Lemon Curd Cake
This lemon layer cake features a soft Victorian sponge, sandwiched together with whipped mascarpone and a tart lemon curd filling.
I’ll take any excuse to eat tangy homemade lemon curd. It’s both tart and sweet, and so colorful and fresh. Perfect for lemon lovers.
Lemon curd makes the perfect match to this soft and tender Victorian sponge cake. It’s a super easy cake to make, all in one bowl! Coupled with pillowy soft mascarpone whipped cream.
This frosting is delicious on this raspberry naked cake too!
Victorian sponge cake
A Victorian sponge cake is a classic British cake. It’s light and tender with an excellent buttery flavor. It’s usually made with self-raising flour and can be made all in one bowl.
This version is a Victorian sponge cake without self-raising flour, so we need an extra bowl to whisk together dry ingredients before adding them to the batter. This ensures the baking powder is properly mixed in.
Another minor change in this cake compared to a regular Victorian sponge is the addition of lemon zest in the batter. This gives a hint of lemon flavor to complement the lemon curd.
Ingredients
Here is a rundown of what you will need for all the components of this lemon curd cake recipe.
Find the full recipe and amounts listed in the ingredients list in the recipe card at the bottom of the post.
Victorian sponge
- Softened butter – This can be salted or unsalted butter
- Granulated sugar
- Fresh lemon zest
- Vanilla paste or extract
- Salt
- All-purpose flour or cake flour
- Baking powder
- Milk
The topping
- Lemon curd – Store-bought or make your own lemon curd. See the lemon curd recipe
- Mascarpone cheese
- Powdered sugar / icing sugar
- Vanilla extract or paste
- Heavy cream
Equipment
An electric hand mixer or stand mixer to beat the butter and sugar, as well as the frosting.
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 350°F/175°C. Grease and line two 8-inch round cake pans with parchment paper.
In a small bowl whisk together all-purpose flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
In a large bowl add granulated sugar and lemon zest. Use your fingers to rub the zest into the sugar to release the lemon oil.
Add in softened butter and use an electric mixer or in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment.
Beat it until the mixture is light and creamy.
Add in the eggs, vanilla, flour mixture and milk.
Beat it together on low-medium speed until the batter is cohesive and creamy. Around 25-30 seconds.
Divide the cake batter evenly over the cake pans.
Bake for around 20-22 minutes until the tops of the cakes spring back when lightly pressed, or a cake tester inserted comes out clean.
Let the cakes cool in their pan for 10 minutes before removing them. Let the cakes cool down to room temperature on a wire rack.
Frosting
In a medium bowl add the mascarpone, powdered sugar, vanilla and salt.
Using a hand mixer at high speed, whisk it until combined.
Turn the mixer on low speed and slowly stream in the heavy cream. Once the cream is incorporated, turn the mixer to medium-high speed and mix until it is thick and forms stiff peaks. Once thick, stop mixing or the mixture will split.
Assembling
Place a cooled cake layer on a plate or cake stand. Dollop half the mascarpone mixture on top of the cake. Use the back of a spoon or offset spatula to spread it out.
Add on lemon curd and swirl the curd into the cream mixture. Add on the next layer of cake and repeat with the remaining cream and lemon filling.
Storage
The cake layers can be made up to a day in advance and stored in an airtight container or wrapped in plastic wrap at room temperature. The lemon curd can be made days in advance and refrigerated until needed.
Once the cake has been frosted, it’s best served right away. Any leftover cake can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Allow the chilled cake to sit at room temperature for 15 minutes before serving.
Measurements
This recipe is written using grams as the main measurement.
If you don’t have a scale US* cup equivalents are also included, however, using a kitchen scale to measure grams will give the best and most consistent results .*US cup sizes are smaller than metric cup sizes.
For another mascarpone recipe, try this tiramisu cake roll!
More Citrus ecipes
You might enjoy these citrus recipes too!
Lemon Curd Cake
Ingredients
- 225 g (1 ¾ cup flour + 1 Tablespoons*) all-purpose flour
- 3 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 226 g (1 cup) unsalted butter, softened
- 200 g (1 cup) granulated sugar
- 1 Tbsp finely grated lemon zest
- 1 teaspoon vanilla paste or extract
- 4 large eggs room temperature
- 2 Tbsp milk room temperature
Frosting
- 225 g (8oz) mascarpone cheese
- 60 g (1/2 cup) powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract or paste
- 240 g (1 cup) heavy cream
- 225 g (3/4 cup) lemon curd
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F/175°C. Grease and line two 8-inch round cake pans with parchment paper.
- In a small bowl whisk together all-purpose flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
- In a large bowl add granulated sugar and lemon zest. Use your fingers to rub the zest into the sugar to release the lemon oil.
- Add in softened butter and use an electric mixer (or use the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment.)
- Beat it until the mixture is light and creamy.
- Add in the eggs, vanilla, flour mixture and milk.
- Beat it together on low-medium speed until the batter is cohesive and creamy, around 25-30 seconds.
- Divide the cake batter evenly over the cake pans.
- Bake for around 22-24 minutes until the tops of the cakes spring back when lightly pressed, or a cake tester inserted comes out clean.
- Let the cakes cool in their pan for 10 minutes before removing them and cooling them further on a wire rack.
Frosting
- In a medium bowl add the mascarpone, powdered sugar, vanilla and salt.
- Using a hand mixer at high speed, whisk it until combined.
- Turn the mixer on low speed and slowly stream in the heavy cream. Once the cream is incorporated, turn the mixer to medium-high speed and mix until it is thick and forms stiff peaks. Once thick, stop mixing or the mixture will split.
- Place a cooled cake layer on a plate or cake stand. Dollop half the mascarpone mixture on top of the cake. Use the back of a spoon to spread it out.
- Add on lemon curd and swirl the curd into the cream mixture. Add the second cake layer and repeat with the remaining cream and lemon filling.
The cake was spectacular! However there was too much baking powder in the recipe and it caused the cakes to sink in the middle. I will 💯 make this again! It’s not super sweet and worth every calorie.