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
Sheila Richards says
Misread the recipe in my haste – and without my reading glasses – and put in 2 table spoons of milk instead of tea spoons. Realised my mistake when it was in the over and thought ‘too late to do anything now’. Surprisingly, the cake turned out absolutely fine and was delicious!
Tammy says
Do I use salted or unsalted butter for the cake and butter cream please
Charlotte Oates says
Unsalted
Jess says
Could I bake this in a deep cake tins then cut the layers? If so, how long would you recommend baking for?
Charlotte Oates says
If you have a look in the main body of the post, I’ve included details about baking the cake in a deep tin.
Sally Koussa says
My batter was creamy and not liquid (as usual cake batters) is that normal. Did i do something wrong?
Charlotte Oates says
That sounds about right. The cake batter has the same consistency as my vanilla sponge cake. That post has a video with the recipe where you can see the consistency of the batter.
Sophie Tolhurst says
Hello can you add elderflower cordial to this recipe please?
Charlotte Oates says
You could replace the 2 tsp of milk with elderflower cordial. However, I’m not sure without trying it whether that would give you enough flavour. I wouldn’t add more, as the additional liquid will affect the texture and bake of the sponge.
Anna says
Thank you for this nice recipe. It is easy to make and the cake became delicious. I add some extra lemon zest and it become more lemon taste.
Inga says
Hello, do you think this cake would go well with white chocolate buttercream?
Charlotte Oates says
I don’t see why not! 🙂
Sharon Bolt says
How do I convert this in to. 10 inch cake for 3 layers pleas
Charlotte Oates says
Put your tin dimensions into the calculator and it’ll tell you the quantities you need.
Fiona says
Can you use swiss meringue as icing and lemon curd as filling for this cake? Thanks!
Charlotte Oates says
I haven’t tried it, but there’s no reason why not.
Jem says
Hi how long will the cake keep for? I’m making for a birthday cake and want to know if it will be ok to make ahead by a few days! Also should I store it in the fridge? thanks
Charlotte Oates says
It should be fine for about a week as long as you store it in an airtight container. It’ll also be fine at room temperature (although you can store it in the fridge if you prefer) as long as your room isn’t too warm and you keep it away from the radiators.
Mischa says
Can I add poppy seeds to the recipe?
Charlotte Oates says
I’ve not tried it, but it should work just fine.
Mischa says
Hi, I was just wondering how tall the cakes are? I’m making a 4 layered cake for my mother’s birthday and would like it to be quite high. I’m using a 23cm tin.
Many thanks
Charlotte Oates says
They’re usually 3-4 cm high each.
Gina says
Fabulous recipe. So easy to make this delicious cake. I will be trying some other cake recepies. Thank you.
Maureen says
Hi. I baked this wonderful lemon sponge this evening. The sponge is soft
and very light and tasty. The lemon did not overpower the sponge to much.
So easy to make. I will definitely baking this again and I will be baking some of
your other cakes. Thank you
Hay says
Hi, what if I don’t have self-raising flour? Can I add more baking powder into the recipe?
Thank you.
Charlotte Oates says
I’ve written a whole post about making self-raising flour from plain which should tell you everything you need to know.
How To Make Self-Raising Flour From Plain Flour
Amy says
How do you make the cake so round? I have baked it but yours looks so round.
Charlotte Oates says
What shape do yours come out?
Shanti Kaur-Singh says
hi, this cake looks delicious! Do you have the ingredients measured in tablespoons? if so could you message them to me? Thanks
Charlotte Oates says
Unfortunately I cannot supply the ingredients in tablespoons. Measuring something like flour for a cake with a tablespoon is likely to be extremely inaccurate and so it is likely the cake wouldn’t turn out as it should.
Megan says
Hi. I’d like to make this for my mum’s 91st birthday but would like to use fresh cream in the middle and crystallised fruit for the decoration – do you think this would work please. thanks
Charlotte Oates says
That would work just fine.
Destiny says
This recipe is amazing! So easy to make and the cake is delicious! I also add fresh lemon juice to this and it is so nice! After the 1st time I made last year, it has been requested for everyone’s Birthdays ever since…definitely a family favourite!
Lizzie Craftyconcept says
I made this cake as a sheet cake and it was lovely. I also added the juice of half a lemon as well. Awesome!
Kathleen says
Can I use this sponge for a wedding cake?
Charlotte Oates says
You can. What size of cake are you hoping to make?
I wouldn’t go above 2 tiers for this cake as it’s quite a soft sponge. Also, I’d recommend adding straws/dowels into the bottom tier for additional support.
Kevin Johnson says
An excellent recipe which worked perfectly for me.