This is the Lemon Cake you make when you want to impress. 3 cake layers based on my signature Vanilla Cake recipe that readers around the world have fallen in love with, with a magic fluffy not-too-sweet lemon frosting. The bonus here is that lemon buttercream cake stays perfectly fresh for 4 whole days. Make this quick Lemon Cake with Lemon Glaze.
The texture sits between buttercream and whipped cream, but more towards the lightness of whipped cream. It behaves just like buttercream, ie. The sponge is unique because it’s made using a French-Japanese cake-making method that relies on whipped eggs more than baking powder to lift the cake. As mentioned, this makes is an excellent general-purpose foundation for so many other cakes. So, this recipe was actually the outcome of cake sample number 3 you see in the above video! After keeping it to myself for a few months, I decided it was time to share! Made from lemons, this is a concentrated oil that gives this cake a little extra lemon flavour leg-up.
It comes in little bottles like food colouring, found in the same baking section of stores. However, if you don’t want to get a bottle especially for this cake, I do get that. I promise this cake still has sufficient lemon flavour! However, if you can only get cake flour, that works just fine. But ordinary granulated white sugar is fine too. Fresher is better, and at room temperature.
Fresh eggs fluff better, and room temperature eggs fluff faster than fridge-cold eggs. Low-fat does work too but rises marginally less. If you don’t use yours regularly, make sure sure it’s still good. For a touch of extra moisture but more importantly, it keeps the cake fresh for 5 days.
How to make Lemon Cake The batter for this cake is based on my Vanilla Cake. Rather than repeating it all, I’ll focus on the essentials relevant to this particular cake. Add some of the egg batter into the hot milk mixture. The purpose of this step is to lighten the hot milk mixture before combining it with the batter so it is incorporated more easily.
The batter is beautifully aerated and this technique thus helps preserve all those air bubbles we created in Step 1. If they don’t all fit on one shelf, put 2 on the middle shelf and one on the shelf below. Take the top 2 from the oven at 23 minutes, then move the bottom one up a shelf and bake for a further 2 minutes. Let the cakes stand for a few minutes in the pan then cool upside down on a rack. Because the weight will will flatten out any slight doming on the upper surface so there’s no need to trim to make the cakes level. Be sure to let it cool fully before frosting, otherwise it will melt your frosting! It’s gained a bit of a cult following for good reason.
For this cake, we’re making a lemon-flavoured version of the recipe. That is what thickens this into a frosting texture and gives it its trademark light and fluffy mouthfeel. It’s a vintage frosting technique from the days before cream cheese frosting was ever a thing. How to make this Magic Fluffy Lemon Frosting First, we make the roux. It’s just like how we start creamy-sauce savoury foods like Mac and Cheese, only it’s sweet and we take it much further until it’s very thick.