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.
Lemon Cake Q&A
With all my recipes I like to try and anticipate all of the questions you might have. If it’s your first time making this lemon cake, then make sure you have a good read through as there’s lots of extra tips here…
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 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. Cooking this cake in a single deeper tin often has great results, but some people find that it can occasionally lead to the cake not rising properly, or sinking after baking, which doesn’t happen when the mixture is split into sandwich tins.
If you would like to attempt baking 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.
Can this cake be frozen?
Yes, this cake is suitable for freezing.
What is this cake free from/who is it 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
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.
FREE GRAMS TO CUPS CONVERSION CHARTS
Subscribe to the Charlotte’s Lively Kitchen mailing list to get your FREE printable grams to cups and cups to grams conversion charts for twelve popular baking ingredients
Easy Lemon Cake (All-In-One-Lemon-Sponge)
INGREDIENTS
- 225 g self-raising flour
- 2 tsp baking powder - you should use a measuring teaspoon and the baking powder should be level
- 4 medium eggs
- 225 g soft margarine or butter - if you are using butter, ensure it is soft and at room temperature
- 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 (with an electric mixer on a slow speed or by hand) until combined. Make sure that there are no small lumps of butter/margarine in your mixture. If there are, beat for a little longer until the mixture is smooth.
- 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.
NOTES
NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION
Any nutritional information provided is the estimated nutritional information per serving. Please refer to my guide to Charlotte’s Lively Kitchen nutritional information if you would like to learn more about how this is calculated.
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
Suzie says
Can the margerine be substituted with sunflower/vegetable oil and if so how many millimeters??
Charlotte Oates says
No, using oil in place of butter would also require the other ingredient quantities to be adjusted.
Katie says
Saved my bacon when my daughter asked for a lemon cake for her birthday, but it had to be a round one, not a lemon drizzle cake!
Dary says
The recipe calls for self-raising flour + 2 tsp of baking powder. Does it mean I have to add 4 tsp of baking powder to an all-purpose flour?
Charlotte Oates says
Yes
Nadine says
Can you replace the buttercream filling with lemon curd and still fondant ice the cake? Thank you
Charlotte Oates says
I think that would be too soft. If you’d like to include lemon curd then I’d recommend a layer of buttercream and then using the buttercream to make a wall around the centre and use that to contain the lemon curd.
Jane says
Excellent recipe works every time.
Jo says
Just made this recipe for my aunty’s 80th birthday. She’d requested something ‘light and lemony’ and this cake definitely delivered!
It’s such an easy recipe, I doubled it, and made a 4 layer 8 inch cake, which was quite tall. It stacked up beautifully though as its a nice stable cake in addition to being light and deliciously moist!
I sandwiched my layers with buttercream and lemon curd, then covered the outside with white chocolate Italian meringue buttercream, which was the perfect combination. I’ll definitely be using the other versions of this recipe, like the chocolate and vanilla variations in my future bakes!
M says
Does this cake need to be stored in the fridge ?
Charlotte Oates says
It should be fine out of the fridge for a few days as long as your room isn’t too warm.
Laney says
Hi Charlattes,
I loved this recipe for the cake but it had a few issues…
Numero uno: we made cake on English bake-offs and its didn’t even place number one! You said it’s great!
Numero two: you would have such better marketing if you changed your name from charlotte lively kitchen to charlotte crazy cakes because we love wakadoodles.
Love,
Your biggest cake fans who really loved this recipe
Annie says
Made this as an anniversary cake.
Absolutely delicious.
Rose beautifully and the icing was so lemony!
Thankyou so much.
Annie
Imogen SanMarco says
I’ve made this recipe twice and both times it sunk in the middle and I didn’t open the oven door on the second time until the finished baking time and it had risen and sunk. I didn’t over mix either. do you have any advise
Lesley Evans says
I’ve made lots of lemon cakes using different recipes but this one is the easiest and tastiest one by far! This recipe makes the softest, lightest sponges with just the right level of sweetness and lemon flavour. This is definitely one I will come back to.
Janet Fuller says
This has to be the best lemon sponge cake I have ever tasted! Will be making many, many more.
Rosie says
I’m going to attempt to bake this cake for my daughters birthday. I read somewhere that I can use lemon extract rather than lemon. zest. Is this true and when do I add?
Many Thanks
Vicki says
I made this for my son’s birthday as he loves lemon cake. I always make my kids birthday cakes, but admittedly, I’m not the best baker, and laughing at what has gone wrong with each cake I serve up has become a bit of a family game (bunch of meanies!). Well, not this time! This recipe produced a near-perfect bake…absolutely delicious, light and and perfectly risen. As well as your lemon butter-cream, I also added some lemon-curd in the middle. Delicious! I’ll be keeping this recipe. Thank you! My family might have to find a new game! 😉
Laney says
Hi Charlattes,
We actually loved this recipe and made it for our back yard party and it was a hit!!! Thank you so much for making this
Christine Ash says
I have never made such a delicious lemon spounge cake, light and moist, everyone who had a slice all said how good it was. My tin was a bit smaller than recommended so reduced the flour, sugar, and butter by 25 g 3 eggs as they were large. Left the butter so it was really soft but not liquid. Added 3 tablespoons of lemon curd to the filling. Thank you Charlotte it will be my new first choice recipe from now on.
Missy says
Wow made this for a friend’s 50th birthday. The comments I had were amazing. Amazing beautiful receipe
J says
Fabulous recipe that made an incredibly light moist cake with a good lemon flavour. I normally use real butter for baking and was pleasantly surprised with how good this cake tasted.
Jennifer Archer says
Can’t find instructions for lemon cream for filling
Charlotte Oates says
There is a clickable link to the lemon buttercream in the notes section of the recipe – which you can also find here – Lemon Buttercream
Severine says
Thank you for this recipe! I have made it twice already as a 2 layer 10′ cake and your calculator tool worked perfectly! Both kids and adults enjoyed this yummy lemon cake
Melissa says
HI, i’m excited to try this recipe. For the cake, only lemon zest required? Not the juice?
Charlotte Oates says
The lemon zest provides a real punch of flavour without altering the texture of the batter. Lemon juice provides a more subtle flavour and adds liquid which changes the texture. Using just the zest is my preference but you will unlikely have any issues if you wanted to replace some or all of the milk with lemon juice.