This is the BEST lemon curd cake! It’s a 9″ snack cake that’s easy to make, super soft, moist, and citrusy – perfect for spring. It’s topped with the most incredible lemon cream cheese buttercream and swirls of homemade lemon curd for even more lemon flavor!
What makes this Lemon Curd Cake the BEST?
- Punchy lemon flavor throughout. There’s lemon in every nook and cranny of this cake – in the cake itself, in the lemon cream cheese buttercream, and of course in the lemon curd. There’s also three forms of lemon flavor – fresh lemon juice, fresh lemon zest, AND lemon extract paste. We’ve really got our lemon bases covered here.
- Super soft and moist. This recipe calls for butter, oil, AND sour cream which ensures a super tender and moist crumb! I think it’s pretty perfect.
- The lemon cream cheese frosting. The frosting is lick-straight-off-the-spoon good! It’s bright and packed with lemon flavor, but also tangy from the cream cheese and super soft and silky.
- Easy to make. The cake itself comes together in about 30 minutes and the frosting is just a few simple ingredients. The homemade lemon curd is the cherry on top – but in a pinch you can totally swap it out for your favorite store bought version.
Ingredients
- Lemons. I think maybe this one goes without saying. You’ll need about 7-8 total (only 3-4 if you’re doing store bought lemon curd) of course depending on how juicy your lemons are.
- Butter & Oil. I think all cakes should use a combination of butter and oil. Butter for flavor. Oil for moisture.
- Sugar. This recipe uses granulated sugar and you will massage lemon zest into it to make sure that lemon flavor is front and center throughout. You’ll also need powdered sugar for the frosting.
- Eggs. The cake requires 3 eggs and the lemon curd requires 6 egg yolks plus 2 whole eggs.
- Lemon Extract Paste. Or regular lemon extract – either one is fine!
- Cornstarch. Cornstarch helps with the texture of the cake making sure it’s light and airy.
How to make Lemon Curd Cake
Make the Lemon Curd.
You can absolutely use a store bought lemon curd if you want to cut out a little time, but homemade lemon curd is actually pretty easy and I think worth the extra effort. The store bought stuff just doesn’t have the same punch of lemon. I use (and have always used!) Martha Stewart’s “Best Lemon Curd” recipe and it really is THE BEST!
In a medium saucepan, whisk together the sugar, egg yolks, whole eggs, salt, lemon juice, and lemon zest. Place it on the stove over medium heat, whisking constantly for 5 minutes, or until the mixture gets bubbly and thick enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon. Remove from heat and stir in the butter. Pass the lemon curd through a fine mesh sieve to remove the lemon zest and any stringy bits of egg, leaving the curd silky smooth. Press plastic wrap up against the surface to prevent a skin from forming and chill until ready to serve. The curd will continue to thicken as it cools.
Make the Lemon Cake.
Preheat the oven to 350 and line a 9″ square baking pan with parchment paper. Leave an overhang of parchment so that the cake can easily be lifted out of the pan for serving.
In the bowl of your stand mixer (or just a large mixing bowl if using a hand mixer) add the sugar and lemon zest. Using your hands, massage the lemon zest into the sugar. This will release oils and helps with moisture in the cake and also infuses that lemon flavor throughout from the start. Add the butter and oil and mix using the paddle attachment for 3-4 minutes, or until it’s fully combined, and has a light and fluffy texture.
In the meantime, crack the eggs into a separate bowl to ensure no shells end up in your cake. In another separate bowl whisk together the dry ingredients – flour, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In a large liquid measuring cup, or bowl, whisk together the lemon juice, vanilla extract, lemon extract, water, and sour cream.
With the mixer running on medium low, add the eggs in one at a time until combined. Then, alternate adding the dry and wet ingredients. Start by adding 1/2 of the dry ingredient mixture. Then with the mixer on low, slowly stream in the wet ingredients. Finally, add the remaining half of the dry. Do a final mix by hand with a rubber spatula to ensure no ingredients settled at the bottom of the bowl and that everything is mixed evenly. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake at 350 for 28-30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out mostly clean with a few moist crumbs attached. Allow cake to cool completely.
Make the Lemon Cream Cheese Buttercream.
While the cake cools, make the frosting. Start by creaming the butter and cream cheese with the paddle attachment on medium high for 10 minutes. Make sure to stop the mixer every 2-3 minutes to scrape down the bottom and sides of the bowl. Add half of the powdered sugar (2 C) and mix on the lowest speed for 3 minutes. Then scrape down the bowl and repeat with the remaining half of powdered sugar. Mix in the lemon zest. Scrape the bowl again, then add the lemon juice 1 TBSP at a time until you reach your desired consistency.
Assemble the Lemon Curd Cake.
Swirl the frosting onto the cooled cake, then dollop spoonfuls of lemon curd randomly all over the top. Use an offset spatula or the back of a spoon to swirl the lemon curd into the frosting. Top with extra lemon zest. Slice into squares, wiping the knife between cuts for clean slices. You can slice into 9 or 16 squares depending on how many servings you need! Enjoy!
Tools & Equipment
- 9″ Square Baking Pan. I always suggest baking with light colored metal pans. They conduct heat much more evenly than dark metal or glass bakeware. I love these pan (and all pans) from USA Pan.
- Stand Mixer or Electric Hand Mixer. This cake – and especially the buttercream – requires a lot of mixing so if you have a stand mixer, reach for that. If all you have is a hand mixer, you can still make this cake, just with a little extra arm workout involved.
- Kitchen Scale. As always, I’m begging you to bake using weighted gram measurements. It’s the only way your bakes will turn out exactly like mine. This kitchen scale is good and cheap!
- Offset Spatula. Catch me swirling frosting for hours using this bad boy. I love an offset spatula.
- Parchment Paper Sheets. Gone are the days of wrestling with rolled parchment that won’t stay in your pan or lay flat. These parchment paper sheets are a game changer I love them!
- Citrus Zester. You’ll be zesting lemons for the cake, the frosting, AND the curd, so you’ll definitely need one of these!
Lemon Curd Cake FAQs
- Can I buy lemon curd? Absolutely. However I do think that homemade lemon curd tastes better, and it really doesn’t take more than 10 minutes to make and requires zero special equipment.
- Can I make this lemon curd cake gluten free? I haven’t tested this yet, but I think you would have success swapping out the all purpose flour for a 1 for 1 gluten free flour like this one from King Arthur Baking.
- How do I get the frosting silky smooth? Make sure that once you start adding the powdered sugar you only mix on the lowest speed. I also recommend heating up the lemon juice ever so slightly (NOT HOT) and that will help thin the frosting and make it super smooth.
Lemon Curd Cake
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 1 Snack Cake
- Category: Cake
Description
Perfectly soft, moist, and citrusy lemon snack cake topped with super silky lemon cream cheese frosting and homemade lemon curd.
Ingredients
For the Lemon Cake
- 1 1/4 C (260g) Granulated Sugar
- 1 1/2 TBSP Lemon Zest, from about 2 lemons
- 1/3 C (80g) Vegetable Oil
- 5 1/2 TBSP (80g) Salted Butter, at room temperature
- 3 Lg Eggs, at room temperature
- 2 C (250g) All Purpose Flour
- 2 TBSP Cornstarch
- 2 tsp Baking Powder
- 1/4 tsp Baking Soda
- pinch of salt
- 1/3 C (70g) Lemon Juice
- 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
- 1/2 tsp Lemon Extract Paste, or regular lemon extract
- 1/3 C + 2 tsp (90g) Water, at room temperature
- 1/4 C (70g) Sour Cream, at room temperature
For the Lemon Cream Cheese Buttercream
- 8 oz (1 Block) Full Fat Cream Cheese, at room temperature
- 1/2 C (113g) Butter, at room temperature
- 4 C (460g) Powdered Sugar
- 1 TBSP Fresh Lemon Zest
- 2–4 TBSP Fresh Lemon Juice
For the Lemon Curd
- 200 g Granulated Sugar
- 6 Lg Egg Yolks
- 2 Lg Whole Eggs
- 1/2 tsp Salt
- 3 tsp Lemon Zest
- 2/3 C Fresh Lemon Juice
- 6 TBSP Salted Butter
Instructions
For the Lemon Cake
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and line a 9″ square baking pan with parchment paper.
- In the bowl of your stand mixer, massage the lemon zest into the sugar, then add the butter and oil and mix for 3 minutes on medium speed until well incorporated and fluffy in texture.
- Add the eggs one at a time until combined.
- Scrape down the bowl to make sure no egg whites settled to the bottom.
- In a separate bowl whisk together the flour, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
- In a large liquid measuring cup, whisk together the lemon juice, vanilla extract, lemon extract, water, and sour cream.
- Alternate adding the dry and wet ingredients, starting with the dry. Add half of the dry, all of the wet, then the remaining half of dry.
- Do an final mix by hand to ensure everything is mixed evenly, the pour the batter into the prepared pan.
- Bake at 350 for 28-30 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out mostly clean with a few moist crumbs attached. Let cake cool completely.
For the Lemon Cream Cheese Buttercream
- In the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and cream cheese at medium high speed for 10 minutes. Make sure to stop the mixer every 2-3 minutes to scrape down the bowl.
- Add the powdered sugar 1/2 at a time, mixing on the lowest speed for 3 minutes after each addition.
- Add in the lemon zest and mix until combined.
- Add the lemon juice 1 TBSP at a time until you reach your desired consistency.
For the Lemon Curd
- Whisk together all of the ingredients minus the butter and place on the stove over medium heat.
- Whisk constantly for 5 minutes, or until the mixture becomes bubbly and thick enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon.
- Remove from heat and stir in the butter until melted and combined.
- Pour the curd through a fine mesh sieve to remove the lemon zest and any stringy bits of egg leaving the curd completely smooth.
- Press plastic wrap against the surface to prevent a skin from forming and chill until ready to serve.
Notes
*This lemon curd recipe belongs to Martha Stewart. It’s the only one I’ve ever used because it’s absolutely perfect.
If you loved this recipe for my Lemon Curd Cake be sure to leave a star rating and review below and tag @buuckfarmsbakery on Instagram and TikTok. To save this recipe for later, click on the Pinterest icon on the recipe card above or on any of the images throughout this post.
More Lemon Recipes You’ll Love
Leave a Reply