Easy Lemon Cake – A delicious, moist all-in-one lemon sponge. Perfect for a teatime treat, cake sale or as a birthday or celebration cake.
PLUS – Make this cake in any size of round, square or rectangular tin with my handy ingredients calculator.
One question I get asked again and again is how to adapt my Vanilla Birthday Cake into a lemon sponge. It’s a question I’ve answered a lot in the comments, over email and on my social media, so I thought it was about time I shared the full recipe on here.
This lemon sponge cake is packed full of flavour from the fresh lemon zest and is delicious topped with lemon buttercream.
I have two different lemon buttercream recipes you can choose from – one made with fresh lemon zest and juice, and one made with lemon extract. The one pictured here is made with lemon extract (as it’s smoother for piping), but both work equally well with this cake.
Can this cake be covered in fondant icing?
Yes.
This lemon cake recipe is adapted from the vanilla birthday cake recipe, so it’s perfect for coving with fondant to make a lemon birthday or celebration cake.
To calculate how much fondant you need, head on over to my fondant calculator.
Can this cake be used to make tiers?
Yes.
As with my vanilla cake, it works well for a two-tier cake (it’s quite soft so I wouldn’t recommend making a taller cake with it (although it could
If you are planning on using this cake to make tiers then make sure you add dowels or straws into the lower layers for added support.
Can this recipe be adapted to make lemon cupcakes?
Yes.
I actually already have this recipe as lemon cupcakes on here. There’s even the option to add a hidden lemon curd centre for an added burst of zestiness.
Can this cake be made in a different size?
Yes.
This cake recipe is very versatile and can be easily adapted to make other sizes and shapes of cake.
Take a look below the main recipe and you’ll find my handy calculator which tells you the ingredients you need to make other sizes of round, square or rectangular cake.
Can this cake be frozen?
Yes, this cake is suitable for freezing.
Other recipes you might enjoy
If you’re after some more cake inspiration then take a look at my Cake Index, which includes my classic chocolate, coffee and vanilla cake recipes as well as many more.
Chocolate Cake Coffee Cake
If you can’t resist anything lemon (just like me!) then take a look at all of my Lemon Recipes including cakes, biscuits and cheesecakes.
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Easy Lemon Cake (All-In-One-Lemon-Sponge)
INGREDIENTS
- 225 g self-raising flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 4 medium eggs
- 225 g soft margarine or butter
- 225 g caster sugar
- Zest of 2 lemons
- 2 tsp milk
INSTRUCTIONS
- Preheat your oven to 160ºC/140ºC fan.Line your baking tins (I use 2 x 20cm round sandwich tins) with baking parchment or reusable baking liners.
- Finely grate the zest of two lemons.
- Sift the self-raising flour (225g) and baking powder (2 tsp) into a large bowl.
- Add the remaining ingredients (4 medium eggs, 225g soft margarine or butter, 225g caster sugar, grated lemon zest and 2 tsp milk) and beat until combined.
- Split the mixture equally between the pre-prepared tins. Use the back of a spoon to spread the mixture evenly in the tins.
- Bake for 30-35 minutes. To check if the cake is cooked insert a skewer into the centre and if it comes out clean the cake is ready.
- Leave the cake to cool in the tins for about 10 minutes. Remove them from the tins and then move them to a wire rack to cool completely – Make sure the cake has cooled completely before decorating.
RECIPE NOTES
What are the ingredients for a different size of tin?
The main recipe is for a two-layer 20cm round cake (this serves 12 people). However, this recipe is easily adapted to use other sizes of round, square or rectangular tins.
To find the ingredients needed to make this cake in a different size, simply add the dimensions of your tin and the number of layers into the boxes below and hit “Calculate”.
I have also added buttercream ingredients to the calculator below to give an indication of the quantities needed. However, the exact quantities will depend on how you decide to decorate your cake. The quantities below are provided for simply filling and topping the cake with buttercream (evenly split between the layers and the top).
Round Cake
Cake Diameter (cm) Number of LayersCake Ingredients
- 0 g self-raising flour
- 0 tsp baking powder
- 0 egg(s)
- 0 g soft margarine or butter
- 0 g caster sugar
- Zest of 0 lemons
- 0 tsp milk
Buttercream Ingredients
- 0 g butter
- 0 g icing sugar
- Zest of 0 lemons and 0 tsp of lemon juice OR 0 tsp of lemon extract
Square or Rectangular Cake
Cake Size (cm) x Number of LayersCake Ingredients
- 0 g self-raising flour
- 0 tsp baking powder
- 0 egg(s)
- 0 g soft margarine or butter
- 0 g caster sugar
- Zest of 0 lemons
- 0 tsp milk
Buttercream Ingredients
- 0 g butter
- 0 g icing sugar
- Zest of 0 lemons and 0 tsp of lemon juice OR 0 tsp of lemon extract
To keep this calculator from becoming too complicated I've only included metric measurements. If you would like US cups measurements for a different size of tin then simply calculate the metric measurements here and then pop the results into my grams to cups calculator and it'll tell you what you need.
The US cups/ounces measurements for the original two-layer 20cm round cake recipe can be found by clicking the big green button just above the ingredients.
WHAT IS THE COOKING TIME FOR A DIFFERENT SIZE OF CAKE AND WHAT OVEN TEMPERATURE SHOULD I USE?
The ingredients are calculated so that the depth of each cake is the same as in the original recipe. This means that the cooking time and temperature don't need to
CAN THIS CAKE BE COOKED IN ONE DEEP TIN?
Theoretically yes, but I find I get the best results from using sandwich tins and this is what I would recommend.
If you would like to bake the cake in a deep tin then the cooking time will need to increase to 45-50 minutes.
How do you decorate the cake as shown in the pictures?
To decorate the cake as shown in the pictures you'll need a batch of my lemon buttercream and six half slices of lemon.
- Place the bottom layer of cake onto your serving dish.
- Add a quarter of your buttercream and spread it evenly with a palette knife or the back of a spoon.
- Add the top layer of sponge and again add a quarter of your buttercream and spread it evenly.
- To add the swirl effect - put your cake onto a cake turntable (this can be done without a turntable but it's easier to achieve the effect with one). Place the tip of a small palette knife at the edge of the cake and dig in slightly. Slowly spin the turntable, moving the palette knife inwards as you do to create a swirl.
- Fill a piping bag fitted with a star nozzle (I use a JEM 1B) with the remaining buttercream. Pipe twelve swirls around the edge.
- To finish - place a half slice of lemon on every other swirl.
Nutritional Information
Any nutritional information shown is the estimated nutritional information per serving. Please refer to my guide to Charlotte’s Lively Kitchen nutritional information if you want to learn more about how this is calculated.
Free From/Suitable For
The ingredients I used to make this recipe are all free from the following allergens. However, please check any labels carefully for allergens you need to avoid as brands can vary and product recipes can change over time.
- Suitable for Vegetarians
- Tree Nut-Free
- Peanut-Free
- Sesame-Free
- Soya-Free
- Sulphur Dioxide & Sulphite-Free
- Lupin-Free
Liz says
Hi Charlotte, I think you are literally amazing!! So much info on your website, you seem to think of just everything us bakers will need to know, so thank you! You have made making my children’s birthday cakes sooooo much easier!
Just a quick question about baking this cake in a large rectangular tin… Unfortunately I only have one deep tin rather than two shallow ones, so I was thinking I’d bake one deep cake and slice it in half horizontally to fill it. On the ingredients calculator should I enter one layer or two? It’s probably obvious but too much for my brain!
Many thanks
Charlotte Oates says
To do that you would enter 2 layers into the calculator. However, if I were making a large cake and only had one tin I would bake two thinner layers separately rather than attempting them in one deeper layer and the slicing as I know some people find the sponge doesn’t rise as well when cooked that way and can sometimes dip in the middle.
Angela Breeze says
HI Charlotte, I made this cake in four layers and iced as a semi naked cake – it was absolutely delicious. I have now been tasked with making a double 4 layer cake for my grandsons christening. When I made the first cake I did a 9 inch and would like this to be the size of my bottom cake for the Christening. What size should I do to put on top of this. Would it be an 8 inch?
Thanks
Charlotte Oates says
It depends on the look you want your finished cake to have. I’d probably go for a 7″ on top so that there’s a 1″ rim around the edge of the top tier.
Emily Dunwell says
Made this cake,used a lemon curd filling and fresh raspberries and covered in whipped cream for my partner’s birthday, was a hit my one year old couldn’t keep his hands off
Tb says
Cake tasted fine but sank in the middle.
Charlotte Oates says
I’m sorry to hear that. Did you bake the cake using the original size in the recipe (20cm sandwich tins) or use the calculator for a different size? Did you bake in sandwich tins or one deep tin (sometimes using a deep tin can cause this to happen which is why I recommend using sandwich tins).
Other reasons this could have happened are:
1) If you used heaped teaspoon of baking powder rather than level (the cake will rise too much and the sink).
2) If the oven was opened before that cake was done.
Theresa says
Followed original recipe in 2 x 20 cm cake tins. Not sure what went wrong.
Will give it another try.
Claire Davies says
Have just made this with my son who now thinks he is a culinary god!(he’s 9) the cake rose brilliantly and we used lemon curd and lemon buttercream for filling
Charlotte Oates says
I’ll be keeping an eye out for him on Masterchef or Bake Off in a few years’ time 🙂
So glad you enjoyed it.
Fi says
Love your chocolate cake but want to branch out! Will this be strong enough as a middle layer of a 3 layered cake (layers not tiers). A friend wants a 12 inch lemon and vanilla sponge cake
Charlotte Oates says
It’ll be absolutely fine.
Ann says
Really tasty and easy. I was wondering if you used cake strips?
Charlotte Oates says
No, just a lined tin. Cooking the cake on a lower temperature than most sponge cakes recommend (I use 160C/140C fan, whereas most others call for 180C/160C fan) gives a more even rise so I find they’re not needed.
Jen Cordt says
Hi Charlotte, I’m looking to try out this recipe, can you confirm whether you use medium or large eggs as the recipe doesn’t state this?
Charlotte Oates says
That’s a good point. I should have said (I’ll change it now!).
I use medium eggs (UK medium, sizes vary in other countries). It will also work with large eggs but it has a slightly firmer texture (take a look at this post if you want to read more about the impact egg size on baking cakes).
Jen Cordt says
Many thanks Charlotte, can’t wait to try out this recipe!
Lucy F says
Hi Charlotte how many days will this cake keep for? Thanks
Charlotte Oates says
It should keep for about 5 days in an airtight container. I would recommend keeping it refrigerated in this very hot weather we’re having at the moment.
Michael says
I’m will be using an octogon shape cake tin, can I use this recipe to make one bigger cake and slice in half as only got the one tin
Charlotte Oates says
You can (although it would need longer in the oven). However, I find this recipe doesn’t rise quite as well if it’s made in one deep tin, so I’d recommend making it in two tins if you can.