This delicious lemon chiffon cake recipe should delight the pallet of your guests and provide a fantastic lemon flavor that is adored by all. Pair this cake with my easy lemon buttercream frosting, and you have a sure hit.

You also might enjoy checking out my cakes tab for more recipes and design ideas.

Delicious Lemon Chiffon Sponge Cake Recipe

My daughter recently turned 7, and she requested a sunshine birthday. Lemon-flavored cake seemed like the perfect accompaniment to the theme. We all love lemon. Just check out these lemon scones if you are a fan and want a delicious breakfast treat.

While her birthday cake utilized a yellow ombre petal effect, I am going to provide another photo here of a simple decorating idea for a lemon cake.

What is a Chiffon Cake?

Some may be asking, “What is a chiffon cake, and how does a chiffon sponge cake differ from a sponge cake and an angel food cake?

A chiffon cake is very light and airy in texture. Some of that airy texture comes from beating the egg whites until soft peaks form and then folding it into the batter.

While chiffon cake differs from angel food cake because of the addition of egg yolks and fat, they do have a very similar texture and flavor.

All Recipes says, “Chiffon cake is a type of sponge cake that is characterized by its light and soft texture. Unlike traditional sponge cakes, which are made with or without butter, chiffon cakes are always made with oil. This gives them a tender, moist crumb and makes them lighter and more delicate than other types of cake.”

Read more about chiffon cakes vs. angel food cakes vs. sponge cakes here.

Ingredients Needed to Make this Delicious Lemon Chiffon Cake (Makes enough to fill 2 – 10″ pans)

2/3 cup vegetable oil
8 egg yolks
4 tsp lemon zest, finely grated
1/2 cup water, at room temperature
1/2 cup lemon juice
1 Tbsp vanilla extract
3 1/8 cup cake flour
2 cups granulated sugar
4 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
8 egg whites

How to Make Lemon Chiffon Cake Recipe

Preheat oven to 375°F.
Prepare two 10″ pans as described in my cake-making 101 post.
Whip together the oil, egg yolks, and lemon zest until just combined. Stir in the water, lemon juice, and vanilla extract until combined.
In a separate bowl, sift together the cake flour, 3/4 cup sugar, baking powder, and salt. Stir this into the egg yolk mixture. Whip at a high speed for 1 minute and set aside.
In a separate bowl, whip together the egg whites to foam. Gradually add the remaining 1 1/4 cup sugar and continue beating until soft peaks form.
Carefully fold the meringue into the reserved batter.
Pour batter into prepared pans. Fill pans about 2/3 full
Bake at 375° F for approximately 25 minutes. When a cake is done it should spring back when pressed lightly in the center or when a toothpick comes out clean. Do not overcook.
Cool cakes before frosting with my fluffy lemon buttercream frosting recipe (coming soon).

Note – With this recipe, I was able to make 3 – 8 inch cakes when I only filled a 2-inch pan half full + 1 – 5×3 inch pan half full.

What are soft peaks?

I hope this Lemon Chiffon Cake Recipe becomes a favorite. If you need a great white cake too, I’d definitely recommend my most baked cake – My White Velvet Cake.

How to Decorate this Lemon Chiffon Cake

To decorate this cake, I decided on a naked lemon cake look. To do this technique, you do a very thin crumb coat and set in the refrigerator for about 15 minutes. Pull it out and do another thin layer. You want some of the chiffon cake to be seen.

If a naked cake isn’t your thing, simply do another thicker layer of lemon buttercream and smooth with your cake spatula.

For the top, I used a 1M tip and swirled some dollops of buttercream about 1/2″ apart. Then, I thinly sliced lemon and cut a slit to the center of the lemon at one spot. I twisted the lemon in and placed the slices between the buttercream dollops.

Lemon Chiffon Recipe Card