This Lemon Chantilly Cake has soft lemon cake layers with a fluffy vanilla cream cheese frosting for a light, summery dessert that is worthy of turning on your oven! It stays moist up to 4 days, so it’s a perfect make ahead for your next summer dinner party.

ingredients you’ll need:

Cake Flour, or all purpose flour
Lemons
Granulated Cane Sugar
Baking Powder
Baking Soda
Fine Sea Salt
Unsalted Butter, softened, cubed
Olive Oil
Eggs, room temperature
Whole Milk, room temperature
Vanilla Extract

tip for making the cream cheese frosting:

Beating your frosting for longer periods of times (even up to 15 minutes) can help create a velvety, fluffy texture that just melts in your mouth! However, keep a close eye on your stand mixer and bowl to make sure it doesn’t over heat and begin loosening the texture of your frosting.

If you feel your frosting is too soft, place it in the fridge for 20-30 minutes to firm up and beat 1-2 more minutes.

how to store cake:

Store the cake slices in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4-5 days. When ready to enjoy, let rest at room temperature for at least 10-15 minutes to help soften the frosting.

How to Make Homemade Lemon Curd:

As of the last year, I’ve been LOVING taking a little extra time to make homemade lemon curd to add in-between each layer for that extra citrus kick!! I would recommend adding a thin layer of frosting, then a 1/4″ to 1/2″ border along each cake layer edge to keep the lemon curd from spilling out.

ingredients you’ll need:

1 cup granulated cane sugar
2 tablespoons lemon zest, about 2 lemons
6 egg yolks
1/2 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/2 (1 stick) COLD butter, cubed

how to make the lemon curd:

combine the sugar and lemon zest in a saucepan. rub together with your fingers for 30 seconds to release lemon essence.
whisk in the egg yolk until smooth, then pour the lemon juice in a thin gradual stream as you whisk.
place the saucepan over Medium-Low heat, the stir constantly until it bubbles and easily coats the back of a wooden spoon.
remove from heat to stir in the butter until completely melted and smooth.
pour into shallow bowl, then cover the surface with plastic wrap to prevent it from hardening on top. place in the fridge to cool completely.

This lemon curd recipe can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 6-7 days!

*Recipe has been slightly modified from original video as of July 1st, 2025! The modifications include reducing the amount of frosting and helping any rising troubles. I want this recipe to be as foolproof as possible for you all, so I hope these small adjustments help!

My Homemade Raspberry Rhubarb Jam Recipe:

4 cups frozen raspberries
2 cups chopped rhubarb
1 cup granulated cane sugar – can be reduced if desired.
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons water
1 tablespoon cornstarch

in a large saucepan, combine the raspberries, rhubarb, sugar, and fresh lemon juice. Stir to combine, then place over medium high heat. Bring to a boil, stirring frequently to prevent any burning.
Reduce heat to LOW to simmer for 10 to 15 minutes, until slightly thickened.
In a small bowl, whisk the water and cornstarch together to make a slurry. Stir into the jam. It should thicken up like jam almost immediately. If not, let simmer another 2 to 3 minutes.
Transfer to a clean glass jar. Let cool to room temperature for 1 hour, then give it a stir and add the lid to store in the fridge up to 10 days.

I made my friends’ engagement cake (pictured above) and here are some details I found helpful!

For the cakes, I made three batches of the cake recipe below. After slicing each cake 9″ layer in half lengthwise, I used 4 of those layers for the bottom portion. Then, I took the other 3 layers and sliced into 7″ layers. You will have 2 layers leftover which you can make mini cakes with, copycat dot cakes, or enjoy on their own with coffee!
For the inside frosting, I doubled the batch of cream cheese frosting, drizzling in melted 2 tablespoons of melted white chocolate as the buttercream was beating at the very end after it became fluffy. I spread a thin layer of frosting between each layer, then a 1″ border along the edges that was at least 1/2″ inside the cake. You don’t want the border to be too close to the cake edges or the jam can seep out. It will naturally spread out as the cake layers add weight on top of each other.
I used the remaining white chocolate buttercream to add a thin crumb layer on the exterior of each cake. Then, I placed in the fridge overnight before frosting the next day. However, just make sure you give them at least 1 hour in the fridge before continuing. For extra stability, add wooden skewers in the center of each cake stack.
Lastly, I made this Swiss meringue buttercream recipe here. Exact same measurements minus the strawberry powder. It should be stiff peaks but will still be looser than normal the cream cheese buttercream. Starting with a very generous amount of frosting on top of the cake, smooth that out with an offset spatula so it falls along the sides. Use the offset spatula to smooth out the sides. Repeat on both cake stacks.
After their final frosting, add both cake stacks in the fridge for 1 hour BEFORE stacking. This is going to help stabilize the frosting so you have a smooth transfer. I like to use two very flat, semi-large spatulas to transfer the smaller stack on top of the larger cake. Place back in the fridge for 30 minutes.
Transfer remaining swiss meringue buttercream to piping bag(s) to sit in the fridge for 30 to 40 minutes to help firm up with the cakes then decorate as playful as you dream up!

Cook with me!

PART 1: ENGAGEMENT CAKE

PART 2: ENGAGEMENT CAKE