My husband and son celebrate
their birthdays during mid-October. Both of them love lemon cake, so I made
this luscious cake and it was a great hit!
Lemon-Lovers Cake
For the Cake
Ingredients:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups white sugar
1/2 cup butter, melted
3 large eggs
1 cup buttermilk*
2 tablespoon lemon rind,
finely minced**
3 tablespoon lemon juice
1.
Pre-heat oven
350°. Prepare 2 eight-inch round banking pans by spraying with cooking spray.
Line bottoms with circles of waxed paper (optional).
2.
In a large bowl,
combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and sugar. Stir to combine
well.
3.
Add remaining
ingredients and stir until all ingredients are incorporated.
4.
Divide the batter
between the 2 pans and bake 30-35 minutes, or until wooden toothpick comes out
clean.
5.
Let cool in pans
for 10 minutes, then turn out cakes onto wire rack to cool completely.
For the Filling:
1 10-ounce jar lemon curd***
1.
Spread entire jar
of curd on top of one cake.
2.
Top with second
cake.
For the Icing:
1/4 cup butter, melted
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 tablespoon lemon rind,
finely minced**
2 – 2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1.
In a medium-sized
bowl, add lemon juice and rind to the melted butter. Stir to combine.
2.
Add 2 cups
powdered sugar and stir to combine. Add more sugar until desired consistency is
reached.
Notes:
I like a thinner icing so I
can smear it over the top and let the icing drip down the sides of the cake (see picture). If you like a thicker icing, simply add a little more powdered sugar.
* If you don’t have
buttermilk on hand, you can create sour milk by adding 1 tablespoon of lemon
juice (or vinegar) to a 1 a measuring cup and top off with milk to reach the 1
cup needed. Let sit for several minutes to curdle.
**I use a microplane/zester
to remove the yellow part only of the lemon.
***Most grocery stores sell
lemon curd in the jelly/jam section. Look on the top shelf, near the specialty jellies.
Or you can make you own lemon curd. Either option works well in this recipe.
What's YOUR favorite cake to bake for that special person's birthday?
