your cold heavy cream and start to whisk on medium speed. Slowly add the sugar and vanilla and raise the speed to high. Continue whisking until firm, being careful not to over mix.
- When your cakes are completely cooled, remove them from pan. Place one layer upside down on a cake stand. Using a skewer, poke several holes in the cake. Spread a small amount of Lemon Curd on top of the cake, making sure to push it into the holes. Top with whipped cream then cover with another layer of cake. Poke holes in the second layer of cake and repeat with the Lemon Curd and the whipped cream. Using a pastry bag with a star tip, pipe some swirls of whipped cream on top of the cake and decorate with candied lemon slices and some peppermint leaves.
- Store in the refrigerator until ready to serve.
- Enjoy