Lemon Sponge Cake Recipe

This is my tried and tested lemon sponge cake recipe, perfect for Mother's day treats, birthdays and school fetes. I added some crystalised lemon slices to the top, but this would also look beautiful decorated with some edible spring flowers such as violas.

Rebecca Pitcher weating a Dragonfly Apron with a slice of Lemon Cake in a Country Kitchen Setting

Lemon Sponge Cake

225g butter

225g self raising flour

225g caster sugar

4 large eggs

2tsp baking powder

1 lemon rind, grated

FOR THE ICING

3 tbsp lemon curd

100g unsalted butter

225g icing sugar

splash of milk

Lemon Sponge Cake with Handwritten recipe and dragonfly pattern tea towel in background

Preheat oven to 160 C. Grease two 20cm loose bottom cake tins and line the bases with baking parchment.
Measure all cake ingredients into a bowl and beat thoroughly to combine.
Divide evenly between the tins and level out. Bake for 25 minutes. Allow to cool a little, then remove from tins and cool cakes on a wire rack.
To make the icing, add icing sugar, softened butter and 1 tbsp lemon curd to a bowl and beat thoroughly. Add a splash of milk to loosen mix if required.
Sandwich cake together with remaining lemon curd and 1/3 of the icing, before covering the outside of the cake with the rest of the icing.
Decorate with crystalised lemon slices, or edible viola flowers and enjoy!

hand taking a slice of lemon cake, with dragonfly patterned kitchen textiles in foreground