Lemon cake is such a classic flavour and my Lemon Cupcakes with Lemon Curd Filling are a super popular recipe on my blog, so I really wanted to create a larger lemon cake version for you all to enjoy. This Triple Lemon Cake is made up of three layers of lemon sponge flavoured with lemon zest. I've filled and topped them with sweet lemon buttercream and zingy lemon curd - the lemon curd is really what makes this recipe special so make sure to buy a good quality one. I use Tesco's Finest as I've found it has the nicest flavour, but use your favourite, just make sure it's not a cheap one as they are often not very lemony.
How to make Triple Lemon Cake...
To make the sponge I started by creaming the butter and sugar together. Then I mixed in the lemon zest and juice. I added eggs, and whisked well. Then I mixed in the self raising flour.
I divided the mixture between three 8″ tins and baked for 35 minutes until golden.
To make the buttercream I mixed together butter, icing sugar and lemon extract until smooth. Then I started stacking up the sponges, I piped buttercream and drizzled lemon curd between each layer. I finished the Triple Lemon Cake with more buttercream on top, lemon jelly sweets and yellow sprinkles.
Tips for making the Triple Lemon Cake:
- I made this recipe in 8" tins, if you would like to convert it to different size tins, please check out my Conversion Guide.
- I really do recommend using lemon extract for the buttercream, lemon juice is not as concentrated in flavour and you won't get the same lemony zing from it. You can find lemon extract in most supermarkets, I've bought it in Tesco before, and you can buy it online via Amazon (see my recommended products section below).
- To decorate the cake, I used lemon jelly sweets and sprinkles. You could decorate with some simple curls of lemon zest or lemon slices instead if you like.
- I used a Wilton 8B nozzle to pipe the buttercream onto the cake.
The Triple Lemon Cake was absolute lemon heaven! Zingy, sweet and fresh, it has all the levels of lemon flavour you'd ever want from a cake!
Recommended equipment & ingredients*
| 8" cake tins | Mixing bowls | Cooling rack |
| Kitchen scales | Electric hand mixer | Round cake tin liners |
| Piping bags | Wilton 8B Piping nozzle | Zester |
| Lemon extract | Lemon Curd |
*I earn a small amount of money if you buy the products after clicking on the links. You will not be charged anything extra for this. Thank you for supporting The Baking Explorer!
More Lemon recipes...
Triple Lemon Cake
Ingredients
For the sponge
- 500 g Butter or baking spread
- 500 g Caster sugar
- 9 Eggs
- 5 Lemons zested
- 4 tbsp Lemon juice
- 500 g Self raising flour
For the buttercream & filling
- 300 g Butter or baking spread
- 600 g Icing sugar
- 5 tsp Lemon extract
- 200 g Lemon curd good quality shop bought or homemade
For the decoration
- Lemon jelly sweets optional
- Yellow sprinkles optional
Instructions
- Pre-heat your oven to 160C Fan/180C/350F/Gas Mark, and grease and line three 8 inch sandwich tins
- To make the sponge cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. You can use an electric mixer or by hand with a whisk
- Add the lemon zest and the juice from one of the lemons
- Add the eggs two or three at a time and whisk them in
- Then whisk in the self raising flour
- Divide the mixture between the three sandwich tins, I like to weigh it out for accuracy so the layers are even
- Bake them for around 35-40 minutes, or until a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean. Then remove them from the tins carefully and let them cool completely on a cooling rack
- To make the buttercream, mix together the butter and icing sugar, you can use either an electric mixer or do this by hand with a silicone spoon
- When it starts to come together add the lemon extract, and whisk until smooth
- Stack the sponges up on your plate or cake stand, piping buttercream between each layer and drizzling the lemon curd over the buttercream
- When you get to the last layer add the sprinkles and lemon jelly sweets if using
- Serve immediately, store leftovers in an airtight container in a cool place and eat within 3 days
If you like this, check out more of my Cake recipes!
Pin for later!
I'm linking this recipe up with Cook Blog Share hosted by Easy Peasy Foodie, and Fiesta Fridays hosted by Kat's 9 Live and Life Diet Health.
Kat @ Kat's 9 Lives
This cake looks absolutely delicious! I love the bright colors; you decorated it perfectly!
thebakingexplorer
Thank you so much!
Life Diet Health
Oh my Kat, that is one perfect looking cake! Like, totally perfect! 😀 That must have taken ages to decorate so beautifully! Well done! Thanks for sharing at Fiesta Friday (you might want to update your links to this weeks co-hosts)! 😀
thebakingexplorer
Thank you! Yes I always publish my posts pn Friday mornings before the new hosts are announced, then I update the links later in the day 😀
Ai | Ai made it for you
Kat, this cake looks delicious! Hope you're doing well with the baby❤️
thebakingexplorer
Thank you! Yes we're doing well thank you 🙂
Cat | Curly's Cooking
What a pretty looking cake. I love lemon cake and that you've crammed as much lemon in as possible 🙂
thebakingexplorer
Thanks Cat! I made it as lemony as I could 😀
Monika Dabrowski
I think anything sugary tastes even better with lemon. Your cake sounds looks just gorgeous!
thebakingexplorer
Thanks Monika, I agree!
Jacqui Bellefontaine
Three layers of lemony yumminess now your talking. This cake looks perfect.
thebakingexplorer
Thanks Jacqui!
Eb Gargano | Easy Peasy Foodie
Wow - what a cake. That looks amazing 😀 Thanks for linking up to #CookBlogShare. Eb x
thebakingexplorer
Thank you Eb!
Randalle
What a beautiful cake - I love lemon-y desserts, and I can imagine the lemon curd would really counterbalance the sweetness of the cake / frosting nicely.
thebakingexplorer
Thank you! It really does balance out the sweetness so well!
Karen
Hi
It looks fab
The recipe states 4tablespoons of lemon juice and then in the directions you state lemon juice from one lemon. Can you advise please,
Many thanks
Karen
thebakingexplorer
Hi, sorry for not being clear, it's because the juice from one lemon equated to 4 tbsp worth of juice so you know exactly how much I used. I hope that makes sense!
Kayleigh
Hello, would it work if covered this cake in fondant? I’m thinking of turning it into my daughter’s giraffe birthday cake.
thebakingexplorer
Hi Kayleigh, yes absolutely you could cover this in fondant. Although you would have to cover the top and sides with a thin layer of buttercream to help the fondant stick rather than decorating it like I did (you probably already know that, but I wanted to mention it just in case as I don't know your baking experience) I hope your daughter has a lovely birthday!
Kayleigh
Thank you so much for coming back to me! I’ll let you know how it turns out ?
grace
did you use unsalted butter? or something like stalk x
thebakingexplorer
Hi Grace, yes you can use either unsalted butter or a baking spread like Stork.
Sam
So although my cake certainly didn’t compare visually to yours, it tasted delicious and was so fluffy! I don’t usually have much luck with sponge cakes but I was so pleased with this one. Thank you Kat for sharing all of your recipes! Now to decide what to bake next x
thebakingexplorer
I'm so happy you enjoyed this cake! Thank you Sam!
Lucy
Hi
The cake looks amazing.
I'm actually going to use the recipie for my father in laws birthday cake except I'll be covering it in meringue as lemon meringue is his favourite.
Can I just ask are you baking tins 8 inch by 2 inch?
That's the tins I'm going to be using and I just wanted to check the ingredient quantities would be the right amount.
Thankyou xx
thebakingexplorer
Hi Lucy, I think I already answered you on Facebook, but yes the are 8" wide and 2" tall - happy baking! 🙂
Emma Swift
Hi Kat,
Is it possible to put all of the mix in to 1 x 10” cake tin as this is all I have😩, and obviously cook it for longer?
I have used the handy conversion chart for then ingredients (Thank you it was most helpful)
It is for the bottom layer of my daughters 21st birthday cake and this is her favourite.
Starting to feel the pressure😳
thebakingexplorer
Hi Emma, providing you have converted the ingredients to fit a 10" tin then I don't see why this wouldn't be ok. Definitely convert as per the chart beforehand. Let me know if you have any more questions. I'm sure your daughter is going to love her cake!
Christina
The cake looks brilliant, I'm definitely going to bake it for my Mum's birthday!
I was just wondering, Can I use granulated sugar instead of Caster sugar?
thebakingexplorer
Thank you! You can use granulated yes, I hope your mum enjoys the cake!
Briony
Made this for my dad's 60th in July last year! He was thrilled and it tasted delicious!!
Sally
Another amazing recipe!! Recently did this for a friends birthday cake and it turned out beautifully!
Nadine
Hello! I am planning to bake this beautiful cake on Sunday for my mums birthday.
I am using your conversion details to bake a 3 tier 6" cake.
My question is, once made the mixture for the 3 sponges, do you bake all 3 in the oven at same time? 2 on one shelf, one on the other? Or can I mix the ingredients bake one Sponge at a time? If so will the mixture okay sittingvin the tin what the other ones bake? Many thanks 😊
thebakingexplorer
Hi Nadine, if three cake tins can fit in your oven then yes definitely bake them all together. All ovens are different regarding how they circulate heat so it depends what your oven is like as to which shelves you bake them on. I tend to do two in the middle and one above in my oven. If they don't all fit, then make the batter in batches. I do not advise leaving uncooked batter on the side as the cake will not bake as nicely as the others and it will affect the final result. I hope that helps!
Nadine
Perfect! Thank you. I did each one separately and they turned out perfect.
I love it as did my kids and especially my Mum! Was a huge hit x
thebakingexplorer
That's fantastic to hear Nadine, I'm so pleased you all liked it!
Jess
Hi , I’m planning to make a lemon and white chocolate drip cake for Easter and want to use this recipe for the lemon cake . I was wondering if this cake would be sturdy enough to be crumb coated and then final coated ? Xx💕
thebakingexplorer
Hi Jess, yes it'll be absolutely fine for that!
Bex
Hi Jess, amazing cake recipe!! I would like to make this but only a 2 layered cake, using 8 " sandwich tins but not sure how to calculate the ingredient measures correctly?
Thanks for your help 🙂
thebakingexplorer
Hi Bex, to make two layers just use two thirds of the ingredients, so divide by three then multiple by two, I hope that helps! 🙂 Also I'm Kat 🙂
Bex
That's perfect thank you Kat (so sorry I saw the comment above and typed it without checking 🤦🏼♀️)
Cannot wait to try making this!