Lemon Layer Cake with Lemon Curd & Mascarpone Frosting

This 3-layer lemon cake is bursting with lemon flavor and is perfect for any special occasion!

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You’ll impress everyone with a lemon layer cake with lemon curd and mascarpone frosting. It’s beautiful, has three layers of lemon cake filled with lemon curd and pastry cream, and is frosted with a creamy lemon mascarpone frosting. Lemon syrup brushed on each cake layer creates moist, sweet lemony flavored cake layers, and putting it all together is easier than you think. It’s like a burst of sunshine… beautiful to look at, delicious, and perfect for any occasion!

Why you’ll make this for every summer occasion

• Soft, moist lemon cake
• Creamy lemon pastry cream
• Light, lemony curd
• Sweet lemon frosting
• You’ll impress everyone with a beautiful, delicious, perfectly lemon cake!

Lemony Ingredients

The Dry Ingredients:

• All-purpose flour
• Baking powder
• Cornstarch
• Salt
• Lemon zest –always zest before juicing!

The Wet Ingredients for the Cake:

• Unsalted butter –softened
• Vegetable oil –any light flavored oil not to overpower the lemon flavor
• Granulated sugar
• Eggs –at room temperature to not seize the butter
• Baking soda
• Milk
• Fresh lemon juice
• Pure vanilla extract

The Lemon Curd:

• Egg yolks
• Sugar
• Unsalted butter –cut into roughly one tablespoon pieces
• Zest of 4 lemons –just the shiny part of the skin
• Fresh lemon juice –remember to zest before juicing!

For the Mascarpone Frosting:

• Mascarpone cream
• Cream cheese softened
• Confectioner’s sugar
• Pure vanilla extract
• Lemon curd
• Milk –or heavy cream to thin the frosting if it’s too thick

The Syrup:

• Granulated sugar
• Water
• Lemon juice

The Pastry Cream:

• Whole milk –works best because of its thickness
• Corn starch
• Sugar –adding some to the milk keeps it from scorching
• Pinch of salt
• Large egg yolks –at room temperature
• Heavy whipping cream
• Pure vanilla extract –good quality for best flavor
• Unsalted butter

How to make Lemon Layer Cake with Lemon Curd & Mascarpone Frosting

Make the Cake:

• Preheat the oven to 350 °F, 180 °C.
• Grease three 8-inch/ 20cm round pans and line the bottoms with parchment paper.
• Place the dry ingredients in a bowl and whisk them together.
• Beat the butter, oil, and sugar together until light and fluffy.
• Then, add the vanilla and remaining wet ingredients.
• Beat until incorporated, and slowly add the flour in a few batches until just combined.
• Use a spatula to scrape the sides and bottom to ensure everything is incorporated into the batter, but be sure not to overmix.
• Divide the batter equally into the prepared pans and bake on the center rack for 21-25 minutes.
• The cakes are ready when a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean or with moist crumbs attached. Cool completely.

Make the Lemon Curd:

• Fill a medium saucepan halfway with water and bring to a simmer.
• In a heatproof bowl, add all of the lemon curd ingredients and place on top of the simmering water.
• Whisk them together until the curd thickens –about 10-15 minutes.
• Lay plastic wrap on top of the curd to prevent skin forming and cool completely.

Make the Syrup: 

• In a small saucepan, combine all of the syrup ingredients and stir together.
• Bring to a boil, and remove the pan from the heat as soon as the sugar dissolves.
• Cool completely.

Make the Pastry cream:

• Bring milk and ¾ cup sugar to a simmer over medium heat in a saucepan.
• In the meantime, combine the rest of the sugar, corn starch, salt, cream, and egg yolks in a large bowl and whisk together for a few minutes until thick and pale yellow.
• Slowly, pour the hot milk into the egg mixture one ladle full at a time while whisking.
• Then, pour the mixture back into the saucepan and cook over low heat, constantly whisking, until thickened.
• Remove from heat and whisk in butter and vanilla extract.
• Strain the pastry cream into a bowl and lay plastic wrap on top of the curd to prevent skin forming.
• Cool completely and refrigerate until cold.

Make the Frosting:

• In the bowl of a tabletop mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the mascarpone with the cream cheese until smooth.
• Add the sugar, vanilla, and lemon curd and beat until fluffy. If the frosting is too thick, add a few tablespoons of heavy cream or milk and beat until smooth.

Assemble the Cake:

• First, place a cake cardboard onto a cake decorating turntable.
• Place one of the cake layers (flat-side up) onto the cake cardboard. If the cake is uneven, trim the top using a serrated knife.
• Brush the top of the cake with the lemon syrup concentrating on the sides of the cake.
• Then, fill a pastry bag that has been fitted with the large star tip with the mascarpone frosting and pipe a ring around the border of the cake.
• Spread a layer of lemon curd inside the frosting border and then a layer of pastry cream. (If the cold pastry cream is too thick, beat it with a mixer or a whisk until smooth. You may thin it out with some heavy cream if needed.)
• Top with the next cake layer and repeat the process with the syrup, frosting, curd, and pastry cream.
• Finally, top with the third cake layer and brush it with the lemon syrup.
• Freeze the cake for about 30 minutes so that it sets and is easy to decorate.
• Then, spread the frosting all over the cake.
• Pipe 8 rosettes on top and dollop each rosette with lemon curd.

Baker’s Tip!

In recipes with baking soda, I always like to stir it into the liquid. It dissolves into the liquid, and you never get a bitter taste in your cake or pastries. I mixed it into the lemon juice for this recipe before adding it to the mixing bowl.

Make ahead options

Several parts of this cake can be made ahead of time, cutting down on the assembly time. It’s a great way to get things ready and save time on the day of your gathering. First, the lemon curd can be made and stays fresh in the freezer for three to four months. You may want to make an extra batch for this reason. The pastry cream and syrup can’t be frozen, but the pastry cream can be made 2-3 days ahead of time, and the syrup will keep fresh in the refrigerator for a week.

Can you freeze the decorated cake?

Yes! It’s the ultimate make-ahead option, and who wouldn’t want to have a lemon layer cake on hand in their freezer? All you have to do is frost and decorate the cake and then put it in the freezer. Once it hardens, wrap it in a few layers of plastic wrap, so it doesn’t absorb any freezer odors. The cake can be stored in the freezer for 2-3 weeks. Thaw the cake overnight in the refrigerator and set it on the counter about an hour before serving to bring it to room temperature.

Serve

You can serve this delicious and impressive cake at any gathering or for any occasion. It’s perfect for a bright summer dessert and is perfectly lemony. I always serve it with a nice cup of hot Greek Coffee, but the kids love it with a glass of milk. If you love lemon flavor, you’re going to love this cake. Kali Orexi!

More Layer Cake recipes:

• Mango Cream Cake
• Black & white Cake
• Moist Chocolate Layer Cake
• Hazelnut Layer Cake
• Chocolate Raspberry Cake
• Carrot Cake