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Best Layered Lemon Cake With Cream Cheese Frosting

Course Dessert
Prep Time 1 hour
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 3 hours
Servings 14

Ingredients

*For the Lemon Cake:*

  • 1 ⅓ cups sugar 290g
  • Zest of 2 lemons
  • ½ cup melted unsalted butter 113g
  • ¼ cup oil 50g
  • 3 large eggs
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 2 ⅓ cups cake flour 305g, or a mix of 275g all-purpose flour with 30g cornstarch
  • ¾ tsp salt
  • 1 ½ tsp baking powder
  • ½ tsp baking soda
  • 1 cup sour cream 240g
  • ¼ cup lemon juice 55g

*For the Lemon Curd:*

  • ½ cup lemon juice 110g
  • ¼ cup water 60g
  • 2 eggs
  • 2 egg yolks
  • ⅔ cup sugar 145g
  • 1 tbsp cornstarch
  • 2 tbsp unsalted butter 28g
  • Pinch of salt

*For the Simple Syrup:*

  • ¼ cup water 60g
  • ¼ cup sugar 55g

*For the Cream Cheese Frosting:*

  • 2 blocks cream cheese 16 oz or 453g, room temperature
  • 2 sticks butter 226g or ½ cup, room temperature
  • 3 cups sifted icing sugar 360g
  • ½ tsp vanilla

Instructions

*For the Lemon Cake:*

  • Preheat the oven to 350F and prep 2 pans with parchment paper and butter.
  • Massage lemon zest into sugar, add melted butter and oil, whisk for 2 minutes.
  • Add eggs and vanilla, whisk for another 1-2 minutes.
  • Sift in dry ingredients, fold to combine.
  • Lastly, fold in sour cream and lemon juice.
  • Divide batter between pans and bake for 25-28 minutes.
  • Cool in pans for 10-15 min, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

*For the Lemon Curd:*

  • Mix water, lemon juice, sugar, cornstarch, salt, eggs, and egg yolks in a pan.
  • Stir and cook on low heat until thick.
  • Remove from heat, mix in butter until combined.
  • Strain, cover, and refrigerate until fully cooled.

*For the Simple Syrup:*

  • Heat water and sugar until sugar dissolves. Let it cool fully.

*For the Cream Cheese Frosting:*

  • Whisk butter until light and fluffy (5-7 minutes).
  • Add sugar and vanilla, whisk for ~5 minutes.
  • Gradually add cream cheese, whisk until just combined.

*Assembly:*

  • Trim cake domes, cut each cake into 2 layers.
  • Brush layers with simple syrup, add cream cheese frosting, pipe around edges, and fill with lemon curd.
  • Repeat for all layers. Coat with a thin layer of cream cheese frosting as a crumb coat, let it cool until stiff.
  • Frost the cake with the remaining cream cheese frosting, decorate with lemon curd, and candied lemon slices if desired.

Notes

For the best experience, enjoy the cake slightly colder than room temp. Let it sit for 15-20 minutes out of the fridge before indulging. Get ready to savor the magic!