Lemon layer cake is a classic dessert that is perfect for any occasion. It is light and fluffy, with a bright and tangy lemon flavor. This recipe is for a lemon layer cake that is perfect for two people. It is easy to make and can be ready in under an hour. The cake is made with a simple sponge cake batter that is flavored with lemon zest and juice. It is then filled with a creamy lemon curd and frosted with a whipped cream frosting. The result is a delicious and refreshing cake that is sure to please everyone.
Here are our top 10 tried and tested recipes!
LEMON LAYER CAKE
This citrusy cake with a luscious cream cheese frosting will garner plenty of applause. The flavor, a duet of sweet and tangy notes, really sings. -Summer Goddard, Springfield, Virginia
Provided by Taste of Home
Categories Desserts
Time 1h
Yield 12 servings.
Number Of Ingredients 22
Steps:
- Preheat oven to 350°. Line bottoms of 2 greased 9-in. round baking pans with parchment; grease parchment., Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy, 5-7 minutes. Add eggs and egg yolks, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in lemon zest and juice. In a small bowl, mix sour cream and milk. In another bowl, whisk together flour, salt, baking powder and baking soda; add to creamed mixture alternately with sour cream mixture., Transfer to prepared pans. Bake until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, 24-28 minutes. Cool in pans 10 minutes before removing to wire racks; remove parchment. Cool slightly., For syrup, in a small saucepan, combine sugar and lemon juice. Bring to a boil; cook until liquid is reduced by half. Cool completely., For frosting, beat cream cheese and butter until smooth; beat in confectioners' sugar, lemon juice and salt until blended., Using a long serrated knife, cut each cake horizontally in half. Brush layers with warm syrup; cool completely., Place 1 cake layer on a serving plate; spread with 1 cup frosting. Repeat layers twice. Top with remaining cake layer. Frost top and sides with remaining frosting. If desired, top with lemon slices or edible flowers. Refrigerate leftovers.
Nutrition Facts : Calories 841 calories, Fat 48g fat (30g saturated fat), Cholesterol 219mg cholesterol, Sodium 656mg sodium, Carbohydrate 96g carbohydrate (72g sugars, Fiber 1g fiber), Protein 8g protein.
LEMON LAYER CAKE
Although its style varies from diner to diner, lemon layer cake is a regular item on the lunch counter. This version is full of pure lemon flavor: moist lemon cake layers filled with a tart, creamy filling, all covered with a lemon buttercream frosting. Serve with good-quality vanilla ice cream, if you like.
Provided by Food Network
Categories dessert
Yield 12 servings
Number Of Ingredients 25
Steps:
- 1. To make the lemon cake, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter the bottom and sides of two 9-inch round cake pans. Dust the pans with flour and tap out the excess.
- 2. In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Stir together the dry ingredients with a whisk. Set aside.
- 3. In an electric stand mixer, using the paddle attachment or beaters, beat the butter on medium speed for about 30 seconds, or until creamy. Gradually add the sugar, increase the speed to medium-high, and continue to beat until the mixture is light, about 3 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.
- 4. Add the whole eggs and egg yolks, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in the vanilla and lemon zest. Reduce the speed to low and gradually beat in he lemon juice (the batter will appear curdled at this point smooth out after you add the dry ingredients). Beat in the dry ingredients in 3 additions alternately with milk in 2 additions. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and beat for another 10 seconds. Scrape the batter into the prepared pans.
- 5. Bake the cakes for 20 to 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of each cake comes out clean. Cool the cakes in the pans on wire racks for 20 minutes. Invert the cakes onto the rakcs and cool completely.
- 6. To make the lemon filling, in a medium nonreactive saucepan, whisk together the yolks and sugar until combined. Whisk in the lemon juice, butter, and salt. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, for 5 to 6 minutes, or until the mixture turns opaque, thickens, and coats the back of the spoon. Do not let the filling boil, or it will curdle. Pour the mixture through a fine mesh sieve into a medium bowl. Stir in the lemon zest and allow the filling to cool.
- 7.Cover with plastic wrap, pressing directly onto the surface, and refrigerate for 1 hour, or until chilled.
- 8. In a clean bowl of the electric mixer, using the whisk attachment or beaters, beat the heavy cream on high speed until soft peaks form. Remove the lemon filling from the refrigerator and whisk until smooth. Using a rubber spatula, gently fold the whipped cream into the filling. Cover the bowl and refrigerate the filling until ready to assemble the cake.
- 9. To make the lemon frosting, in the large bowl of the electric mixer, using the paddle attachment or beaters, beat the butter on medium speed until creamy, about 30 seconds. Gradually beat in the confectioners' sugar on low speed. Add the cream, lemon juice, vanilla, and lemon zest. Increase the speed to medium-high, and beat for about 3 minutes, or until the frosting is light and fluffy.
- 10. To assemble the cake, place 1 cake layer on a serving plate. Pile the lemon filling onto the center using a small offset metal spatula, and spread it into an even layer, leaving a 1-inch border around the edge of the cake layer. Top with the second cake layer. Frost the top and sides of the cake with the lemon frosting. (If some of the filling oozes out from the middle, just blend it with the frosting around the sides of the cake.) Serve the cake immediately, or refrigerate and bring to room temperature before serving.
LEMON LAYER CAKE FOR TWO
This recipe is out of a cookbook called "Small-Batch Baking" by Debbie Maugans Nakos. All of the recipes in it make just enough cookies/cakes/breads/brownies for 2-4 people, which is nice if you don't like tons of leftovers to tempt you. The cookbook suggests baking cakes in two 14 or 14.5 ounce soup cans (economical), but I found that one 4 1/2-inch springform pan (like the one shown in my picture) works fine for a 2-layer cake (plus, they are made for baking and bake evenly). Also, a tiny jar (1.25 oz.) of lemon curd (also in the picture) works perfectly for this recipe. Both were purchased at World Market. I frosted this cake with half a recipe of Recipe #230253 (with minor modifications - see my review on that one), but I have included the author's frosting recipe as well. Enjoy!
Provided by Greeny4444
Categories Dessert
Time 55m
Yield 1 4 1/2-inch cake, 2-3 serving(s)
Number Of Ingredients 12
Steps:
- Spray the inside of a 4 1/2-inch springform pan. Place it on a baking sheet for easier handling; set aside.
- Place the buttermilk and baking soda in a small bowl, and whisk until the baking soda is dissolved. Add the egg yolk, vanilla, and melted butter, and whisk to combine.
- Place the flour, sugar, and salt in a medium-size mixing bowl and whisk to blend well. Add the buttermilk mixture, and whisk just until blended and smooth.
- Place the rack in the center of the oven, and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- Spoon the batter into the prepared pan. Bake the cake until a toothpick comes out clean, about 25-30 minutes.
- Remove the baking sheet from the oven, and place the springform pan on a wire rack to cool for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes, take the cake out of the pan, and place it upright on the rack, letting it cool completely.
- To make frosting: Place the cream and confectioners' sugar in a small mixing bowl and beat on high speed until firm peaks form (about 2 minutes).
- Add half of the lemon curd and beat to mix.
- To frost: Cut the cake in half horizontally. Place the bottom half cut-side up. Spread the remaining lemon curd on the cake bottom, and a small amount of frosting on top of that.
- Place the other half of the cake, cut side down, on top of that. Frost the tops and sides of the cake.
- Keep refrigerated for up to 6 hours, and let the cake return to room temperature before serving.
LEMON LAYER CAKE WITH LEMON CREAM FILLING AND FROSTING
If you want, you can simplify things by skipping the filling recipe and just using the frosting to fill in between the layers of cake. This cake will last for up to 4 days in the fridge.
Provided by Katie Workman
Time 5h35m
Yield 12 servings
Number Of Ingredients 20
Steps:
- For the lemon cake: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter two 9-inch round cake pans, then insert a round of parchment cut to fit just inside the bottom of each pan. Butter the parchment, then flour the pans, tapping out any excess flour.
- In a medium bowl, stir together the cake flour, baking powder and salt.
- Using an electric, standing or hand mixer, beat the butter and granulated sugar until very fluffy and pale yellow, about 2 minutes. Add the eggs 1 at a time, then add the vanilla followed by the lemon zest and juice--the mixture may appear to break apart a bit or curdle, but it will come back together when the flour is added, so don't panic! Add about a third of the flour mixture and mix until just barely incorporated, then add half of the milk and blend. Repeat with one-third of the flour mixture, the rest of the milk and the rest of the flour mixture and blend until the ingredients are just completely incorporated.
- Scrape down the sides of the bowl in the middle of this process. Scrape the batter into the prepared pans, dividing it evenly and smoothing the tops. Bake until a wooden skewer or toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean, 22 to 26 minutes. Cool the cakes in the pans on a wire rack for 15 minutes, then run a knife around the insides of the pans to make sure the sides don't stick, place a wire rack over the top of each pan and invert the cake onto the wire rack. Peel off the parchment and cool completely.
- For the lemon filling: While the cakes are baking, make the lemon curd. Whisk the granulated sugar, lemon juice, butter, egg yolks and salt in a small nonreactive saucepan. Place the pan over medium-low heat and cook, whisking constantly, until thickened, about 10 minutes. Place the lemon curd in a small bowl, press a piece of plastic wrap on top of the surface and place it in the refrigerator to chill for at least 2 hours and up to a week.
- Briskly stir the lemon zest into the chilled curd to blend well. In a medium bowl, beat the heavy cream just until stiff peaks form. Gently fold into the lemon curd with a rubber spatula. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour but not more than 6 hours.
- For the lemon frosting: In a large bowl with an electric, standing or hand mixer, beat the confectioners' sugar with the butter on low speed until combined, then turn the beater speed to high and add the cream and lemon zest and juice. Beat until fluffy.
- To assemble the cake, place each cake layer upside down on a round of cardboard or a flat plate. Using an offset spatula or butter knife, frost the top and sides of each cake layer with a very thin layer of the lemon frosting. Place the cake layers in the freezer for 15 minutes or in the refrigerator for 30 minutes to firm up the thin layer of frosting.
- Place the bottom layer of cake on the platter that you will be serving it on and tuck thick strips of wax or parchment paper under the edges of the cake to keep the platter clean. Spread the lemon filling over the bottom layer, leaving a 1/2-inch border all around so the filling has a bit of room to spread when you place the second layer on top. Cover the filling with the raspberries, then place the second layer of cake on top.
- Frost the cake with the rest of the frosting. The cake will keep for up to 4 days in the refrigerator, though it's best within a day of making. Bring to room temperature before serving.
WHITE LAYER CAKE WITH LEMON CURD FILLING
Provided by Martha Stewart
Categories Food & Cooking Dessert & Treats Recipes Cake Recipes
Yield Makes two 9-inch cakes
Number Of Ingredients 10
Steps:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter two 9-by-2-inch round cake pans; line bottoms with parchment paper rounds. Butter parchment, and dust with flour, tapping out excess; set aside.
- Into a medium bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter and 2 cups sugar until light and fluffy, 3 to 4 minutes, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Beat in vanilla. With mixer on low speed, add flour mixture in three parts, alternating with milk and beginning and ending with flour; beat until just combined. Transfer mixture to a large bowl; set aside.
- In the clean bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat egg whites on low speed until foamy. With mixer running, gradually add remaining 1/4 cup sugar; beat on high speed until stiff, glossy peaks form, about 4 minutes. Do not overbeat. Gently fold a third of the egg-white mixture into the butter-flour mixture until combined. Gently fold in remaining whites.
- Divide batter evenly between prepared pans, smoothing with an offset spatula. Bake, rotating pans halfway through, until cakes are golden brown and a cake tester inserted in centers comes out clean, 30 to 35 minutes. Transfer pans to a wire rack to cool 20 minutes. Invert cakes onto rack; peel off parchment. Reinvert cakes, and let them cool completely, top sides up.
- Using a serrated knife, trim tops of cake layers to make level. Place one layer on a serving plate, cut side up. Using a pastry bag fitted with a coupler, pipe frosting around the perimeter. This dam will prevent the lemon curd filling from seeping out. Fill cake with lemon curd. Place other cake layer on top, cut side down. Spread entire cake with frosting, swirling to cover.
LEMON LAYER CAKE
An old fashioned lemon cake recipe. It is usually made up of 3 to 6 white cake layers with a cooked lemon filling between the layers and iced in Seven Minute Frosting.
Provided by Tonya
Categories Desserts Fruit Dessert Recipes Lemon Dessert Recipes
Time 1h
Yield 12
Number Of Ingredients 8
Steps:
- Prepare and bake cake mix according to package directions for three 8 inch round pans. Cool cakes completely, then split each in half to make 6 layers.
- For the Lemon Custard: In a large saucepan or double boiler combine sugar and cornstarch. Mix well, then stir in egg yolks, lemon zest and lemon juice. slowly whisk in the boiling water. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture is thickened. Remove from heat and stir in butter. Set aside to cool.
- Place the bottom layer of cake on a serving plate. Spread with approximately 1/5 of the lemon custard. Repeat layers. Frost top and sides with Seven Minute Frosting (see footnote for link to recipe).
Nutrition Facts : Calories 319.2 calories, Carbohydrate 60.3 g, Cholesterol 58.8 mg, Fat 8.7 g, Fiber 1.8 g, Protein 3 g, SaturatedFat 2.9 g, Sodium 306.4 mg, Sugar 44.1 g
LEMON LAYER CAKE
Make and share this Lemon Layer Cake recipe from Food.com.
Provided by Fauve
Categories Dessert
Time 1h
Yield 1 2layer cake
Number Of Ingredients 13
Steps:
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Grease two 8- or 9-inch round cake pans.
- Line with waxed paper; grease paper.
- In a medium bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, and salt.
- In a large bowl, beat together butter, sugar, and eggs with electric mixer at high speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
- Beat in lemon rind and juice.
- Add flour mixture to creamed mixture alternately with milk, beating between each addition just until well mixed.
- Pour into prepared pans.
- Bake for 35 minutes, or until centers spring back when lightly pressed with finger tip.
- Cool in pans on wire racks for 10 minutes; loosen around edges with knife; turn out onto wire racks; cool completely.
- For frosting: Beat butter in a medium bowl with electric mixer until soft.
- Stir in lemon rind; beat confectioners sugar alternately with lemon juice until smooth and spreadable.
- (makes enough frosting for one two-layer cake).
WHOLE LEMON LAYER CAKE
This layer cake has strong lemony flavor without a sticky syrup drizzle.
Provided by Jill Lightner
Categories Desserts Fruit Dessert Recipes Lemon Dessert Recipes
Time 1h55m
Yield 10
Number Of Ingredients 10
Steps:
- Place Meyer lemons in a 2-quart saucepan with 4 cups water. Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat and cover; simmer lemons until soft, about 25 minutes. Remove from heat and cool completely.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease two 9-inch cake pans, line the bottoms with parchment paper, and lightly grease the parchment paper.
- Remove any stems from the lemons. Slice into quarters and remove all seeds.
- Place the lemon quarters in the work bowl of a large food processor and process until fairly smooth, about 30 seconds. Add flour, sugar, butter, baking powder, and salt. Pulse about 10 times, just until the batter comes together into coarse crumbs with flecks of lemon rind. Pour in eggs and limoncello with the motor running; process until a thick, slightly grainy batter forms, 10 seconds or less.
- Divide batter between the prepared pans.
- Bake in the preheated oven until the tops are light gold and spring back lightly to the touch, and a toothpick inserted into the middle of each cake comes out clean, 20 to 23 minutes. Cool in the pans for about 5 minutes, then remove and finish cooling on baking racks.
- Place 1 cake layer on a cake plate and cover with lemon curd. Top with the second layer and frost just the top, or top and sides, with cream cheese frosting.
Nutrition Facts : Calories 634 calories, Carbohydrate 98.6 g, Cholesterol 109 mg, Fat 25.8 g, Fiber 1.8 g, Protein 5.8 g, SaturatedFat 11.9 g, Sodium 335.3 mg, Sugar 69.8 g
EASY LEMON LAYER CAKE
Indulge in a slice of lemon cake for afternoon tea. With lovely light sponge layers, a citrus zing offsets the rich and creamy soft cheese icing
Provided by Liberty Mendez
Categories Dessert
Time 1h25m
Number Of Ingredients 14
Steps:
- Heat the oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4 and line the base of two 20cm sandwich tins with baking parchment. Beat the butter and sugar together for 3 mins using an electric whisk until smooth and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well between each addition and scraping down the sides of the bowl. Fold in the flour and baking powder until well incorporated, then fold in the yogurt, vanilla and lemon zest. Divide between the tins and bake for 30-35 mins until golden and a skewer inserted into the middles comes out clean.
- Meanwhile, make the drizzle. Tip the sugar, lemon juice and 100ml water into a small pan set over a medium heat and stir until dissolved. Add the lemon zest, bring to the boil and simmer for 2-3 mins until the zest has softened and the liquid is syrupy. Remove the zest to a sheet of baking parchment using a slotted spoon, and remove the syrup from the heat.
- Leave the sponges to cool for 10 mins in the tins, then pour over the warm drizzle. Leave to cool completely.
- For the icing, beat the butter and icing sugar together using an electric whisk for 4-5 mins until smooth, scraping down the sides of the bowl as you go. Add the vanilla and soft cheese and beat for 4 mins more until thick and creamy. Don't worry if it doesn't look thick at first - it will loosen, then thicken again as you beat it.
- Remove the cooled sponges from the tins. Spoon the icing into a piping bag fitted with a star nozzle. Put one sponge on a cake stand or serving plate, and pipe just under half the icing around the edge using a circular motion for a wavy effect. Pipe a little more icing over the empty middle (this doesn't need to be neat) and smooth with the back of a spoon. Chill for 45 mins-1 hr until set. Top with the second sponge, then pipe eight blobs of icing around the edge at regular intervals, leaving a gap between each. Spoon the candied lemon zest into each gap, then serve.
Nutrition Facts : Calories 690 calories, Fat 41 grams fat, SaturatedFat 25 grams saturated fat, Carbohydrate 72 grams carbohydrates, Sugar 55 grams sugar, Fiber 1 grams fiber, Protein 8 grams protein, Sodium 0.6 milligram of sodium
LEMON LAYER CAKE
Steps:
- Make cake layers:
- Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 350°F. Brush cake pans with canola oil. Line bottom of each pan with a round of parchment or wax paper, then oil paper.
- Whisk together flour mix, salt, baking powder, and xanthan gum until combined well. Stir together milk, canola oil (1 cup), vanilla, and zest in another bowl.
- Beat together sugar and eggs in a large bowl with an electric mixer at medium speed just until combined, about 1 minute. Reduce speed to low and add flour and milk mixtures alternately in batches, beginning and ending with flour mixture and mixing until just combined.
- Divide batter evenly between cake pans, smoothing tops, and bake until a wooden pick or skewer inserted in center of each cake layer comes out clean, 35 to 40 minutes.
- Cool cake layers in pans on racks 10 minutes. Run a thin knife around edge of 1 cake layer and invert rack over cake pan, then invert cake onto rack. Repeat with second layer. Peel off paper and cool layers completely.
- Make curd:
- Whisk together zest, lemon juice, sugar, yolks, a pinch of salt, and guar gum in a 1-quart heavy saucepan. Add butter and cook over moderately low heat, whisking constantly, until curd is thick enough to hold marks of whisk and first bubbles appear on surface, about 5 minutes. Whisk in extract. Immediately pour curd into a bowl, then cover surface with wax paper and chill until cold, about 30 minutes.
- Make frosting:
- Beat butter with an electric mixer at high speed until light and fluffy, about 1 minute. Reduce speed to low and add confectioners sugar, lemon juice, extract, and zest, then mix until creamy and smooth, about 2 minutes.
- Frost cake:
- Halve each cake layer horizontally using a long serrated knife. Spread bottom half of each cake layer with half of lemon curd, then top with remaining cake layers to form two sandwiched cakes. Put 1 sandwiched cake on a cake stand or platter and spread a heaping 1/2 cup frosting over top, then cover with remaining sandwiched cake. Frost top and sides of cake with remaining frosting.
Tips:
- Use fresh lemon juice and zest: Fresh lemon juice and zest provide the best flavor for this cake. If you don't have fresh lemons, you can use bottled lemon juice and zest, but the flavor will not be as bright.
- Cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy: This will help to incorporate air into the batter, resulting in a lighter and more tender cake.
- Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition: This will help to prevent the batter from curdling.
- Stir in the dry ingredients gradually: This will help to prevent the batter from becoming too thick and dense.
- Bake the cake in a preheated oven: This will help to ensure that the cake bakes evenly.
- Let the cake cool completely before frosting it: This will help to prevent the frosting from melting.
- Use a sharp knife to cut the cake: This will help to prevent the cake from crumbling.
Conclusion:
This lemon layer cake is a classic dessert that is perfect for any occasion. It is light and fluffy, with a bright lemon flavor. The frosting is rich and creamy, and it complements the cake perfectly. This cake is sure to be a hit with everyone who tries it.
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