The Ultimate Lemon Cake

The Ultimate Lemon Cake

With 5 different lemon components to this cake, it is not hard to see why I have dubbed it my ultimate lemon cake. I start with a homemade lemon scratch cake which gets brushed with some tangy lemon syrup, then filled with alternating layers of rich lemon curd and lemon buttercream frosting before being covered in more of the lemon frosting and finally garnished with homemade candied lemon zest. This is the perfect celebration cake for that lemon lover in your life.

Lemon Cake

Sift together and set aside:

• 2 3/4 cups cake flour
• 3 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt

Cream together until fluffy:

• 1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 2 cups sugar

Add, one at a time, beating well after every addition;

• 4 eggs at room temperature

Beat in

• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Fold in:

• zest of one large lemon, finely minced

Gently fold in the dry ingredients in three equal portions, alternately with

• 1 1/4 cups undiluted evaporated milk

When adding dry and wet ingredients alternately in any baking recipe, always begin and end with the dry ingredients.

Pour batter evenly into 2 well greased and floured 8 inch cake pans. Bake in a 325 degree F oven for about 35-40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Watch it carefully, you will not want to over bake this cake, as soon as the toothpick comes out clean, remove the cake from the oven and let it rest in the pans for 5 minutes before turning it out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

Candied Lemon Peel

Using a very sharp vegetable peeler remove the outside zest of 2 large lemons in large strips, avoiding the white part of the peel as much as possible. Add to a very small pot along with:

• juice of 2 lemons
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 3/4 cup water

Simmer together gently for about 15-20 minutes. Remove zest and let it drain on a wire rack. Reserve about half the syrup to brush on the cake layers.

Lemon Curd

In a small saucepan combine:

• 6 lightly beaten egg yolks
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
• zest of one lemon, finely minced

Cook slowly over medium low heat for about 10 minutes stirring constantly until the mixture thickens enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon.

Remove from heat and stir in the butter a few pieces at a time until completely smooth.

• 1/2 cup butter cut into small pieces

Cover with plastic wrap and chill completely in the fridge.

Lemon Buttercream Frosting

• 8 cups icing sugar (i.e. powdered sugar, confectioners' sugar)
• 2 cups butter

Using an electric mixer on low, mix the butter and icing sugar together until the butter breaks up and get evenly dispersed throughout the sugar in small pieces. The mixture will still appear dry at this point. This stage ensures even distribution and prevents butter lumps in your frosting.

Add

• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 3 tbsp lemon juice
• zest of one lemon, finely minced
• Approximately 4-6 tbsp milk

Both of these liquid measures can be adjusted. The milk can be adjusted to make a thicker frosting by adding less or a more spreadable frosting by adding a little more. Use your own judgement here. The lemon juice can be adjusted to your own taste too.

When the icing reaches the desired consistently continue to beat it on high speed for 5 minutes to incorporate more air into the frosting to make it lighter and fluffier.

To construct the cake:

Split the two layers of cake horizontally to create 4 layers. Brush the reserved syrup onto the cut sides of the cake layers.

Place the first layer of cake on the cake plate and top with some of the lemon buttercream frosting. Add the next layer and using a piping bag, or a heavy plastic bag with a half inch opening snipped off the corner, pipe a ring of frosting around the perimeter of the cake. Fill the ring with half of the lemon curd. Add the next layer of cake and top with more of the frosting.

Add the final layer of cake. At this point frost the sides of the cake and pipe a border on the top and bottom. Add the second half of the lemon curd to the top of the cake and garnish the top of the cake with pieces of candied lemon zest. I use kitchen scissors to cut 1/2 inch pieces to decorate the border and then add a small pile of slivered zest to the center of the cake. Chill for several hours or overnight before serving.