What is it about
a lemon that makes me think of fresh and light? Not sure I would call this cake light but I would call it
fresh and fluffy and tangy and yummy.
I made this for
as part of my Mother’s Day brunch for dinner. It fit in well with my yellow themed dessert table but I
could have just as easily left the frosting white and it would have looked and
tasted equally as delicious. I did not use lemon oil in the frosting because between the cake and the curd filling, I thought it was enough lemon.
I had really
wanted to post it before Mother’s Day but somehow time got away from me. I’m pretty sure a lot of the time was
spent hunting down yellow candy, sewing the yellow banner and yellow tablecloth and
not blogging … but I digress.
It’s a great all
year round special occasion cake.
And here is how
to made it….
Ingredients
LEMON CAKE
1 cup unsalted butter
(room temp)
2 cups sugar
4 large eggs
1½ cups
self-rising flour*
1¼ cups
all-purpose flour
¾ cup milk (I used 1%)
¼ cup fresh lemon juice
2 tsp grated lemon rind
LEMON CURD FILLING
3 TBSP lemon zest
1 cup fresh lemon juice
1 ½ cups sugar
1 cup butter (cut into 1
tbsp pieces)
[NOTE: I always grate the lemons and then squeeze them -- and I do this before I get all the other ingredients together.]
FLUFFY ICING
3 egg whites
½ cup cold water
1 ½ suagar
½ tsp cream of tartar
[food gel if you want to
colour the icing]
Directions
& Tips
LEMON CAKE
Preheat oven to
350o.
Grease and
lightly flour two or three 9” round cake pans. I use a cake release by Pillsbury that has flour in it – it
is clean and easy and works like a charm.
In a large bowl,
on a medium speed of an electric mixer, cream butter. Add sugar gradually and beat until fluffy, three to five minutes. Add eggs one as a time. Combine the flours and add in four
parts, alternating with milk and lemon juice and zest, beating well after each
addition. Divide the matter among
the cake pans. Bake for 20 to 25
minutes or until a cake tester inserted into the centre of the cake comes out
clean. Let cakes cool in pans for
10 minutes. Remove from pans and cool completely on wire rack. I actually made my cake the day before
and wrapped in saran wrap.
Spread the curd
evenly between layers (you may have extra curd which is great with toast) and
use the icing for the top and sides.
[NOTE: if you want to skip the curd you can simply use the icing for the
whole cake]
LEMON CURD FILLING
Whisk egg yolks,
lemon zest, lemon juice and sugar in a saucepan until well combined. Over a medium heat cook for about 20
minutes until the curd comes to a nice thick consistency. You will need to stir constantly and
watch carefully as the curd cooks.
Remove from heat and add butter one tablespoon at a time, stirring until
it is melted and mixed in.
Refrigerate overnight until firm.
FLUFFY ICING
In a medium-size
saucepan over high heat, combine the water with the sugar and the cream of
tartar. As the mixture begins to
bubble stir to ensure the sugar is dissolved then let it come to a good boil
(about 3 minutes) and remove from heat.
While the sugar
is boiling, whip the egg whites until thick (about 2-3 minutes) with an
electric mixer.
This is an
awesome icing that I use over and over again. It beats up quite a bit so you can half it if you are using
the lemon curd filling.
I added some
lemon sugar candies around the cake and really liked the way it turned out.
If you make this
cake, let me know your tips and tricks you used to impress your guests.
