The Best Lemon Roll Cake

This is our favorite lemon roll cake, a soft and delightful sponge filled with fresh and tangy lemon curd.

This lemon roll cake is the best! An incredibly flavorful, tangy lemon Swiss roll that everybody loves. There are no surprises here. The sponge is fluffy, tender, and sweet, and the filling is lemony, zesty, tangy, and creamy.

A beautiful and easy-to-make dessert bursting with flavor and perfect for the season. And if you like Swiss rolls or roll cakes, check out our Cream Roll with Strawberries, the Easy Raspberry Roulade, or the Strawberry Basil Cake.

Expert tips

• Always use a digital kitchen scale in baking; it guarantees for best results (Amazon affiliate link).

• If you happen to have a Thermomix, use it to make the lemon curd, it’s even easier. And if you like lemony desserts as much as we do, make the No-Bake Lemon Cheesecake or a Baked Blueberry Cheesecake.

• All ingredients should be at room temperature.

• Make sure that you prepare the baking sheet and preheat the oven in time; mixing the simple ingredients will be quick, and the cake batter needs to be baked as soon as it’s ready. If it waits around for the oven to get hot, it will not rise nicely anymore.

• Rolling the cake roll while hot will prevent it from cracking. Leave to cool completely before filling.

Recipe ingredients

• Butter:  I use unsalted butter and add a tiny pinch of sea salt. Regular salted butter might be too salty; I would not use it to make the filling for this lemon roll cake.

• Lemons: Two medium to large unwaxed, organic lemons as you will need their zest. Wash and dry them well before zesting. If you want to decorate the lemon cake roll with some fresh slices, you will need one extra lemon.

• Eggs: You will need two eggs for the filling and four eggs for the sponge.

• Flour: I prefer to use cake flour in baking; it makes the baked goods airier. However, all-purpose flour is fine as well.

• Sugar: You will need granulated sugar for the curd and the sponge, icing sugar for the towel, and for dusting the roll cake before serving.

Step-by-step instructions

How to make the lemon filling?

• Lemons: Wash, dry, zest, and juice them.
• Heat butter, sugar, lemon zest, juice, and salt in a heatproof bowl at bain-marie.
• Add strained eggs and stir continuously with a wooden spoon until the mixture thickens slightly and becomes opaque (1). You should be able to trace a path with your finger on the curd on the wooden spoon (2).
• Cover the curd with cling film and let cool completely.
• You can make the filling several days in advance and keep it refrigerated.

How to make the sponge?

• Preheat the oven to 200°C/ 400°F. Line a baking tray with parchment paper.
• Beat egg whites with sugar until stiff and glossy. Set aside (3).
• Whisk the egg yolks and 2 tablespoons of sugar in a separate bowl until foamy (4).

• Mix flour and cornstarch in a small bowl. Sieve the flour mixture over the sugar mixture (5).
• Add ⅓ of the egg whites and mix.
• Add the remaining egg whites and fold in gently (6).

• Bake the batter (7) on the prepared baking sheet for 8 to 10 minutes until golden (8).

• Sprinkle a clean kitchen towel with icing sugar. Turn the baked cake onto the kitchen towel with the baking paper facing up. Peel off the paper carefully (9), then immediately roll the cake with the help of the towel (10).
• Leave it to get completely cool (it will take about 1 hour).
• You can bake the cake roll one day in advance and keep it wrapped in the towel at room temperature.

How to assemble the roll cake?

• Unroll the cake and cover it with the lemon curd (11).
• Roll the cake again and wrap it in clingfilm (12).
• Refrigerate for 2 to 4 hours.
• Dust with icing sugar and decorate with lemon slices (if desired).

Recipe FAQ

More lemon cakes

The Best Lemon Roll Cake

This is our favorite lemon roll cake, a soft and delightful sponge filled with fresh and tangy lemon curd.

4.50 from 6 votes

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Course: Cakes

Cuisine: British

Prep Time: 30 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes minutes

Servings: 10

Calories: 248kcal

Author: Adina

Equipment

• ▢
  1 Baking tray
• ▢
  1 Heatproof bowl
• ▢
  1 Pan

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Ingredients 

Lemon curd (Note 1):

• ▢ 150 g butter unsalted 5 ½ oz/ ⅔ cup
• ▢ 150 g sugar 5 ½ oz/ ¾ cup
• ▢ a tiny pinch of salt
• ▢ 2 medium to large lemons zest and juice, Note 2
• ▢ 2 eggs large, room temperature

Sponge:

• ▢ 4 eggs large
• ▢ 4 tablespoons granulated sugar divided
• ▢ ½ teaspoon baking powder
• ▢ a pinch of salt
• ▢ 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• ▢ 3 tablespoons cornstarch
• ▢ 2-3 teaspoons icing sugar for the towel

Garnish:

• ▢ 1-2 teaspoons icing sugar
• ▢ lemon slices optional

Instructions

Lemon curd:

• Wash and dry the lemon. Zest them first, then halve them and juice them.
• Place the diced butter, sugar, salt, lemon zest, and juice into a heatproof bowl.
• Bring a pan of water to a gentle simmer. Place the bowl on top; its bottom should not touch the water.
• Heat the ingredients, stirring often, until the sugar dissolves.
• Eggs: In the meantime, beat the eggs and strain them into another small bowl.
• Add them to the sugar mixture and stir continuously until it thickens slightly and becomes opaque. You should be able to trace a path with your finger on the curd on the spoon (See picture in the blog post).
• Transfer the curd to a clean bowl, place a piece of clingfilm directly onto the surface of the curd and let cool completely.

Sponge:

• Preheat the oven to 200°C/ 400°F. Line a baking tray with baking paper.
• Egg whites: Separate the eggs. Beat the egg whites with a pinch of salt until quite stiff. Gradually add 2 tablespoons of the granulated sugar and beat until glossy and stiff. Set aside.
• Egg yolks: In another bowl, whisk the egg yolks and 2 tablespoons of sugar until foamy.
• Combine: Mix the flour, baking powder, and the cornstarch and sieve everything over the egg yolk-sugar mixture. Add ⅓ of the egg whites and incorporate. Add the remaining egg whites and fold in gently.
• Bake: Spread the batter onto the prepared baking tray and bake for 8 to 10 minutes until golden.
• Roll sponge: In the meantime, place a clean kitchen towel on the table and sprinkle it with the icing sugar. Turn the baked cake onto the kitchen towel with the baking paper facing up. Peel off the parchment paper carefully, then immediately roll the cake with the help of the towel. Leave it to get completely cool (it will take about 1 hour).

Assemble the roll cake:

• Unroll the cake.
• Spread the lemon curd evenly on it.
• Roll the cake again. Wrap in plastic foil/cling film and place on a platter.
• Refrigerate for 2 to 4 hours or until nicely set. Remove the plastic wrap and place the cake back onto the serving platter.
• Dust with icing sugar and decorate with lemon slices (if desired).

Notes

1. Always use a digital kitchen scale in baking; it guarantees for best results (Amazon affiliate link).
2. It’s preferable to use organic, unwaxed lemons, as you will need the zest.

Nutrition

Serving: 1slice | Calories: 248kcal | Carbohydrates: 27g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 15g | Saturated Fat: 9g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 4g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 130mg | Sodium: 156mg | Potassium: 73mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 21g | Vitamin A: 522IU | Vitamin C: 11mg | Calcium: 37mg | Iron: 1mg

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