Ingredients
Cake
- 1/2 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- 1/2 cup whole milk
- 3 tbsp sour cream
- 2 eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
- 1 tbsp lemon zest (1-2 lemons)
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 cup flour
- 3/4 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp salt
- Cake Filling: 1/3 -1/2 cup store bought or homemade lemon curd
Cream Cheese Frosting
- 8 oz cream cheese, softened to room temp
- 1 stick unsalted butter, softened to room temp
- 1 cup + 2 tbsp powdered sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 tbsp half and half
What to do
1. Preheat oven to 325. Grease two 6 inch pans. Place fitted parchment paper into pans.
2. In a small bowl, mix lemon zest and sugar. Set to the side. In a medium mixing bowl, sift flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Give the mix a good whisk!
3. In a large mix bowl using a whisk, mix milk, olive oil, lemon juice, sour cream, vanilla and eggs. Whisk well until mixture is pale in color
4. Pour sugar and flour mixture into the olive oil mix. Mix everything until just barely combined.
5. Pour mixture into prepared pans. Bake 30-35 min, ovens vary. The best way to know they are done is if a toothpick comes out clean!
6. Place cakes on a cooling rack for about 1 hr. After 10 minutes of cooling, run a sharp knife along the edges of the pans to help loosen the layers (this will help with removal later) (see note below about freezing cake layers)
7. For the frosting, place cream cheese and butter in a bowl. Using a hand mixer, beat until they are incorporated and smooth. Add powdered sugar, vanilla and half and half. Mix until smooth.
8. Assembly: place one layer of the cake top side down onto a plate. Stuff some frosting into a piping bag or ziplock bag, cut the tip of the bag off. Apply pressure to the bag of frosting and draw a circle along the outter rim of the cake layer. Pour lemon curd in the middle and smooth into an even layer. Place the other layer on top, add more frosting on top and sides. Slice and serve with more lemon curd!
Recipe is adapted from Modern Honey.
FAQ’s
Helpful tips
Here are some important Pro tips by Maude
- When measuring the flour, you want to spoon the flour gradually into the measuring cup. Do not scoop and level (this yields more flour than you need). Spoon in flour and scrape/level the top with a knife.
- I highly recommend freezing your cake layers before frosting your cakes! You only need to freeze the cakes for 12-24 hours. This step not only makes the cakes easier to work with (less crumbs) but also creates a super moist and delicious cake. To freeze, you can simply cover the cakes (in their pans) with plastic wrap, followed by foil and freeze. Just make sure you run a knife along the edges of the cake. This will help with easy removal later. To thaw the cakes, remove from the freezer, let the layers sit at room temp for about 30-60 minutes. Then on a clean flat surface, flip the pans over, jiggle the pans and the cakes should fall out onto the surface. Then proceed with assembly!
- Add a generous layer of cream cheese frosting to your layers before creating the dam and adding your curd. The combination of cream cheese and lemon is heavenly!
If you try this recipe, I would love your feedback! Please leave a star rating, a comment below or on the reel in Instagram! Also please share what you made and tag @eatmaudes !! Thank you so much for stopping by and making yumminess with me!