Monday, June 29, 2009

1234 Lemon Cake!!

Lemon Cake is my Dad's FAVORITE CAKE!! So I decided to make this cake for him on Father's Day. He LOVED it!! And I must admit that this recipe was VERY GOOD. The cake was very moist, and the butter cream icing was very very good :) I made a few adjustments to this recipe. I used cake flour instead of all-purpose, I doubled the lemon curd recipe, I used a lemon butter cream icing, and I added about 1 tbsp of lemon juice to the cake. Well try this out and ENJOY!!! It’s really good :)

1234 Lemon Cake

· 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature, plus more for pans
· 3 cups sifted all-purpose flour, plus more for pans
· 1 tablespoon baking powder
· 1 teaspoon baking soda
· 1/2 teaspoon salt
· 2 cups granulated sugar
· 4 large eggs, lightly beaten
· 1 1/4 cups buttermilk
· 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
· Grated zest of 2 lemons
· 3 cups Lemon Curd
· Sweetened Whipped Cream
· 12 ounces assorted fresh berries
· Confectioners' sugar, for dusting


Directions
1. Heat oven to 350 degrees.arrange two racks in center of oven. Butter two 8-by-2-inch round cake pans; line bottoms with parchment paper. Dust bottoms and sides of pans with flour; tap out any excess.
2. In a large bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
3. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter on medium speed until softened, 1 to 2 minutes. Gradually add granulated sugar, beating on medium speed until lightened, 3 to 4 minutes; scrape down sides once or twice. Drizzle in eggs, a little at a time, beating after each addition until batter is no longer slick, about 5 minutes; stop once or twice to scrape down sides.
4. On low speed, alternately add flour mixture and buttermilk, a little of each at a time, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Beat in vanilla and lemon zest.
5. Divide batter evenly between the prepared pans. Bake 25 minutes, then rotate the pans in the oven for even browning. Continue baking until a cake tester inserted into the center of each cake comes out clean, 10 to 20 minutes more. Transfer pans to wire racks to cool, 15 minutes. Turn out cakes; set on racks, tops up, until completely cool.
6. Remove the parchment from bottom of each cake. Using a serrated knife, slice each layer in half horizontally. Set aside the prettiest domed layer for the top of cake. Place another domed layer, dome-side down, on a serving platter. Spread 1 cup lemon curd over surface to within 1/2 inch from edges. Place second cake layer over the first, and spread another 1 cup curd over top. Repeat with third cake layer and remaining cup curd. Transfer partially assembled cake to the refrigerator.
7. Just before serving, place reserved dome on top of cake. Spoon sweetened whipped cream over the top. Sprinkle with mixed berries, and dust with confectioners’ sugar through a fine sieve.

LEMON CURD

Makes 1 1/2 cups
· 3 large egg yolks, strained
· Zest of 1/2 lemon
· 1/4 cup lemon juice
· 6 tablespoons sugar
· 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, cold, cut into pieces


Directions
1. Combine yolks, lemon zest, lemon juice, and sugar in a small saucepan. Whisk to combine. Set over medium heat, and stir constantly with a wooden spoon, making sure to stir sides and bottom of pan. Cook until mixture is thick enough to coat back of wooden spoon, 5 to 7 minutes.
2. Remove saucepan from heat. Add butter, one piece at a time, stirring with the wooden spoon until consistency is smooth.
3. Transfer mixture to a medium bowl. Lay a sheet of plastic wrap directly on the surface of the curd to avoid a skin from forming; wrap tightly. Let cool; refrigerate until firm and chilled, at least 1 hour. Store refrigerated in an airtight container up to 2 days.

LEMON BUTTER CREAM ICING

4 cups confectioners' sugar
1/2 cup butter, softened
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
2 tablespoons milk

2 comments:

  1. 350 degrees of Celcius? God, seems like the cake is going to be burned instead of baking.

    ReplyDelete
  2. lol!!! 350 Fahrenheit, and it did bake fast :)

    ReplyDelete