Looking for the perfect Easter dessert? Look no further...
This just might be my new favorite cake (although
Plates & Palates coconut cake is a very close second). When I first tried this cake at a church activity, I begged my friend for the recipe. I've seen it popping up around Pinterest lately too (see the recipe
here). If you're a sucker for lemon, this cake will curl your toes!
I made the lemon curd filling the night before. I have never made curd before, but I literally ran downstairs and shoved my finger in Chase's mouth and exclaimed, "Isn't that the most delicious thing ever!?" I felt like Julie in "Julie & Julia." Can't remember the last time I got that excited over cooking something (ok, maybe when I tacked the
macaroon). But, to me, it was that good. In my opinion, the curd is what puts this cake over the top. Ok, so here's the recipe:
Lemon Curd
Ingredients
6 large egg yolks, strained
Zest of 1 lemon
1/2 cup lemon juice
3/4 cup sugar
8 tablespoons (1 cube) unsalted butter, cold, cut into pieces
Directions
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. Remove saucepan from heat. Add butter, one piece at a time, stirring with the wooden spoon until consistency is smooth (be patient). 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 (or the night before). Makes 3 cups.
and now for the cake...
Ingredients
2 cups plus 6 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
3 cups fresh blueberries
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup whole milk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3/4 teaspoon pure lemon extract
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened about 20 minutes out of refrigerator
1 1/2 cups white sugar
4 large eggs
Method
Preheat oven to 350°F. Prepare three 8" round cake pans ( or I used two 9" round pans) with parchment paper, butter and flour. Sift dry ingredients into medium bowl. Transfer 1 tablespoon flour mixture to larger bowl. Add fresh blueberries and toss to coat them with flour. Set remaining flour mixture and blueberries aside.
Stir whole milk, sour cream, vanilla extract, lemon extract and lemon zest in small bowl. In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream butter and sugar, until pale yellow and very fluffy, about 5 minutes. Beat in eggs one at a time, until well combined. Mix in flour mixture alternately with milk mixture, starting and ending with flour mixture. Stir until just combined. Gently fold in blueberries. Divide batter equally among 8" round pans.
Bake cakes until toothpick inserted into center comes out clean, about 25-30 minutes. Cool cakes in pans on racks for about 10 minutes, then invert onto racks until completely cool. Cut tops level so they stack nicely.
1 cup soft unsalted butter
2 teaspoons lemon zest
5 cups icing sugar (or 6 cups for sweeter, thicker version)
1/4+ cup or 60 ml fresh lemon juice
6 tablespoons whipping cream
1/2 teaspoon pure lemon extract
2 tablespoons water
pinch salt
Method
Cream butter and lemon zest in bowl of electric mixer fitted with paddle attachment, about 3 minutes. Slowly add icing sugar, mixing on low speed for about 2 minutes. Add remaining ingredients and beat on med-high for 3-4 minutes until very fluffy. Yields enough to frost outside of three layer 8" round cake.
Assembly
Transfer one cake layer to a board or cake stand. Spread the top with a generous amount of lemon curd. Top with another cake layer. Add more curd. Add final cake layer. Frost the entire cake. Add berries, sliced lemons, or even coconut as decor (optional). Keep refrigerated until ready to serve.
... and best of all, slice and serve!
I shared the cake with the extended Oborn clad during our annual
General Conference get-together. We had a great dinner (and dessert.. he he), followed by games. This family loves to play games, so I introduced a new game called "Three Deep" to the group. You basically create teams of three with words. For example, a "color" team would have words such as "red (bottom)," "green (middle)," and "blue (bottom)" all on a separate piece of paper. Or you could create a "movies" team, with the words "Titanic (bottom)," "Dumb & Dumber (middle)," and "The Sound of Music (top)." Simply get creative and think of three words that create a "team." Then, next to each word, you write the word "top," "middle" or "bottom." I typed-out a bunch of words/teams ahead of time. Once you've created the exact amount of words for participating players, you put the pieces of paper on the floor and yell "GO!" Everyone runs to the middle and grabs a piece of paper. Then you start yelling out your word on the paper. It gets really loud (and really funny to watch). Once you find others whose words fit within your "team," you find a place to sit "three deep," with the correct person sitting on the bottom, middle, and top. The last team standing is out. They keep their papers and everyone else puts theirs back in the middle. You repeat this process until the last two groups battle it out for the win.
It's a loud, fast-paced, and super fun game for a big group!
Thanks Mark & Shell for always being the greatest hosts!
