6 Inch Sunshine Citrus Cake

This 6 inch sunshine citrus cake cures the cold weather blues with bright flavor, a light and springy cake crumb, and creamy whipped frosting. This whipped frosting is lightly sweetened, so it doesn’t overpower the cake’s tangy citrus flavor. Use lemon, orange, and/or lime juice and zest in the cake batter and don’t forget the homemade lemon curd!

This is Sunshine on a Cake Stand

I endlessly tested this cake recipe during a week of freezing rain and ice, taste tested the final version with a few friends as snow fell outside, and photographed the cake on a cold day with 40mph wind slamming against my window. And so we’re calling it sunshine citrus cake because nothing is more fitting as we yearn for warmer, brighter days ahead!

Sunshine Citrus Cake Details

• Flavor: If you love the sweet, sour, and refreshing flavor of fresh citrus fruits, you will fall in love with today’s cake recipe. Cream butter and sugar together for a minute before adding fresh orange, lemon, and lime zest. In this creaming step, we’re infusing flavor right into the base of the cake. Add fresh-squeezed juice into the batter when you add milk. We’ll also prepare fresh lemon curd which you’ll mix with whipped frosting to fill the cake. You have control over the citrus used, so if you want to skip the orange– go right ahead! You can also add grapefruit, use blood orange, or stick with plain lemon.
• Texture: The crumb is light and springy, but still holds up nicely to the creamy whipped frosting.
• Size: This is a 6-inch 3 layer cake. 6 inch cakes are massively popular right now because they’re a more manageable size. If you have a small family or gathering, there’s not as much leftover plus the smaller size makes for easier assembling, decorating, and serving. If you don’t have 6 inch cake pans, they’re a wonderful size to consider. I use and love (affiliate link) these 6 inch pans. And if you visit my 6 inch cakes page, you’ll find dozens of recipes to try!
• Ease: Even though the round layer cake is a smaller size than a traditional 9-inch cake, there are a few steps requiring your focus including making the lemon curd, carefully whipping the frosting, and applying a crumb coat.

Three Parts to Sunshine Citrus Cake & Why This Recipe Works

This recipe combines citrus cake layers, a lemon curd-infused whipped frosting filling, and plain whipped frosting around the exterior.

1. Lemon Curd: Have you ever made lemon curd before? If you’ve prepared lemon bars or lemon meringue pie, you’ve tasted something like it. Lemon curd is a deliciously tangy, creamy, and sweet topping you make on the stovetop that you can pair with scones, quick breads, crepes, and so much more. Homemade lemon curd tastes approximately 1,000x better than store-bought and you only need 5 ingredients to make it. (And all of those ingredients are also needed in the cake! How convenient!) Prepare the lemon curd first because it must cool and thicken. Do you want to use other citrus in the curd? See recipe note below. The pictured cake has orange zest in the curd.
2. Citrus Cake Layers: The cake recipe comes from my perfect lemon cupcakes. The batters are nearly identical except today we’re using a combination of citrus and infusing citrus zest into the creamed butter/sugar mixture. Most cupcake recipes yielding 12-15 cupcakes make the perfect amount of batter for a 3 layer 6 inch cake. One dozen cupcakes usually takes about 3-4 cups of cake batter, which divides perfectly between 3 6 inch cake layers.
3. Whipped Frosting: Have you tried this not-so-sweet whipped frosting yet? Now is your chance. But today’s version uses slightly less heavy cream so the frosting has a little more cream cheese flavor and it’s a bit sturdier as well. I wanted a sturdier frosting because we’re mixing some of it with lemon curd, which thins it out.

That was a lot of information to prep you! If you made it down this far, you’re completely ready to begin this recipe. I hope you love this drop of sunshine.

Sunshine Citrus Cake

5 from 1 reviews

• Prep Time:1 hour (plus lemon curd cooling)
• Cook Time:20 minutes
• Total Time:5 hours, 20 minutes (includes cooling)
• Yield:serves 8

PRINT the RECIPEPIN the RECIPEQUESTIONS & REVIEWS

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Description

This sunshine citrus cake cures the cold weather blues with bright flavor, a light and springy cake crumb, and creamy whipped frosting. Be sure to set aside enough time to prepare the lemon curd in advance.

Ingredients

Lemon Curd

• 2 large egg yolks
• 1 large egg
• 2/3 cup (134g) granulated sugar
• 1 Tablespoon lemon zest (about 1 lemon)
• 1/3 cup (80ml) fresh lemon juice (about 2–3 lemons)
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 6 Tablespoons (86g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature

Cake

• 1 and 1/2 cups (188g) all-purpose flour (spoon & leveled)
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup (115g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
• 1 cup (200g) granulated sugar
• 1 and 1/2 Tablespoons citrus zest (combination of lemon, orange, and lime or other, see note)
• 2 large eggs, at room temperature
• 1 and 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup (120ml) whole milk, at room temperature
• 1/3 cup (80ml) freshly squeezed citrus juice (combination of lemon, orange, and lime or other, see note)

Whipped Frosting

• 6 ounces (170g) block full-fat cream cheese, softened to room temperature
• 3/4 cup (90g) confectioners’ sugar
• 1 and 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 1 cup (240ml) cold heavy cream or heavy whipping cream (very cold!)
• optional: sliced citrus fruits or citrus twists to garnish

Instructions

1. Make the lemon curd: Fill the bottom pot of your double boiler with 1-2 inches of water. (Or use the DIY double boiler method listed in the notes.) Place on high heat. Once the water begins to boil, reduce to low heat to keep the water at a simmer. Place egg yolks, egg, granulated sugar, lemon zest, lemon juice, and salt into the top pot of your double boiler. Using a silicone whisk (avoid metal because it leaves an aftertaste), whisk until completely blended and then continue to whisk as the curd cooks. Whisk and cook until the mixture becomes thick and is the consistency of hollandaise sauce or a really thick soup, about 10 minutes or when an instant read thermometer reaches 160°F (71°C). If curd isn’t thickening, turn up the heat and constantly whisk. Remove pan from heat. Cut the butter into 6 separate pieces and then whisk into the curd until butter has melted and combined. Pour curd into a jar or bowl and place a piece of plastic wrap directly on top so it is touching the top of the curd. This prevents a skin from forming on top. The curd will continue to thicken as it cools. Place in refrigerator to speed up cooling. Once cool, the plastic wrap can be removed. Refrigerate the curd for up to about 10 days or for longer storage, you can freeze the cooled curd for up to 3-6 months. Thaw in the refrigerator overnight before enjoying. Makes 1 heaping cup.
2. Make the cake: Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Grease three 6×2 inch cake pans, line with parchment paper, then grease the parchment paper. Parchment paper helps the small cakes seamlessly release from the pans.
3. Whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt together in a medium bowl. Set aside. Using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle or whisk attachment, beat the butter and sugar together on medium-high speed until combined, about 1 minute. Scrape down the sides and up the bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula and then add the citrus zest. Beat on medium-high speed until combined and creamy, about 2 minutes. Add the eggs and vanilla extract. Beat on medium-high speed until combined. Scrape down the sides and up the bottom of the bowl and beat again as needed to combine. Add half of the flour mixture (just eyeball it), half of the milk, and half of the citrus juice. Beat on low speed until mostly combined, and then add the remaining flour mixture, milk, and citrus juice. Beat on low speed until combined. Do not over-mix. You may need to whisk it all by hand to make sure there are no large lumps at the bottom of the bowl. The batter will be slightly thick with some small lumps. You will have between 3.5 – 4 cups of batter.
4. Divide and pour batter evenly into cake pans. If batter appears to have bubbles, give the pans a light tap on the counter to pop them. Bake cakes for 18-21 minutes or until baked through. To test for doneness, insert a toothpick into the center of the cake. If it comes out clean, it’s done.
5. Allow cakes to cool completely in the pans set on a wire rack for 30 minutes. Remove cakes from the pans and set them on a wire rack to cool completely. The cakes must be completely cool before frosting and assembling.
6. Make the whipped frosting: In a large bowl using a hand-held mixer or stand mixer fitted with a whisk or paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese on medium-high speed until creamy, about 1 minute. Scrape down the sides and up the bottom of the bowl and beat again as needed until creamy. Add the confectioners’ sugar and vanilla extract, and then beat on medium speed until combined and completely smooth (absolutely no lumps), at least 2 full minutes. Scrape down the sides and up the bottom of the bowl and beat again as needed to smooth out. Switch to a whisk attachment (if you haven’t already been using it). Turn the mixer to low speed and with the mixer running, carefully pour in the cream in a slow and steady stream. After all of the cream has been added, turn the mixer up to high speed and whip until thick and stiff peaks form, about 1-2 minutes. Do not walk away during this time and do not be concerned if your frosting takes longer to whip. You’re looking for a thick, airy consistency with stiff peaks. If your frosting appears soupy now or at any point you are working with it, it needs more whipping to introduce more air. If your frosting appears chunky or curdled, it’s over-whipped. To fix, stir 1 Tablespoon of heavy cream into the frosting by hand to smooth out again. You will have about 2.5 cups of frosting.
7. Make lemon curd frosting filling: Spoon 1 cup of frosting (about 240ml– almost half of it) into a separate bowl. Stir in 3 heaping Tablespoons of cooled lemon curd. This will be your filling for the cake. Enjoy remaining lemon curd drizzled on the cake slices or as a topping on other baked goods.
8. Assemble & crumb coat the cake: First, make sure you have enough room for the cake inside your refrigerator because it must chill at the end of this step and briefly in the next step as well. If the cake layers aren’t flat on top, carefully and slowly level them off using a large serrated knife. Discard (or crumble over ice cream!). Place 1 cake layer on your cake stand, cake turntable, or serving plate. Evenly cover the top with 1/2 of the lemon curd frosting. Top with 2nd cake layer and evenly cover the top with remaining lemon curd frosting (if you have extras, just use it on the exterior of the cake). Top with the third cake layer. Spread a very thin layer of regular whipped frosting on top and all around the sides of the cake to create a crumb coat. A bench scraper and small icing spatula are handy for this. Refrigerate uncovered for 30 minutes.
9. Add remaining frosting on chilled crumb-coated cake using a small icing spatula or a larger flat icing spatula. Use a bench scraper, if desired, to smooth out the sides. Refrigerate the decorated cake uncovered for at least 30 minutes to help set the frosting. After that, if you used a cake turntable, you can carefully transfer the cake to a cake stand or serving plate using a couple flat spatulas.
10. After 30 minutes in the refrigerator, the decorated cake is fine to slice and serve or sit out at room temperature for a few hours. Cover leftover cake tightly and store in the refrigerator for 5 days.