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This lemon curd cake is sweet, tangy, and refreshingly light. This cake is made up of a zesty lemon sponge with a good punch of lemon curd and swirls of whipped mascarpone cream, creating a cake that’s perfect for spring, summer, or any special celebration.
This cake has two delicious lemon sponges, sandwiched between homemade lemon curd and whipped mascarpone cream. I decorated the top of it with lemon slices and raspberries for some colour, but really, you can add what you like on top. Some mint springs or even just some lemon zest would work well too. The best part is that the cake is made in one bowl, so it’s very little faff with maximum reward. This post will break down exactly how to make and assemble the cake, but if you want a more in-depth look at how to make homemade lemon curd and whipped mascarpone cream, I have detailed posts on both of those to help you along.
Table of Contents
Why you will love this recipe:
- It’s made in one bowl so you can save on washing up.
- You can use shop-bought lemon curd to save time and it’s just as delicious.
- The cake uses store-cupboard ingredients that you may already have on had.
- It’s fresh and light, making it the perfect celebration cake.
Ingredients:
Full recipe can be found in the printable recipe card at the bottom of the post, just scroll down!
Plain flour – known as all-purpose flour in the US. Once mixed with the baking powder, it rises nicely.
Caster sugar – known as superfine sugar in the US. Granulated sugar will work too.
Lemons – use fresh lemons for the zest and the juice. Bottled lemon juice lacks the brightness needed to make this cake pop.
Substitutions and Variations:
Lemon curd – if you don’t want to make one from scratch, shop-bought is great too. Try to choose one with lots of real lemons so it has a punchy flavour.
Whipped mascarpone cream – you could also serve this cake with buttercream icing (use this recipe but omit the pistachio cream) and add some lemon zest. You could also top with lemon whipped cream too. Just whip heavy/double cream to soft peaks and stir in a spoonful of icing/powdered sugar and some lemon zest. The cake is also great with just lemon curd and sponge.
Add berries – to a handful of blueberries or raspberries, take a tablespoon of flour and fold the flour into the berries. This stops them sinking too much when baking. Then take the flour-covered berries and fold into the cake batter as the last step.
Make it a Lemon & Poppy Seed Cake – this is a classic combination and adds great texture, as well as looking beautiful. Add 2 tablespoons of poppy seeds to the batter at the end and fold together.
Here’s how to make lemon curd cake in one bowl:
Here’s a step by step guide for what you need to do, but you can find the full recipe at the bottom of the page for detailed instructions. You can also read my very detailed lemon curd and whipped mascarpone cream write-ups to help with the rest of the cake.
ONE: Preheat the oven to 160c Fan/180c conventional oven/355F and grease and line a 2 x 20cm loose-based round cake tins with non-stick baking paper. Set aside. In a large mixing bowl or the bowl of your stand mixer, add the lemon zest and sugar. Using clean fingers, rub the sugar and lemon zest together until fragrant and well combined.
TWO: Add the softened butter to the lemon sugar and beat together until creamy and light.
THREE: Add the eggs and beat again.
FOUR: Tip in the flour and baking powder.
FIVE: Then add the lemon juice. Add a pinch of salt too and mix until combined.
SIX: Divide into the two prepared cake tins and bake for around 30 minutes, until golden on top and a skewer inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean.
SEVEN: Once the cakes have completely cooled, set one on a flat plate. Spoon half the mascarpone cream on top in an even layer. Use a palette knife to spread the curd on top in a smooth and even layer.
EIGHT: Top with the second cake, followed by the remaining mascarpone cream, more lemon curd, lemon slices and fresh raspberries.
Cooking Tips:
Room temperature butter: make sure your butter is at a softened room temperature when you beat it together. If it is fridge cold, it won’t cream with the sugar properly and you will end up with lumps in the batter.
Microplane grater: my top tip for zesting lemons would be to use a microplane grater. It is much easier than using the zesting side of a box grater. Invest in a good one and it will last ages (they aren’t too expensive anyway).
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes! While homemade curd is definitely higher-quality, shop-bought versions work well too.
You can make the full cake a day in advance. Cover and place in the fridge then remove from the fridge 30 minutes before serving so it has time to come to room temperature. You can make the sponge 3 days in advance. Leave to cool and wrap tightly in clingfilm. Keep in the fridge. Lemon curd can be stored in an airtight jar in the fridge for up to a week or frozen for up to a month.
Other recipes you might enjoy:
For another citrusy cake, you need to try my Tunisian orange cake recipe or my orange & almond cake. My easy berry cake or creme brulee cake are also great for summer. My lemon meringues tower and lemon meringue cheesecake are two more show-stoppers.
Easy Baking Recipes
Lemon Loaf Cake
Easy Dessert Recipes
Lemon Meringue Tart
Pancake Recipes
Lemon Ricotta Blueberry Pancakes with Whipped Honey Butter
Easy Baking Recipes
White Chocolate and Raspberry Cake
If you tried this Lemon Curd Cake or any other recipe on the site, please do leave a rating or comment and let us know how it went!
Lemon Curd Cake
Ingredients
For the cake:
- 200 g caster sugar
- 1 lemon, zested
- 2 lemons, juiced
- 4 large eggs
- 250 g unsalted butter, softened
- 230 g plain (all purpose) flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- Pinch of salt
For the lemon curd:
- 100 g caster sugar
- 2 large lemons
- 5 large egg yolks, at room temperature
- 80 ml lemon juice
- 60 g unsalted butter, diced
- Pinch of salt
For the mascarpone cream:
- 250 ml double cream
- 250 g mascarpone cheese, softened at room temperature
- 30 g icing sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
For the lemon curd:
- In a large heat-proof glass or ceramic bowl, mix together the sugar and lemon zest using your fingertips. Rub together until clumpy and totally mixed. Using your fingertips to mix together the sugar and lemon zest releases the citrus oil that is held in the zest which makes it even more lemony. Add the egg yolks and, using a rubber spatula or silicone whisk, whisk until thickened, pale and slightly foamy.
- In a large saucepan, heat the lemon juice over medium-high heat until it just comes to a boil. Remove from the heat and gradually pour over the foamy lemon-sugar egg whites, whisking constantly until all the lemon juice has been added.
- Return the lemon-egg mixture to the saucepan and cook over low heat, stirring constantly until thickened enough to coat the back of a spoon – this should take around 5 minutes. Make sure you keep it over a gentle, low heat and stir constantly – if you leave it or let it boil, you will end up with a peculiar lemon scrambled egg yolk situation (not what we are looking for!).
- Once it has thickened, remove from the heat and gradually add the butter and a pinch of salt. Stirring to ensure it is fully melted and incorporated. Strain through a fine sieve (optional) then pour into a jar and leave to cool completely before covering and chilling in the fridge.
To make the cake:
- Whilst the lemon curd chills, make the cake. Preheat the oven to 160c Fan/180c conventional oven/355F and grease and line a 2 x 20cm loose-based round cake tins with non-stick baking paper. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl or the bowl of your stand mixer, add the lemon zet and sugar. Using clean fingers, rub the sugar and lemon zest together until fragrant and well combined.
- Add the softened butter to the lemon sugar and beat together until creamy and light. Add the eggs and beat again.
- Tip in the flour and baking powder, then add the lemon juice. Add a pinch of salt too and mix until combined.
- Divide into the two prepared cake tins and bake for around 30 minutes, until golden on top and a skewer inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean. Let cool for 15 minutes in the tin and then turn the cakes onto a wire rack to cool completely.
For the mascarpone cream:
- Add the double cream and icing sugar to a large bowl and whisk until very loose, soft peaks, just thickened. I like to use an electric whisk.
- Then add the mascarpone, at room temperature, and vanilla. Keep whisking until soft peaks and thick, but not stiff.
- Transfer to a bowl, cover, and chill if using later. Otherwise, enjoy immediately! Make sure to serve at room temperature, or just not fridge cold.
To assemble the cake:
- Once the cakes have completely cooled, set one on a flat plate. Spoon half the mascarpone cream on top in an even layer. Use a palette knife to spread the curd on top in a smooth and even layer.
- Top with the second cake, followed by the remaining mascarpone cream, more lemon curd, lemon slices and fresh raspberries.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
This was so good! Very easy to make and super tasty. My guests loved it and I got lots of compliments.
This lemon curd cake is so simple but so impressive. It’s very light yet decadent at the same time. So good and full of zesty flavour.