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
Natalie says
I used the calculator below as I had 2x 22cm sandwich tins. When pouring the mixture into the tins, the batter did not reach the sides of the cake tin and would just have made a VERY thin layers.
Ended up having to pour the cake batter into the ONE sandwich tin and drive to the shops to buy more ingredients to double the recipe. Stressed afternoon getting it ready for my daughter’s birthday 😐
Charlotte Oates says
This recipe is written for 20cm tins – as you can see from step 1 in the recipe card. Using a larger tin will indeed mean that the recipe will be insufficient in quantity for a larger tin size.
Roosemari Weston says
Could no finds length of time ☺️
Charlotte Oates says
The cooking time is stated at step 6 of the recipe.
Elisheba Barr-hamilton says
I haven’t made this yet, but my younger brother asked for a lemon cake for his Birthday cake so I searched the internet and this is the best looking one I’ve found so far! I’ll try and let you know how it was, if I make it.
Julie says
My cakes have sunk in the middle i used 2 x 8 inch sandwich tins. My other cakes made in these tins are fine. What did I do wrong?
Charlotte Oates says
I’m sorry to hear that. If the cakes sink it’s usually due to either:
* Adding too much baking powder – it should be measured using a measuring teaspoon which is level.
* The mixture was beaten on too high a speed. This adds too much air to the mixture.
* Opening the oven before the cake is cooked.
william scroggie says
i made this a couple of days ago,,best sponge ive ever made’
have another in the oven now
Rupa says
Is the butter in this recipe salted or unsalted? Thabks
Charlotte Oates says
I use unsalted
Vickie Wood says
I have made this cake twice in 2 x 25cm tins – and on both occasions it has been a great success. Thank you so much for sharing not only the recipe but the calculator for different tins sizes.
Michelle says
Hi
I used one 3 inch depth tin for the same recipe and it sank in the middle should I have amended the ingredients?
Charlotte Oates says
No, but I would usually recommend making this cake in sandwich tins as people have had mixed results from using a single deeper tin.
Kayleiigh says
What size eggs do you use?
Charlotte Oates says
Medium
Emily says
Hello, how do I substitute self-raising flour for ap flour?
Charlotte Oates says
You can make your own self-raising flour using ap flour and baking powder.
You can find the instructions here:
How To Make Self-Raising Flour From Plain Flour
Mariyam says
Hi… The recipe calls for self raising flour as well as baking powder… I don’t get self raising flour near where I live… So how much in total baking powder so I need to add?
Charlotte Oates says
If you look over at this post > How To Make Self-Raising Flour From Plain Flour, it will give the quantities you need to make your own self raising flour.
Jayne says
Hi Charlotte, I made the orange version using the zest of 1.5 oranges and put 2 teaspoons of juice in the batter. It was a complete hit with everyone loving it. I think it is my favourite so far. Thank you so much for your clear recipes and explanations, they are so good for a novice like me. The response to the orange cake has given me quite a boost to my confidence in baking. Thank you
Jayne says
Mrabt to say I used orange curd and buttercream between the layers.
Aysan Alba says
Hi,
I made this recipe a few times last year and it turned out amazing- I added dedicated coconut but kind of guessed how much to add.
My son is now allergic to dairy and soya (not eggs) could I use oat milk instead of cows milk? What adjustments might I need to make? I also want to add dessicated coconut to the cake, do you have any advice about how much I might add please?
Thank you!
Charlotte Oates says
You can easily make this cake dairy-free by using oat milk (or similar) and vegan margarine. For the buttercream, I’d add lemon/lemon extract to my vegan vanilla buttercream (and leave out the vanilla).
I’m not too sure about substituting coconut as it has a higher fat content and can be quite drying if not used in the right quantities. I wouldn’t want to guess at the right quantities without testing.
Chris says
Got to be one of the best lemon cakes I have ever tasted
Jayne says
I’d it possible to use orange instead of lemon in this recipe. If so how much orange zest would you use. I am a novice Baker but have made this cake 3 times now and everyone lives it, thank you for sharing.
Charlotte Oates says
I haven’t tried it, but it should work just fine. I’d use the zest of one orange.
Alison says
I stumbled upon your recipe and used it to make a layered lemon sponge with butter cream and lemon curd filling for my husband’s birthday.. My mum and my son have now put in their orders.. It was a huge success! Thank you!!
Caroline says
Hi, If I make this cake in a Thursday evening, would it be OK for Saturday, Im using this recipe for a communion cake and am stuck for time to decorate it.
Charlotte Oates says
Yes. It’ll be absolutely fine as long as you keep it stored in an airtight container.
Jenny Howe says
I made the lemon ‘all in one lemon sponge’ tonight, but forgot to add the butter (I had put it in the microwave to soften!!!). I only realised after it had been cooking for 15 minutes!!! When cooked it had a slightly different texture, more crispy and a little bit dense, but with lemon butter icing spread between the two layers and a sprinkling of icing sugar on the top, it tasted fantastic and my husband didn’t notice any difference!!! A healthier option!!!!!
Weronika says
Hi Charlotte, what would be an alternative to lemon zest for this cake? Could I use lemon extract or lemon juice? Any suggestions?
Charlotte Oates says
I’d add a couple of teaspoons of lemon extract instead.
Ann says
Hi Charlotte I find my cake not moist. It’s oily n dry. Can I reduce the sugar to 200g as I find it too sweet? Any advice, Tq.
Charlotte Oates says
I’m sorry to hear the cake didn’t turn out quite as expected. Given your description, it sounds as though the butter/margarine wasn’t quite mixed in thoroughly. If there are any lumps, these melt out during cooking, leaving you with an oily cake. Also, it’s the fat in the sponge that help it to feel moist, so if it has leaked out the cake could taste dry. If you’re using butter, make sure it’s soft and at room temperature, and for both butter and marg, make sure there are no lumps before adding the mixture to the tins.
For the sugar, that’s only a relatively small reduction so it’ll be absolutely fine to make.
Toni says
Thank you Charlotte for the round tin calculator. I followed the adjustments as I decided to put all the mixture into one tin and then slice the sponge in half horizontally, after baking. The measurements worked perfectly. I did adjust the heat slightly to 160 degree in the fan forced oven. I spread lemon butter on the middle layer of the cake. The whole family devoured the lemon sponge in one sitting. They all thought it was delicious and lemony, especially with the lemon buttercream. Thank you Charlotte, you’ve created another family favourite.