This website may contain affiliate links and advertising so that we can provide recipes to you. Read my disclosure policy.
This Easter cake is absolutely divine! A perfectly moist cake with a lemon curd filling and a delicious buttercream frosting will be sure to get a “WOW!” From all of your guests this Easter season!
Cake just makes its way to my heart… It’s perfect for every occasion, so if you want to try a few more delicious cakes, then you must make this classic chocolate cake, this Irish apple cake, or especially this butter pecan cake!
Easter Cake
This Easter cake looks and tastes like you brought it straight home from the bakery! It’s Pinterest-worthy and will be the star of the show at any party. Let’s start by talking about the filling. That’s right; this deliciously perfect cake has a lemon curd filling layer. It has a delightful taste without being overwhelmingly strong. Combined with the spongy, moist white cake and decadent buttercream frosting, you will see that this is a match made in heaven!
If I haven’t convinced you to make this yet, based on the inside, then you must focus on that gorgeous outside. The robin egg buttercream frosting, shredded coconut, and the splattered cocoa powder take this cake over the edge! It really is fantastic. You all know that I love a good dessert and this one, well, let’s just say that it takes the cake! (Pun intended!)
Ingredients to Make an Easter Cake
Like when you make anything from scratch, this ingredients list is a little long. But don’t let that scare you! Everything is probably already in your kitchen! See the recipe card at the bottom of the post for exact measurements.
Cake
- Cake Flour: I like to use cake flour because it helps get that nice, soft texture.
- Granulated Sugar: To sweeten up the flavor!
- Baking Powder and Baking Soda: These will allow the cake to be light and airy.
- Salt: The salt enhances all of the flavors of the ingredients.
- Buttermilk: You can buy this at the store or make it one your own using this Buttermilk recipe.
- Lemon Juice and Lemon Zest: Fresh lemon juice and zest really adds in a bright flavor to the cake.
- Clear Vanilla: Use clear vanilla so that the color of your cake stays white.
- Vegetable Oil: This will help keep the cake nice and moist.
- Egg Whites: Again, these will help maintain that birght white color.
Lemon Curd
- Egg Yolks: This will bind the lemon curd all together.
- Granulated Sugar: Adds a sweet taste to balance out the lemon.
- Lemon Juice and Lemon Zest: This will complement the flavors in the cake.
- Salt: The sale will enhance the lemon flavor.
- Butter: I used unsalted butter and cut i into small cubest.
Buttercream
- Butter: I used unsalted butter that was at room temperature so that it mixed in more smoothly.
- Powdered Sugar: This is perfect for any frosting because it dissolves easily which creates a deliciously smooth texture!
- Vanilla Extract: This adds a sweet flavor to the frosting without being overwhelming.
- Milk: The milk will bind all of the ingredients together.
- Salt: The salt enhances all of the ingredients!
- Blue Food Coloring: This is ow I got the color to that beautiful robin egg blue!
Assembly
- Cocoa Powder and Boiling Water: This creates that gorgeous splatter that makes the cake look like a robin egg!
- Toothbrush: This is what I used to splatter the cake with.
- Coconut Flakes: Get flakes that are toasted and sweetened.
- Chocolate Eggs: These are to garnish on top of your “nest”.
How to Bake an Easter Cake
This cake is simple, easy, and incredibly festive. It tastes AMAZING, and you will want to keep this recipe on hand and just change up the frosting color to have it at ALL of your holiday get-togethers!
Cake
- Prep: Preheat the oven to 350° and spray two 8-inch cake pans with nonstick spray. Add a parchment round to the bottom of the pans and spray the parchment with the nonstick spray. Set aside.
- Whisk: In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
- Combine: Add the buttermilk, lemon juice, lemon zest, vanilla, and oil to the dry ingredients and beat with the paddle attachment of a stand mixer or a hand mixer just until fully combined.
- Whip Egg Whites: In a separate bowl, whip the egg whites until they reach medium stiff peaks. Fold the egg whites carefully into the batter just until the streaks of egg whites have been absorbed.
- Bake and Cool: eparate the batter evenly into the two cake pans and bake for 35-40 minutes, or until the center of the cake springs back when pressed on. Let cool completely. I find the cake is easiest to frost when it has been chilled, so wrap each cake in a couple layers of plastic wrap and store in the fridge for at least 2 hours or overnight.
Lemon Curd
- Whisk: While the cake is baking prepare the lemon curd by whisking the egg yolks, sugar, lemon juice, lemon zest and salt together in a medium saucepan. Heat over medium heat, whisking constantly, for about 3-4 minutes, until the mixture starts to thicken.
- Cook: Add in the butter and whisk until it is all melted. Continue to cook until the mixture if very thick and coats the back of a spoon. Because this is intended to fill a cake, you want to make sure the curd is quite thick and not runny.
- Strain and Chill: Remove from the heat and strain through a fine mesh sieve into a bowl. Press a layer of plastic wrap against the surface of the curd and chill for at least 2 hours, or overnight.
Buttercream
- Beat Butter: In the bowl of a mixer, beat the butter using the paddle attachment for 3-4 minutes, until it is light in color and fluffy in texture.
- Add the Rest of the Ingredients: Add the powdered sugar, salt, and milk. Mix on low until the powdered sugar is mostly absorbed, then increase the speed to medium and beat for 4-5 minutes, until the buttercream is nice and fluffy.
- Tint with Food Coloring: Tint the frosting a light blue or add 1 drop of green to the blue if you would like more of a light teal color. Set aside until ready to frost the cake.
Assembly
- Pipe: Place one cake round on your cake plate and using a piping bag with a large round tip, or the end of the bag snipped off, pipe a thick border of buttercream around the top of it to create a well in the center for the lemon curd filling.
- Add Lemon Curd and More Frosting: Fill the center of the well with lemon curd and smooth. Place the second layer of cake on top. Use the piping bag of buttercream to pipe thick lines of buttercream all around the outside of the cake until it is fully covered.
- Smooth Buttercream with Spatula: Use an offset spatula to smooth the sides and tops of the cake, wiping excess buttercream onto the side of a bowl as you go.
- Flick with Toothbrush: In a small bowl combine the cocoa powder and boiling water until the cocoa powder is completely dissolved. Dip the tines of a clean, unused toothbrush into the mixture and use your thumb to flick the tines at the cake. This will splatter the cocoa powder mixture onto the cake and give it that distinct speckled egg look.
- Make Nest: Make a pile (a nest!) of toasted coconut on top of the cake (or several smaller nests) and decorate with the chocolate eggs.
- Chill: Keep chilled until ready to serve.
Easter Cake Baking Tips
This Easter cake is perfect for spring! Once you taste its goodness, you’ll never reach for a store-bought cake mix again!
- Use room temperature ingredients: Using eggs, water and butter that are not cold and are at room temperature will help the cake batter come together more easily. And not only that but it will help the cake be smoother!
- Don’t Overmix: Ovemixing the batter takes away the fluffiness of this Easter cake! It makes the texture gummy and chewy. So just mix until everything is combined and then stop.
- Don’t Open the Oven Early: I know that we all want to see how our cake is baking up in the oven! But don’t give in to the temptation to open the oven while it’s baking! Use the light instead! If you open the oven too soon, it releases too much hot air. This lowers the baking temperature around your cake and the cake will collapse. So, if you must open it to see then try to wait until at least 35 minutes into the baking time.
Change the Color!
This Easter cake can be changed to work for just about any occasion. You can make it differently every Easter by creating it in other pastel colors like pink, green, purple, and yellow. Or, you can change up the color of the frosting altogether to make it work for birthdays, the 4th of July, or even Christmas!
How to Store Leftover Easter Cake
Once you have frosted your cake, then you can wrap plastic wrap against the exposed part of the cake to keep it from drying out. With the frosting, it can last in your fridge for up to 5 days! If you are lucky enough to have leftovers for this cake, then you will be glad to know that it’s easy to store and just as delicious the next day!
More Delicious Cake Recipes
Cake is classic, delicious and just about everyone loves it! It’s great because it works for just about every occasion and there are SO many varieties out there that you are sure to find something to please everyone. I’ve rounded up a few more recipes that you need to try if you are a cake lover like me!
Pin this now to find it later
Pin It
Easter Cake
Ingredients
Cake
- 2 ¼ Cups Cake Flour
- 1 ½ Cup Granulated Sugar
- 2 Teaspoons Baking Powder
- ½ Teaspoon Baking Soda
- ½ Teaspoon Salt
- 1 Cup Buttermilk
- ¼ Cup Fresh Lemon Juice
- 2 Tablespoons Lemon Zest
- 2 Teaspoons Clear Vanilla
- ½ Cup Vegetable Oil
- 4 Egg Whites
Lemon Curd
- 3 Large Egg Yolks
- 6 Tablespoons Granulated sugar
- ¼ Cup fresh lemon juice
- 1 ½ Tablespoons Lemon Zest
- Pinch Salt
- ¼ Cup Unsalted Butter cut into small cubes
Buttercream
- 2 Cups Unsalted Butter room temperature
- 2 Lbs Powdered Sugar
- 1 ½ Tablespoons Vanilla Extract
- 1 Tablespoon Milk
- 1 Pinch Salt
- Blue Food Coloring
Assembly
- 1 Tablespoon Cocoa Powder
- 2 Tablespoons boiling water
- Toothbrush
- ½ Cup Coconut flakes toasted, sweetened
- Chocolate Eggs small
Instructions
Cake
- Preheat the oven to 350° and spray two 8-inch cake pans with nonstick spray. Add a parchment round to the bottom of the pans and spray the parchment with the nonstick spray. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
- Add the buttermilk, lemon juice, lemon zest, vanilla, and oil to the dry ingredients and beat with the paddle attachment of a stand mixer or a hand mixer just until fully combined.
- In a separate bowl, whip the egg whites until they reach medium-stiff peaks. Fold the egg whites carefully into the batter just until the streaks of egg whites have been absorbed.
- Separate the batter evenly into the two cake pans and bake for 35-40 minutes, or until the center of the cake springs back when pressed on. Let cool completely. I find the cake is easiest to frost when it has been chilled, so wrap each cake in a couple of layers of plastic wrap and store in the fridge for at least 2 hours or overnight.
Lemon Curd
- While the cake is baking prepare the lemon curd by whisking the egg yolks, sugar, lemon juice, lemon zest and salt together in a medium saucepan. Heat over medium heat, whisking constantly, for about 3-4 minutes, until the mixture starts to thicken.
- Add in the butter and whisk until it is all melted. Continue to cook until the mixture if very thick and coats the back of a spoon. Because this is intended to fill a cake, you want to make sure the curd is quite thick and not runny.
- Remove from the heat and strain through a fine mesh sieve into a bowl. Press a layer of plastic wrap against the surface of the curd and chill for at least 2 hours, or overnight.
Buttercream
- In the bowl of a mixer, beat the butter using the paddle attachment for 3-4 minutes, until it is light in color and fluffy in texture.
- Add the powdered sugar, salt, and milk. Mix on low until the powdered sugar is mostly absorbed, then increase the speed to medium and beat for 4-5 minutes, until the buttercream is nice and fluffy.
- Tint the frosting a light blue or add 1 drop of green to the blue if you would like more of a light teal color. Set aside until ready to frost the cake.
Assembly
- Place one cake round on your cake plate and using a piping bag with a large round tip, or the end of the bag snipped off, pipe a thick border of buttercream around the top of it to create a well in the center for the lemon curd filling.
- Fill the center of the well with lemon curd and smooth. Place the second layer of cake on top. Use the piping bag of buttercream to pipe thick lines of buttercream all around the outside of the cake until it is fully covered.
- Use an offset spatula to smooth the sides and tops of the cake, wiping excess buttercream onto the side of a bowl as you go.
- In a small bowl combine the cocoa powder and boiling water until the cocoa powder is completely dissolved. Dip the tines of a clean, unused toothbrush into the mixture and use your thumb to flick the tines at the cake. This will splatter the cocoa powder mixture onto the cake and give it that distinct speckled egg look.
- Make a pile (a nest!) of toasted coconut on top of the cake (or several smaller nests) and decorate with the chocolate eggs.
- Keep chilled until ready to serve.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
This is such a beautiful cake!!
Yummy yummy yummy. Easy to make and easy to eat. And a very pretty cake. Big hit in my house.