Serves
12
servings

Intro

This is my celebration all-rounder — a proper British layer cake, three zesty lemon sponges with raspberry jam and buttercream, finished with meringue kisses swirled with a stripe of red. The lemon-and-raspberry pairing is bright and just tart enough to cut the sweetness, and the meringue kisses are a lovely way to use the whites and add a bit offlourish on top without fondant or fuss.

At a glance

  • Serves: 12–16 · three 20cm layers(base for the scaler)
  • Prep: 40 min ·Bake: 25 min ·Decorate: 30 min
  • Difficulty: Moderate
  • Pillar: The Bake → Signature Bakes
  • Themes (dietary): contains gluten, dairy, egg

Ingredients

Lemon sponge (three 20cm / 8in tins)

  • 350g unsalted butter, softened
  • 350g caster sugar
  • 6 medium eggs, room temperature
  • 350g self-raising flour
  • zest of 3 lemons
  • 2–3 tbsp whole milk, to loosen

Buttercream

  • 250g unsalted butter, very soft
  • 500g icing sugar, sifted
  • 2 tbsp lemon juice · 1–2 tbsp milk

To fill & finish

  • 6 tbsp good raspberry jam
  • Meringue kisses (below)

Meringue kisses

  • 2 egg whites · 120g caster sugar ·red gel food colour (a stripe, not mixed in)

Method

  1. Heat oven to 180°C / 160°C fan / gas 4 / 350°F. Grease and line three 20cm tins.
  2. Cream butter and sugar for 3–4 minutes until pale and fluffy.
  3. Add eggs one at a time with a spoon of the flour to stop it splitting; beat in the lemon zest.
  4. Fold in the remaining flour, then loosen with milk to a soft dropping consistency.
  5. Divide between the tins and bake 23–27 minutes until a skewer comes out clean and the sponges spring back. Cool completely.
  6. Buttercream: beat butter until pale, add icing sugar in two goes, then the lemon juice and milk; beat 3–4 minutes until light.
  7. Stack: sponge → buttercream + jam → sponge → buttercream + jam → sponge. Coat the top and sides (a thin crumb coat first, then a final layer).
  8. Meringue kisses: whisk whites to soft peaks, add sugar a spoon at a time to stiff, glossy peaks. Paint stripes ofred gel up the inside of a piping bag, fill, and pipe kisses onto a lined tray. Bake at 100°C / 80°C fan for 1–1¼ hours, then cool in the oven.
  9. Arrange the kisses on top.

Allergens & swaps

  • Contains: wheat/gluten, milk, egg.
  • Prefer it plain: drop the lemon zest and use vanilla in the sponge and buttercream for a classic Victoria-style cake.
  • Swap the jam: strawberry works too, but raspberry’s sharpness is the better match for the lemon.

Baker’s notes

Room-temperature eggs and butter are the difference between a fluffy sponge and a dense one. Zest, not juice, in the sponge — juice can make it heavy. Meringue kisses keep for a week in a tin, so make them ahead.