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
Ruth Archer says
Hi I was just wondering how long this cake will last once baked and iced?
Charlotte Oates says
I would expect it to be good to eat for about 7 days after baking.
Frankie says
Cake came out moist and it kept very well for a few days after but that was a ridiculously absurd amount of butter. I found the buttery taste completely overwhelmed the lemon. Lemon flavour was already weak when the cake was first served. Then the lemon taste completely disappeared once the cake was chilled. As a “lemon” cake, I do not recommend this recipe.
Sola says
Absolutely beautiful everyone loved this especially my 7yr old son who has been waxing lyrical since made yesterday! I might say I came back today to write down the recipe and I notice it says self raising flour I used plain! We are going to make it again next weekend using s/r flour can’t wait xxx
Gemma says
Used this recipe to make a celebration cake for my 7year old. Nice and easy recipe, clear instructions, nice size – not too big to have to attempt to ice! And I had really great comments from everyone who tried a piece including the lemon obsessed birthday boy. First recipe I’ve tried from lively kitchen – I will most definitely be coming back to try more. Many thanks
Rhiannon Boyd says
Hi there, would you have to blot lemons before using them to decorate the cake? Just wondered if the liquid would spill and ruin the appearance of the cake?
Charlotte Oates says
I’ve never needed to, but if your lemons are particularly juicy then it’s probably worth doing.
Laura says
Tip… if you don’t have a cake turntable, take the glass dish and spinner bit out the microwave.
Thank you so much for sharing your lovely recipes!
Mrs Elaine Grant says
why do you use so much baking powder as well as s.r. flour please??
Charlotte Oates says
Because it gives a nice rise, a flat top to the cake (using less can give a more domed finish) and a fluffy texture.
Hayley says
Hi, I have make this cake before & it’s amazing!! I would like to make again for a birthday but it needs to serve 20 people, what size tins would be best?
Charlotte Oates says
Assuming you’d like a round cake, then I’d go for either a 20cm cake with 3 layers, or a 25cm cake with 2 layers.
elaine says
Hi just made this in my 8x2inch sandwich tins but did the creaming method. I found that they only rose to about 1 and a quarter inches each. Next time i may add a bit more mix as there wasnt much in each tin before i baked them? I folded in the flour
Jan says
Could I use lemon juice instead of milk, to strengthen the taste and make it more like a ‘drizzle’ cake?
Charlotte Oates says
You can, but that quantity wouldn’t make a huge difference to the flavour. If you want to make it into a drizzle cake, then I suggest making the drizzle from my lemon drizzle cupcakes and pour it over the top. If you use a skewer to poke holes across the surface of the cake before adding the drizzle it will seep through the sponge better, giving a stronger flavour throughout.
Jan says
Thanks for your help Charlotte
M Crawford says
Hi
Would this recipe work if I wanted to bake in one 10” cake tin, would I have to bake Low and slow? Thank you
Charlotte Oates says
I always recommend baking this cake in sandwich tins for best results. It can be baked in a deeper tin, but I find that people get more mixed results with it occasionally dipping in the middle after baking (this seems to depend on the tins and oven used and doesn’t always happen). Using sandwich tins gives consistently good results. If you do decide to give it a try I recommend using the same temperature and baking for c. 50 minutes.
Hollie Durrant says
Hi, I am hoping to make this cake for a celebration cake in layers. What is the depth of each cake layer please?
Charlotte Oates says
It varies a little from cake to cake, but they’re usually 3-4cm deep.
Eleanor Watson says
Absolutely amazing, probably the best cake recipe I found, will be using for all my bases!! I also love that there’s a conversion which I will be using!!!!
Thank you so much!
Lalli says
This cake is absolutely delicious. I’ve made many times now and omg it leaves everyone wanting more. It’s usually eaten in mins! Extremely light and fluffy you can’t tell you’ve eaten anything!!
I baked in 2x 20cm round tins and used gluten-free flour instead, and whilst it’s still very very light and fluffy the middle always sinks?
I adapted the recipe to use oranges instead and baked in a single deep square tin, was still extremely light, fluffy and equally delicious but the middle sank again.
I measured the baking powder level in a bakers measuring spoons.
Could it be the gluten free flour?
Thanks for a great recipe Charlotte. It’s a winner in our house!
Charlotte Oates says
It could be although it’s unlikely as usually for cakes you’re fine to swap regular flour for gluten-free without any issues.
It could be your tins or perhaps that your oven runs a little on the low side. It could also be that you’re beating too much air into the mixture as you’re making it. If you’re using an electric mixer you should keep it on a low speed and only continue to mix until all of the ingredients are combined.
Sue Cast says
Hi Charlotte – made the lemon cake today – it is delicious – beautiful sponge and butter cream filling. Thank you – chocolate cake next
Elle says
Hi, wanting to make this for Easter, did you do a normal butter cream or a lemon butter cream? If so what did quantities of what did you use. Thanks
Charlotte Oates says
I use a lemon buttercream in the quantities given in my lemon buttercream recipe. I have two versions one made with fresh zest and juice and one made with lemon extract. The cake in the images is made with the lemon extract version, but either would work well.
Lemon Buttercream
Andina says
Hi, i found your recipe is highly recommended. I plan to bake this cake for my daughter’s first birthday. But can i use coconut milk instead of milk?
Charlotte Oates says
You can, or (given the small quantity of milk) just leave it out.
For the buttercream, you may find that using coconut milk to help get to the right consistency may add quite a coconut flavour. You may want to opt for something with a more subtle flavour.
Lucy says
hi the cake has turned out beautifully just wondering if the calories is including the buttercream per slice also or is that a separate calorie count … love your recipes I done chocolate orange last week was insane !!!
Charlotte Oates says
The calorie count is just for the ingredients listed in the recipe and so excludes the buttercream.
Nicole says
Hi there! Planning to bake this tomorrow for my daughter’s 6th birthday. Do you think the lemon buttercream would stand up to being coloured with food colouring? I’ve found they can curdle sometimes. Thank you!
Charlotte Oates says
It should be fine. I’d probably do it with the buttercream made with extract rather than zest (as I’d expect you to get a more even colour) and make sure you use gel food colouring rather than liquid.
Adele says
Hi, I’ve just baked this. I split the mixture equally into 2 20cm round sandwich tins. Both however have sunk slightly in the middle. I baked a little longer and checked with a skewer and they appear to be baked through. Where do you think I may’ve gone wrong please? They smell delicious, can’t wait to try them.
Charlotte Oates says
My guess would be that you added a little too much baking powder. This can cause the cakes to rise too much so they they lack the necessary structure and dip in the middle. The baking powder should be measured using a measuring teaspoon (not the sort of one you’d use to make tea as these are rarely the right size) and the baking powder should be level.
Angie says
Hi, I’m a little mystified as to how everyone seems to have been successful with your lemon cake recipe. You said to bake it at 140c for 30/35 mins. After 38 mins I took it out to check it but could see straight away it wasn’t anywhere near ready as the top wobbled. I carried on baking checking it every 10 mins. It wasn’t ready until a total bake of 1 hour and although tasted really nice it wasn’t light and fluffy. I baked it in a loaf tin rather than a round one but that’s not usually a problem with my usual recipe, just thought I’d have a change this time. The only thing I can see that may have been a problem is the temperature as Ive always bake a sponge at 160c fan and they’ve always been light and fluffy. What do you think ?
Charlotte Oates says
Unfortunately this recipe isn’t designed to be baked in a deeper loaf tin. It works best in sandwich tins as stated in the recipe. The cake rises well in shallower tins, but doesn’t have the structure to be as fluffy when it’s baked in a deeper tin. Also, the deeper the tin, the longer the cooking time needed, so I wouldn’t expect it to be ready after 30-35 minutes. I’d expect a loaf cake to take 50-60 minutes as you found.
Sarah Davies says
Hi Angie, I had this exact problem and along with a few other people in the comments have found the temperature in this recipe is just not right for my oven. I have a fan oven, and find 180o is the right temp for me, as recommended in lots of other recipes. The recipe itself is fantastic but the temp just isn’t right. I have used this recipe in every kind of tin imaginable, including fairy cakes, and can confirm 180 is the right temp for me and my oven