Cake of the Day: Triple Lemon Layer Cake from ‘Butter Baked Goods’
Every day, Yahoo Food features delectable cakes. They taste good, they look good, and they’re made by good people — talented bakers from around the world. Today, Rosie Daykin, owner of bakery Butter Baked Goods in Vancouver B.C. shares a cake that will make you pucker from her book Butter Baked Goods.
Photo: Janis Nicolay
Triple Lemon Layer Cake
Makes 1 cake, about 8 to 12 slices
I tend to be a “go big or go home” kind of girl, so when I was creating this lemon cake I made sure to include lemon every step of the way. If you really want to take it over the top, you can add a layer of lemon curd in addition to the lemon butter cream — but then we’d have to call it the Quadruple Lemon Layer Cake!
2 ¼ cups pastry flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
1 ¼ cups whole milk
¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 ¾ cups granulated sugar
½ cup butter, room temperature
4 egg whites
½ tablespoon pure vanilla
Zest of 1 lemon
Frosting:
Lemon Butter Cream (see below)
White sprinkles
Equipment:
Two 7-inch circular cake pans buttered and floured
Preheat the oven to 350°F
Onto a large piece of parchment paper, sift together the flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
Combine the milk and 2 tablespoons of the lemon juice (the milk will curdle, so don’t be alarmed). Set aside.
In a small saucepan over medium-high heat, combine the remaining ¼ cup of lemon juice and ¼ cup of the sugar, and bring to a boil. Boil for about 1 minute. Remove from the heat and allow to cool slightly.
In a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream the butter on medium speed, until light and fluffy. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the remaining 1 ½ cups of sugar, egg whites, vanilla and lemon zest and mix until well combined.
Turn the mixer to low and add the dry ingredients and milk alternately (begin and end with the dry). Scrape down the sides of the bowl at least twice during the mixing process. Spoon the batter evenly into the prepared pans.
Bake in the preheated oven for 25 to 30 minutes or until a wooden skewer inserted into the center comes out clean. The tops should be flat and lightly browned.
Meanwhile, prepare the Lemon Butter Cream (see below).
Remove from the oven and allow to cool briefly invert onto wire racks. You may need to run a sharp knife around the edge of the pan if the cakes do not easily fall when first inverted.
Use a wooden skewer to poke small holes all over the bottom of each cake. Use a small pastry brush to coat the bottom of each with the lemon syrup several times. Allow the cakes to cool completely.
Place one of the cakes on a cake stand or board, bottom side up. Use an offset spatula to spread a generous helping of Lemon Butter Cream smoothly and evenly across it. Place the second layer on top, bottom side down. Apply a crumb coat to ice the top and sides. Finish with a light dusting of light white sprinkles.
Lemon Butter Cream
Makes 4 cups, enough for one 7-inch cake or 18 cupcakes
2 cups butter, room temperature
4 cups icing sugar, sifted
½ cup whole milk
Zest of 1 lemon
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 drop yellow food coloring (optional, to give to a soft lemony color)
In a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter on high speed until very pale in color. Stop the mixer and scrape down the sides of the bowl at least twice while beating the butter.
Turn the mixer to low and slowly add the icing sugar. Mix until well combined then slowly add the milk, lemon zest, lemon juice and food coloring (if using). Scrape down the sides of the bowl again.
Turn the mixer to high and let it run for at least 10 to 12 minutes, until the butter cream is light and fluffy.
Reprinted with permission from Butter Baked Goods by Rosie Daykin, Copyright © 2013 by Appetite by Random House. Photography by Janis Nicolay.
More cakes that will make you pucker:
Lemon, Coconut, and Strawberry Cake
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