20+ of the best lemon cake recipes
From lemon and poppy seed cakes to tarts, cheescakes, a lemon curd roulade and plenty of meringues, here are 21 of the best Good Housekeeping lemon cake and dessert recipes!
From lemon drizzle cake to lemon meringue pie, lemon cakes are a classic dessert that will please everyone.
Vegan lemon drizzle cake
This amazingly soft and delectable vegan cake is dairy free and egg free, but you’d never know. For an everyday treat, you can make this lemon drizzle without halving it and sandwiching with the curd, if you like
Recipe: Vegan lemon drizzle cake
Lemon drizzle cheesecake
This zesty lemon cheesecake recipe has a lemon drizzle cake base, combining two of our favourite desserts.
Recipe: Lemon drizzle cheesecake
Best ever lemon gateau
This home-made cake looks like it’s fresh from a French patisserie.
Recipe: Best ever lemon gateau
Cheat’s lemon meringue pie
Whip up a delicious lemon meringue pie in just 10 minutes!
Recipe: Cheat's lemon meringue pie
Lemon and poppy seed cake
Made with yogurt, this fail-safe Lemon and poppy seed cake is easy to master and a true classic.
Recipe: Lemon and poppy seed cake
Lemon and saffron cake
Based on a Greek dessert, this wonderful cake is full of the flavours of the Mediterranean. Serve with crème fraîche or, for a real treat, mascarpone.
Recipe: Lemon and saffron cake
Layered lemon meringue cake
Nothing beats the combination of zesty lemon and snow-white meringue – until you add buttery cake and toasted coconut to the mix, that is! One bit won’t be nearly enough…
Recipe: Layered lemon meringue cake
Lemon roulade
If you don’t want to make lemon curd, use 150g (5oz) of shop-bought curd in this yummy recipe.
Recipe: Lemon and almond meringue roulade
Lemon and passion meringue pie
A twist on a classic lemon meringue pie recipe, the sharp passion fruit marries beautifully with the sweet meringue.
Recipe: Lemon and passion meringue pie
Lemon and poppy seed buttermilk cake
A true afternoon tea classic – buttermilk gives this cake extra body and moisture.
Recipe: Lemon and poppy seed buttermilk cake
Lemon, almond and blueberry gateau
This guilt-free gateau tastes great and is low in fat.
Recipe: Lemon, almond and blueberry gateau
Gluten-free lemon drizzle loaf
Tuck into this delicious gluten-free cake. Replace ground almonds with gluten-free flour and make it nut free, too!
Recipe: Gluten-free lemon drizzle loaf
Lemon and orange cheesecake
This tangy, vanilla-flavoured cheesecake looks spectacular dusted with icing sugar and decorated with fresh rose petals.
Recipe: Lemon and orange cheesecake
Lemon and blueberry polenta cake
Polenta gives this wheat-free cake a pleasing granular texture.
Recipe: Lemon and blueberry polenta cake
Cherry and lemon curd cake with elderflower cream
Look out for English cherries when you make this cake – they taste sublime.
Recipe: Cherry and lemon curd cake with elderflower cream
Lemon crunch
It's fair to say this is far from a healthy dessert recipe, but for a less calorific pudding, make half the amount of filling.
Recipe: Lemon crunch
Classic lemon tart
Wheat-free pastry can be hard to handle, but this version changes that – it handles well, and tastes deliciously buttery and crisp.
Recipe: Classic lemon tart
Mini lemon tarts
This lemon tart recipe is full of flavour and zesty goodness.
Recipe: Mini lemon tarts
Steamed lemon puddings
Served with easy vanilla custard, these steamed lemon puddings make for an easy and freezable dessert.
Recipe: Steamed lemon puddings
Baked lemon cheesecake
Vibrant and zingy flavours are key to this Triple Tested cheesecake recipe. Invite your friends around for a slice with a cup of tea.
Recipe: Baked lemon cheescake
An experienced and highly skilled team of food writers, stylists and digital content producers, the Good Housekeeping Cookery Team is a close-knit squad of food obsessives. Cookery Editor Emma Franklin is our resident chilli obsessive and barbecue expert, who spends an inordinate amount of time on holidays poking round the local supermarkets seeking out new and exciting foods. Senior Cookery Writer Alice Shields is a former pastry chef and baking fanatic who loves making bread and would have peanut butter with everything if she could. Her favourite carb is pasta, and our vibrant green spaghetti is her weeknight go-to. Lover of all things savoury, Senior Cookery Writer Grace Evans can be found eating crispy corn and nocellara olives at every opportunity, and will take the cheeseboard over dessert any time (though she cannot resist a slice of tres leches cake). With a wealth of professional kitchen know-how, culinary training and years of experience between them, they are all dedicated to ensuring every Good Housekeeping recipe is the best it can be, so you can trust they’ll work (and if they don’t – we’ll have the answer for why*) every time (*90% of the time the answer is: “buy an separate oven thermometer”!).
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