*Meghan Markle’s honey lemon layer cake, showcased in her Netflix series “With Love, Meghan,” inspired this enhanced recipe from The Stush Kitchen, which elevates the original’s flavor and texture.
Featured in the pilot episode, “Hello, Honey!,” the Duchess crafted a three-layer cake with lemon zest, honey, and olive oil for her friend Daniel Martin, decorating it with raspberry preserves, buttercream, fresh raspberries, and lemon verbena leaves. The creator of the upgraded recipe notes that, while charming, the cake lacked vibrant lemon flavor and a tender crumb, prompting adjustments. Markle confessed, “baking is not [her] favorite thing, but she will do it for her favorite people,” and this refined version builds on her vision, creating a stunning dessert ideal for spring celebrations.
This recipe uses cake flour instead of all-purpose for a softer texture and bakes at 325°F to prevent doming, unlike Markle’s 350°F method. Rubbing zest from three lemons into the sugar boosts citrus intensity, addressing the original’s faint lemon taste. A simplified honey glaze, made without lemon juice to avoid sourness, enhances sweetness, while full-fat sour cream replaces milk for added moisture and a complementary tang.
The olive oil ensures a soft, refrigerated cake, and the heavy buttercream is swapped for a light mascarpone Chantilly cream. Markle’s choice of raspberry preserves over jam, which she said preserves the fruit’s natural flavor, remains a brilliant touch. Hand-mixing prevents overworked gluten, and a piping bag ensures precise assembly, improving on Markle’s Ziploc bag suggestion. Topped with raspberries and mint leaves (substituting lemon verbena), this cake shines at garden parties.
Get the full recipe below.
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Ingredients for Cake:
- Zest of 3 lemons
- 1 ½ cups (300g) granulated white sugar
- 2 ¼ cups (270g) cake flour, sifted
- 2 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ cup (120ml) extra virgin olive oil
- ¾ cup (180g) full-fat sour cream
- 3 large eggs, room temperature
- ¾ cup raspberry preserves
- Fresh raspberries and mint leaves for garnish
Ingredients for Honey Glaze:
- ¼ cup (60ml) hot water
- ¼ cup (85g) honey
- Zest of 1 lemon
Ingredients for Mascarpone Chantilly Cream:
- 1 ½ cups (360ml) cold heavy whipping cream
- ½ cup (60g) confectioner’s sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla bean paste (or vanilla extract)
- 8 oz (225g) mascarpone cheese
Instructions for Cake:
- Preheat oven to 325°F. Prepare three 8-inch round cake pans with baking spray and optional parchment circles.
- In a large bowl, rub lemon zest and sugar together for 2 minutes until it resembles kinetic sand, releasing citrus flavor.
- Add sifted cake flour, baking powder, and salt to the sugar mixture. Stir to combine.
- In a separate bowl, whisk olive oil, sour cream, and eggs until smooth.
- Combine wet and dry ingredients, stirring until batter is smooth.
- Divide batter evenly among pans, leveling with a spatula or by tapping pans on the counter.
- Bake on the middle rack for 20-30 minutes, until cakes spring back when touched or a skewer has a few crumbs. Avoid overbaking.
- For the glaze, mix hot water, honey, and lemon zest in a heat-proof bowl. Set aside.
- After baking, cool cakes slightly, poke with a toothpick, and spoon glaze over warm cakes. Cool completely, wrapping in plastic if assembling later.
Instructions for Mascarpone Chantilly Cream:
- Just before assembly, whip heavy cream, confectioner’s sugar, and vanilla in a stand mixer with a whisk attachment on high until soft peaks form (peaks flop like a Santa hat).
- Add mascarpone and whip on medium-high until stiff peaks form, about 1 minute. Transfer to a piping bag with a tip.
Instructions for Assembly:
- Place one cake layer on a stand or plate. Pipe a border of Chantilly cream along the edge and a circle with a dollop in the center. Fill gaps with raspberry preserves.
- Repeat with the second layer.
- Add the third layer, inverted for a flat top. Spread a thin layer of cream on top with an offset spatula, dragging excess down the sides at a 45° angle for a clean edge.
- Optionally, pipe rosettes in a crescent pattern on top using a rosette tip, varying sizes for effect.
- Garnish with fresh raspberries and mint leaves.
This refined cake delivers vibrant flavors and a tender texture, perfect for any occasion.
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