A beautiful spring inspired Lemon and Elderflower Cake made with elderflower syrup, lemon curd, and vanilla buttercream. Delicately flavored 6-inch layer cake to serve with extra lemon curd at a spring birthday or weekend party.

Three layer cake covered in vanilla frosting and a filling of lemon curd, with a slice being pulled out.

This recipe was inspired by visit to the French countryside, where I made a vanilla cake with acacia blossom steeped milk, homemade elderflower syrup from fresh blossoms, my trusted lemon curd recipe, and a vanilla bean buttercream. A dessert truly inspired by a French country garden!

I've adjusted the ingredients to use store bought elderflower syrup and vanilla bean paste in lace of the acacia blossoms. Now, this cake can be made all year long.

Vanilla frosted layer cake on a cake pedestal decorated with natural acacia flower blossoms.

🌿 Ingredients You Need & Why

Elderflower Syrup - Adding just a touch of floral notes with elderflower syrup enhances the overall taste experience. I love to make my own when I can find blossoms, but otherwise I use a high quality brand like Bacahna Brut.
Lemon Curd - My homemade lemon curd adds a bright citrus flavor to the layers of this elderflower vanilla cake. This recipe makes a slightly thicker curd that's perfect for filling cakes. Serve each slice with a little curd on the side.
Cake Flour - For a tender cake crumb use cake flour with 8-9% protein content. All purpose flour will also work, but the texture will be slightly more dense.
Swiss Meringue Buttercream Frosting - To stay on track with a lighter cake experience, I chose to a fluffy, not too sweet, Swiss meringue buttercream. I've also added elderflower syrup and vanilla bean paste to the frosting!

A vanilla frosted 6-inch layer cake with flower piped frosting on a speckled plate.

Reverse Creaming Method

This recipe uses the reverse creaming method to make the cake batter. Why reverse creaming works: By coating the flour with butter first, you're preventing excess gluten development, which results in an incredibly tender, fine-textured cake that's more forgiving than traditional creaming methods.

I tested this recipe using the same ingredients but in the traditional method of beating the sugar and butter together first, followed by the oil, eggs, and lastly alternating dry ingredients with the milk. When compared, the reverse method cake won every taste tests amongst friends and family.

Flour and sugar mixture in the bowl of a stand mixer.

Start by whisking together the lemon sugar, flour, baking powder, and salt in your mixing bowl until evenly combined.

Reverse creamed butter and flour mixture in a standing mixing bowl.

Add the softened butter one tablespoon at a time, mixing on medium-low speed until the mixture resembles coarse wet sand or fine breadcrumbs.

Thick cake batter in the bowl of a stand mixer.

Slowly pour the wet mixture into the sandy flour mixture in 2-3 additions, beating on medium speed until smooth.

Smooth vanilla cake batter in the bowl of a stand mixer.

The final batter should be lighter in color and pourable.

How to Assemble a Layer Cake

Here are step-by-step images showing how to make this lemon curd and elderflower layer cake. Please refer to the detailed printable recipe card at the end of this page for full measurements and written instructions.

A single layer of cake on plate, set on a cake turn table.

Trim the tops of each cake layer, so they are level. Place a single cake layer right side up on a serving plate.

A layer of cake topped with frosting and lemon curd on a cake plate.

Spread a thin layer of frosting across the top. Pipe a border of frosting around the edges, then fill the center with lemon curd.

Two layers of cake with frosting and lemon curd between each layer.

Repeat with second layer of cake.

Three layers of cake with frosting and lemon curd between each layer.

Place the top piece of cake upside down for a flat top.

A 6-inch layer cake on a cake pedestal frosted with vanilla buttercream.

Spread a thin layer of frosting on the sides and top of the cake. Chill for 10 minutes, then add a final layer of frosting and smooth.

A piping bag adding frosting to a vanilla layer cake on a serving plate.

Decorate with piped frosting.

Cake Baking Tips

Weigh Your Ingredients:
My recipes are all tested by weighing ingredient in grams to be the most accurate. By using a kitchen scale, your recipe will turn out as close to the written recipe as possible. This is the kitchen scale I use everyday.

Use High Quality Butter:
Make the cake batter with rich European style butter with 82% butterfat for the best flavor. Try brands like President, Plugra, Kerry Gold, or Vermont Creamery if you're in the States.

Weigh Cake Batter for Even Cake Layers:
To bake even layers, I always weigh the batter filled cake pans, using my kitchen scale. Tap the pans on the counter to release any extra air bubbles from the batter. Use baking strips like these, which I wrap around my cake pans for even heat distribution.
HOT TIP: Weigh the mixing bowl before starting. Then, again when it's full of batter and divide by the number of cake pans being used.

DO NOT OVER BAKE the Cake Layers:
Avoid overbaking the cake layers to keep them from becoming dry and crumbly! The cakes are done when the center sets and the edges start turning golden brown. Lightly press your finger on the center of the cake to test—if it feels slightly firm or offers a bit of resistance, it's ready.

Slice of three layer cake filled with lemon curd and covered in vanilla buttercream on a speckled plate.

How to Store Finished Cake

Fully frosted cake, and slices unsliced cake can stay at room temperature in an air-tight container for up to 2 days or in the fridge for a week. Leftover lemon curd will remain fresh for up to 2 weeks in the fridge.