Fluffy lemon yogurt cake is topped with a punchy, silky lemon curd Swiss meringue buttercream. This sheet cake is perfect for feeding a crowd
Hi hi! Happy Thursday! Apologies for things being a little quiet around here - we are heading back to NZ in a few weeks for a holiday so there’s a lot to organise before we go.
I made this Lemon Yogurt Sheet Cake a while back, and semi forgot that it was hiding in my recipe notebook / photo folders, so it was more than a pleasant surprise when I came across it!
It’s pretty simple - the cake itself is your standard lemon yogurt situation. It comes together with two bowl and a whisk. I have this weird thing about washing the bowl and mixing attachment of my stand mixer, so bowl and whisk recipes are my current favourite! Everything gets stirred together and spread into a 9x13 pan, and baked up to lemony yogurt perfection. You could stop there and finish it just with a dusting of powdered sugar, but I figured that seeing as the cake is so simple, we could go a little extra on the buttercream.
I finished the cake off with a Lemon Curd Swiss Meringue Buttercream - which is just a Swiss Meringue Buttercream with cooled Lemon Curd incorporated into it once the mixing process has finished. Lemon Curd buttercream is a favourite of mine. It is still punchy, but the acidity of the curd is tamed by the buttercream, while still letting the lemon flavour shine through. The cake is perfect without, but it’s extra special with.
A few wee tips:
- The lemon curd needs time to cool, so make sure that you allow time for that! I like to make it the day before if I can, or at least before starting to bake the cake so that it has time to bake before making the buttercream.
- I like to make the lemon curd in a double boiler setup on the stove. I prefer to use a stainless steel mixing bowl for the double boiler - it goes much faster than a glass bowl.
- I have this pan which I use for sheet cakes and I love it - it is super non stick and the sides are nice and straight.
- This makes a pretty chunky cake, so make sure you cut it into smaller pieces when serving (the ones I cut for styling were massive)
- I used some yellow non pareils and then this mix to finish the cake!
❤️ Made this recipe and love it? ❤️
I would LOVE for you to leave me a review and star rating below to let me know how you liked it! Also, please make sure to tag me on Instagram!
Answers to your baking questions
Over the years, many of you have asked me questions about:
- baking in grams
- adjusting oven temperatures
- what kind of salt to use
- and many more!
I've curated and answered them all for your easy reference in this frequently asked questions post!
Lemon Yogurt Sheet Cake with Lemon Curd Swiss Meringue Buttercream
- Prep Time: 45 minutes
- Cook Time: 50 minutes
- Total Time: 2 hours plus chilling time
- Yield: 18-20 servings 1x
Description
Lemon Yogurt Sheet Cake with Lemon Curd Swiss Meringue Buttercream. Fluffy lemon yogurt cake is topped with a punchy, silky lemon curd Swiss meringue buttercream. This sheet cake is perfect for feeding a crowd.
Ingredients
Lemon Yogurt Sheet Cake
- 600g all-purpose flour
- 400g granulated sugar
- 1 ½ tsp baking powder
- 1 ¾ tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp salt
- 6 eggs, at room temperature
- 280g neutral oil
- 300g freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 350g greek yogurt
- 1 tsp vanilla bean paste
Lemon Curd
- 120g lemon juice
- Zest of 2 lemons
- 100g sugar
- 6 egg yolks
- 70g unsalted butter, cold from the fridge is fine, cut into cubes
Lemon Curd Swiss Meringue Buttercream
- 125g egg whites, at room temperature
- 200g granulated sugar
- ¼ tsp kosher salt
- 455g unsalted butter, cold and cut into small pieces
- 1 tsp vanilla bean paste
- Lemon Curd
Instructions
LEMON YOGURT SHEET CAKE
- Preheat the oven to 350°f /180°c. Grease and line a 9”x13” baking pan with parchment paper, extending the parchment paper over the sides slightly to form a sling.
- In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Whisk until well combined.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, oil, lemon juice, yogurt and vanilla bean paste. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients, and whisk well to to combine, then switch to a silicone spatula and mix until incorporated.
- Transfer the mixture to the prepared pan and bake for 40 to 50 minutes, or until a skewer or tester inserted into the middle comes out clean.
- Allow to cool completely in the pan, then using the parchment paper, transfer to a serving platter.
LEMON CURD
- Place a medium heatproof bowl over a pot of simmering water, ensuring that the water does not touch the bottom of the bowl. Combine all of the ingredients in the mixing bowl and whisk together.
- Heat, stirring often, until mixture is thick enough that when you coat the back of a spoon or spatula with curd, you can drag a finger through it, and leave a clear track. Watch the edges of the mixture carefully to ensure that it does not catch and go lumpy, switching to a flexible rubber spatula as needed to help clear the sides of the bowl. Once it is at this point, continue to cook for a further 5 minutes. It will thicken more when it cools. Transfer to a bowl or container, straining through a sieve if you can see any small pieces of egg, then press a piece of plastic wrap directly against the surface of the curd. Place in the fridge to cool completely.
LEMON CURD SWISS MERINGUE BUTTERCREAM
- Place the egg whites, sugar and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer or a heat proof bowl. Place over a pot of simmering water, ensuring that the water does not touch the bowl. Heat, whisking constantly, until the mixture registers 160˚f (70˚c) on a thermometer and the sugar has dissolved.
- Carefully transfer the bowl to the mixer, and fit with the whisk attachment. Whip the egg whites on high until they are white and fluffy, 5-6 minutes. Add the butter one chunk at a time, mixing until incorporated (the mixture may look curdled - but just keep mixing, as it will come together). Once all the butter is incorporated, mix on high for a further 3 minutes. Add the vanilla and lemon curd and mix until incorporated.
ASSEMBLY
- Transfer the buttercream to the top of the cake using a spatula, then evenly spread over the surface of the cake using an offset spatula, creating swoops as desired. Finish with sprinkles as desired.
- Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge.
Keywords: lemon, lemon yogurt, sheet cake, lemon curd, Swiss meringue buttercream
Comments
Would you say this type of buttercream is good for piping as well? I think I'll make a batch of the buttercream without the curd to pipe on top but don't know if it'll hold up/look good
Yep it works great! 🙂
Erin, you've done it again! This cake is light and fluffy and totally delicious. The cake 100% stands on its own with no frosting. It's such a beautiful color too. Also, amazingly simple to pull together. I got it in my head that I needed pink frosting to compliment this so went a lemon/raspberry/cream cheese route which paired nicely. Highly recommend making this cake. 🍋🍋🍋
★★★★★
This is my go-to lemon cake now! The yoghurt means it's super moist, and the lemon flavour really comes through. I will often make just the cake itself (and just a half size to fit in one cake tin) and dust it with icing sugar if I'm running short on time. Can't recommend it more!
★★★★★
Yayyy so happy you loved!
Loved this cake! Also, so fun to make 🙂
★★★★★
Hi Erin! I’m thinking of making half the batch for an upcoming party. What side pan do you recommend and how long should I bake it for?
Hi! I have a pan calculator on my page that you can use to get an approximate idea! Baking time i'm not 100% sure on sorry so you will just have to keep an eye!
This buttercream is exactly what I'm looking for to make for a Mother's Day tea party! Would this cake recipe work well as cupcakes?
It's a bit dense for cupcakes I think? You can try but I am not sure how it will go!
How much lemon curd should I add to the buttercream if I use store-bought curd? Thank yiu
I haven't made this with store bought but if you add up the weight of the ingredients of the curd, that should be the correct quantity!
If I need a recipe my go to is Cloudy Kitchen. Erin just does it again!
Really moist, almost "spongey" cake (not typically keen on oil based recipes - not sure why) but this hit the mark. Really delicate flavour, then the punchy buttercream brings it home. This cake is well worth the time investment for sure. Plenty of compliments and it feeds a small army (with plenty of buttercream to boot!)
★★★★★
I’ve recently been converted to sheet cakes for their simplicity (not only in making, but in eating!). This lemon cake is AMAZING! The cake itself has a lovely texture and a wonderful lemon flavour. But the star is the buttercream!! The smooth, velvety texture, the zing of lemon, and the gentle sweetness that doesn’t overpower (the way American buttercream does) - I think about this buttercream even if the cake is long gone…! It might be time to make another one…
★★★★★
I was looking for a way to use up the lemons from the tree and a search brought up this recipe. I loved it! I halved recipe and there was still plenty of cake!
Have since made it 2nd time and it's a definitely a hit with guests.
★★★★★
I just came across your website, looking for mixing lemon curd in Swiss buttercream, and I saw what is the most amazing feature on a baking site! 2x and 3x for the recipe! Brilliant! Kudos! I hate math!
I'll be coming back to bake more from you! Thank you!
Such a beautiful recipe! Erin’s recipes are always winners in my opinion. I made this as a 3 layer 9 inch cake (1.5x cake recipe and 2x curd and SMBC) for an 80th birthday. So happy with how it turned out. The curd buttercream is glorious. Will definitely make again! Thanks Erin!
★★★★★
So excited to make this cake for a barbeque this weekend! If I had pre-made lemon curd how many grams should I incorporate into the buttercream?
Hmmm I would just add up the amount by weight that the lemon curd makes and go from there, otherwise you can just plop some in and do it to taste!
Hi Erin, if you made this a day ahead of serving, would you put in the fridge / air tight container, OR should it be eaten on the day? I would ice it on the day, just wondering about making ahead of time. Thanks!
Hi! No it's totally fine to make ahead!