by Rose 70 Comments
I absolutely love spring and seeing all the new fresh fruit available! When I saw the huge lemons in my grocery store last week, I immediately wanted to bake something light and lemony that would remind me spring is just around the corner!
This Lemon Chiffon Layer Cake is a recipe out of a very old cookbook that my grandmother left to me.
The cake is light and airy – with a not-too-sweet whipped cream frosting and filled with creamy delicious Lemon Curd.
I hope you’ll give it a try!
Lemon Chiffon Cake
Serving Size: 12
This Lemon Chiffon Layer Cake is a recipe out of a very old cookbook that my grandmother left to me.
The cake is light and airy – with a not-too-sweet whipped cream frosting and filled with creamy delicious Lemon Curd.
Ingredients
- 1 3/4 cups cake flour
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar, divided
- 1/2 cup vegetable or canola oil
- 6 large eggs, separated
- 3/4 cup cold water
- 2 teaspoons lemon juice
- 1-2 teaspoons lemon zest
- 1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
Filling:
- 2/3 cup lemon curd (homemade or store-bought)
Frosting Ingredients:
- 1 1/2 cups heaving whipping cream
- 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 3 tablespoons of lemon curd
Instructions
For the frosting:
- Whip the heavy cream and sugar in a large chilled bowl until stiff peaks form. Gently fold in the lemon curd and combine well. Cover and refrigerate until ready to frost the cake.
For the cake:
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the six egg yolks, oil, lemon juice, lemon zest, and water.
- In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, salt, and 1 cup of sugar.
- Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and add the wet ingredients. Mix until smooth and set aside.
- In a mixing bowl, use an electric mixer to beat the egg whites and cream of tartar until light and foamy. Slowly add in 1/2 cup of sugar, beating until stiff peaks form.
- Stir about 1/3 of the egg white mixture into the cake batter and mix. Gently fold in the remaining egg white mixture.
- Divide the batter between the 3 prepared pans. Bake for approximately 60 minutes, or until the cake springs back when touched with your finger.
- Place the hot pans on a wire rack and allow the cakes to cool in the pans. Once cool, run a blade around the edge of the cake and invert to remove the cake from the pans. Peel away the parchment paper.
- To assemble the cake, place one layer on a cake pan, then generously spread about 1/3 cup of lemon curd over the top. Add the next layer of cake and repeat. Place the third cake on top.
- Frost the top and sides with the whipped lemon cream frosting. Chill until ready to serve!
Preheat oven to 350° F (180° C)
(3) 8″ round ungreased cake pans, lined with parchment
This cake was so light and lemony – perfect for spring and Easter!
Happy Caking!
Rose
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Reader Interactions
Comments
Jan Ely60 mins is way too long to bake these cakes!!
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- Linda
Well, believe it or not, that was the time required by this recipe. Of course, factors like the type of ingredients, oven capacity and performance are crucial when baking a cake. So, it wouldn’t be a surprise it took less time for you.
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- Maria
Hello, I really wait do this cake
Can you please tell me what is cake flour?
ThanksReply
- Regina Worth
First, the cake is tasty and I made my own lemon curd and it was the right touch. However, this is the first chiffon cake I have ever made that was not cooled upside-down and I think the cake suffered a bit for it. It was fluffy and light, yes, but not as high as it should have been and certainly not as high as pictured above. I have never had this issue with chiffon cakes, so I am wondering, should this cake have been cooled upside-down?
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- Kyla Gaudiuso
My cake turned out perfect, but only needed 30 mins at 350 degrees to bake, and probably could have been 5 mins less. I used lemon mousse and lemon curd in between the layers with a vanilla buttercream on the outside, and it was the amazing!
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- Kim
Uhg…I did’n read all the way down and greased my pans. I know…Read the whole recipe first. Could you just add that in with the sentence where you pour it into the prepared ” ungreased” pans. My bad. So far it looks okay baking:0(
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- Jennifer Pepler
I made this last Friday and as of Monday night is still tasted as though I just made it! This is a ***** (5*) recipe! I live in Alberta Canada and this cake was done in 45 min and I possibly could have taken it out even a bit sooner. So no where close to an hour cooking time, here anyway, and yes, my oven temp is accurate, I test it often. I am new to cake decorating and had a couple issues.
First, once applying the lemon curd in between the cake layers and trying to frost it I found it just caused the layers of cake to slide around, almost off each other. I didn’t measure exactly 1/3 cup of curd in between each layer, but could a bit more curd have caused the slipping and sliding? I didn’t think it would have made that big of a difference if I ended up adding a bit too much.
Secondly, trying to apply the frosting I found it wouldn’t stay on my offset spatula and it ended up all over the place. I think I may have got side tracked once cake layers were put together and my frosting made. So next time I will refrigerate the whip cream frosting for 30 min prior to frosting as I think it may have got too soft sitting at room temp for a while. Not sure if that will make a difference but it is what I will try next time. Any ideas to prevent my cake layers from moving so very easily during frosting would be really appreciated.
Otherwise this was such a fantastic recipe. I loved that is used the entire egg, was easy to make and the recipe directions were clear and simple to follow. Again, this cake was made 3 days ago and tastes as fresh as the day I made it. At New Years Eve I normally host a fondue. This past year I went so far as to hold a regular bourguignonne fondue as well as a chocolate fondue for dessert. I used store bought angel food cake, along with fruit for dipping into the melted chocolate. However, come NYE 2018 I will make these cakes and instead of frosting them I will cut into squares for dipping in chocolate! It will be perfect for this.
Thank you so very much for sharing your wonderful recipe! It is a total 5 STAR recipe in my books!
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- Helene
Just put a wooden skewer through the layers when you frost it. That way the cake will stay in place.
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- Sachka
I have made this cake numerous times as stated in a previous comment but decided instead to turn it into an orange chiffon. Replaced lemon curd for orange, put a layer of mandarin oranges in plus a layer of Cointreau laced fresh cream, finished off with mandarin oranges on top. Definitely a keeper, it was fabulous. I think two cakes could possibly serve 30 people, depending on the serving.
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- Mollie
Delicious! I will make this again, with a few adjustments. The bake time really is 25-30 minutes. I had enough batter for four 8 inch cake pans (luckily I had an extra pan!). I used twice the amount of lemon curd. I would use a different whipped cream frosting without the lemon curd. And I would like to know how you get the layers so white in the photo, without the brownish crust of the cake. Do you cut off the brownish crust?
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- Wright Harrington
The amount of sugar seems small. But in the comments no one said it was not sweet enough. I really would like to try it. No cup of sugar?
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- Serena
I took a risk and tried out this recipe for the first time for a friend’s last-minute lemon birthday cake request, it was AMAZING! It is also my husband’s new favourite cake. I followed the cake recipe and left out the cream of tartar (I had none) and the cake still turned out so light. I used three 8.5 inch round cake tins and baked for 30 min at 350 F. For the whipped cream frosting, I beat the heavy cream with 1/2 small box of Jello brand lemon instant pudding mix. It’s more stable and can be pipped.
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- sarah
How many people does this feed? If I have over 30 people should I make two?
- sachka
I have baked this cake several times, never fails to impress. It is refreshing to taste and pretty to look at. I usually add little more zest, just gives it that extra lemony taste. This recipe gives you the option of either placing lemon curd or the frosting in the layers as your personal preference. Fabulous flavour, always a hit with my hungry guests.
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- Kathleen
Hi, I am looking for a recipe to make for my wedding cake, this one looks so good! I am wondering how many cups of batter this recipe makes so I can figure out how many batches I will need to make? Thanks!
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Hi Kathleen, I honestly don’t know but I have to tell you, I wouldn’t recommend this cake for a tiered cake. It’s so light and tender – I’m just not sure it would be sturdy enough for stacking!
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- Linda
I baked this for 40 minutes and it was overdone. I checked my oven temp and it was 350 the whole time. My advice would be to watch this one carefully. Hopefully the taste will overcome the dryness.
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- Katie
Hi could I just cook your cake recipe as one cake ?
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- Chris
Hi, i want to make this for my mom’s birthday and I was wondering if the frosting is pipeable? Also, will it weep if I have to wait to eat it 6 or 7 hours after frosting it?
Thank you for the recipe, it looks amazing!
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- Mandy
This is hands down the best scratch cake recipe I’ve ever made!! Thank you for sharing!
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- Claire Rebecca
My cake baked in 30 minutes and was kind of tough (still good though) – any idea what happened?
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- tAHUT
Am I the first one reading this recipe and noticing the cooking time is incorrect? It says “16 minutes”, but I believe that should be more like “60 minutes”?
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You’re absolutely right – I’ll correct it now! 🙂
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- Shirley
60 mins. would be way too long for a layer of that cake. 16 min. would be nearer correct. 60 min. would be for a cake baked in a tube pan where all the batter is in one pan.
- Monica
Can I use coconut oil instead veg oil? or butter?
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I cannot tell you if that would work or not because I’ve never tried a substitution like that. Of course, you can do a trial run, but there’s always the possibility of it failing.
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- Stacey
I just tried it with coconut oil because I don’t buy veg oil. I live in Phoenix and at this time of year, my coconut oil is liquid. When I added the cold water, the oil solidified. I kind of expected this. So I popped the bowl in the microwave for about 25 seconds…just enough to melt the oil…and continued as directed. I just pulled the caked out of the oven and all seems well.
I’m excited to taste the cake. I love lemon!
Oh awesome to hear!
- mary
Wonderful…made for Hubby birthday…looked so rich; put a layer of lemon curd on top. Surprise, cake was so light and the frosting perfect. A day full of making this masterpiece and seafood lasagna…will rest until next year. Thanks!
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That’s great to hear!
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- TaraJensen
I was wondering, how would you change the cooking time for two 9″ pans? Should I just check it periodically after about 30 minutes or so?
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- Nicole
Good morning,
This cake looks fantastic!! I was wondering if it would be strong enough to hold a blueberry filling, or would the weight “deflate” the cake?
Also, for the ombre cake, why not try a stabilized whipped cream? It hold up but is still light and airy.
Thanks a bunch!
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If you did a thin filling, I think it would be okay. But I wouldn’t pile it on!
- Tangeline
i was wondering if you thought this frosting would hold up to use to make a “petal” ombré cake? The recipe looks fantastic, but I have my heart set on making with a petal ombré affect for my daughters first birthday. Any advice you have would be great!
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I really don’t think this frosting would work for any piped effect. You could use a cream cheese frosting that would be delicious or a regular buttercream. If I were going to pipe, I’d probably use this recipe with a little lemon extract added: https://rosebakes.com/adventures-in-baking-cream-cheese-buttercream-for-decorating/
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- sarah
Hello,
i want to try the cake and frosting to make cake pops.. will it work or i have to ise another frosting recipe?
Please reply to my email if you can.Thanks,
SarahReply
I think it would work with this recipe or a different frosting!
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- Anne
Hi I would like to try your lemon chiffon cake recipe….. but cannot find recipe anywhere on page for the lemon chiffon cake recipe. Please help?
thank you.
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Hopefully this will be fixed soon!
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- Elena Tsh*teya
Hi Rose, This cake looks fabulous and would like to make it for my moms birthday. Unfortunately when I am on your cite it lets me see the picture and the comments but not the actual recipe. Should I look somewhere else or is the recipe no longer posted?
Thank you
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So sorry – there’s a broken plugin right now but hopefully this will be fixed very soon!
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- matthew thurman
I would appreciate the recipe being fixed…I have made it for work twice and it has been a HUGE success!
- Ashley
That frosting is so light! I topped this beauty with candied lemons. I received some pretty awesome reviews. I’m going to try it out as cupcakes this weekend. Thanks for the recipe!
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Yay! So glad to hear it!
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- Michelle
This recipe is awesome! I really enjoyed it. Thank you for sharing it!
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Thank you!
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- Sanjana
Hi.
I really want to try out this recipe, but instead of three, I want to make 6 layers. Obviously, each layer would be much thinner. So how should I make any temperature/baking time adjustments in that case?
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- Jude
Made this as a birthday cake, but instead of three 8″ pans, I used two 9″ springforms. This batter is thin, so the pans leaked a bit, and my floor is not quite level, so one of the, turned out a little lopsided :/. All that aside, the cake turned out AMAZING. 🙂 Very simple, very light very fluffy.
Gonna add this one to the recipe book, thanks!
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i have made this cake. Yes it sank a bit by the sides of the cake too. But that was not too bad. The texture and taste was great. My customers were pleasantly surprised at how light and tangy this cake was! Many repeat orders! Thank you so much for sharing this beautiful cake! 🙂
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I’m so glad you enjoy this recipe!
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- Lauren
is this enough batter to make two 9×13 sheet cakes?
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I don’t think so.
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- Rajah
I just made a variation of this cake using your cake batter recipe and it turned out amazing!
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- Karen
Just made these and used buttermilk oops not sure if my switch out did this or not but when I took them out of the oven to cool they separated from the sides of the pan like an inch. I can’t wait to ice them and make some lemon curd. This looks like an amazing cake!
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- Billie
I had a real issue with this cake sinking down and away from the sides. The cake was definitely cooked (took much longer than 16 minutes in my oven?!) so I have no idea what went wrong. Please help! Any words of wisdom would be much appreciated.
Thanks
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- Christina
Thank you for the recipe. I was even able to modify and use the LorAnn oil in Champagne flavor to make a WONDERFUL champange cake filled with whipped cream and strawberries. Thanks for the inspiration 🙂
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Wow, this looks AMAZING. Easter has already passed, but I don’t think I need an excuse for this cake!
And the photographs are stunning, too 🙂
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- Kim L
It looks beautiful. I love lemon desserts.
Would I be able to bake and frost this the day before for a dinner party?
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Yes, that what my friend and I did when we made the cake.
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- shikha
Thank you for the lovely recipe, is their a way I can make this eggless… as we are vegetarian who do not eat eggs..
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- ThecakeFairybyMonica
I made this cake for Easter and everybody loved it!! Thank you so much for the recipe
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- Lisa
I tried this cake on the weekend and it was very yummy however your conversion from degree f to degrees c is incorrect. It should be 180 degrees c instead of 180 degrees c.
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So sorry about that mistake! I’m happy you enjoyed the cake! 🙂
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- gillian
I made this today for a family birthday and it was a BIG hit. Just wondering about oven temperatures. 350 f is 170 c- is it a typo on the recipe? I have a fan oven so i cooked it at 160 c but it took a lot longer than 16 mins. Should i raise the temperature?. Other than this it proved easy to make. I had to look up what cake flour was – turns out I just had to remove 3 1/2 tablespoons of the flour and replace it with corn flour. Dont think we have cake flour here in Ireland :)) Thanks for sharing
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I apologize for that error. I’m not terribly familiar with Celsius, but I think it should have been closer to 180°C. When I baked at 350°F and had the batter divided between three 8 inch pans, they were done in 16 minutes.
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- Renee
This looks heavenly Rose! Can’t wait to try it 🙂
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This looks delicious. Lemon is perfect for cakes; so refreshing! Kind regards, Juniper Cakery
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- Vanessa
Looks Delish…Will this translate well to cupcakes?
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I haven’t tried to make this recipe into cupcakes, so I’m not sure. If I were going to do it, I’d inject the lemon curd into the cupcake as a “pocket” of filling, then pile up the frosting on top! I can’t imagine that it would be bad! 🙂
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That looks delicious! Can’t wait to try 🙂
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