The Wedding Cake Project: Part 3

So… when I said I would post my cake recipe tomorrow, I guess I really meant in a couple of days.  Sorry about that.  The weekend just got away from me and I couldn’t find a moment to sit down and type up the recipe.  (In my defense, this was a fairly long and complicated recipe to type up.)  Anyway, I finally squeezed in some quality computer time last night before bed and was able to churn this recipe out.

As I mentioned in my previous entry, this lemon cake with lemon curd turned out to be absolutely delicious.  It is definitely making it to my wedding cake menu.  But, I do want to warn you, contrary to its name, this cake is not light at all.  In fact, it may be one of the densest cakes I have ever eaten.  Nonetheless, it is still fantastic and incredibly flavorful.  But, if you have your heart set on a light and fluffy cake, this is not the cake for you.  That being said, I highly recommend it and hope you take the time to make it.  It will be well worth your effort.

Cake Love’s Light and Lemony Cake with

Lemon Curd and Italian Meringue Buttercream

Cake:

Dry

All-purpose unbleached flour, 1 ½ cups + 3 tablespoons

Potato starch, 2 tablespoons

Salt, ½ teaspoon

Baking soda, ¼ teaspoon

Liquid

Lemons, 2

Sour cream, ¼ cup

Heavy cream, ¼ cup

Whole milk, ¼ cup

Limoncello, 1 tablespoon (optional)

Vanilla extract, ½ teaspoon

Lemon oil, ¼ teaspoon

Creaming

Unsalted butter (room temperature), ½ cup

Cream cheese, 3 ounces

White sugar, 2 cups

Lemon zest, 1 tablespoon

eggs, 4 large

egg yolk, 1 large

Preheat the oven to 350 °F.

Mix all of the dry ingredients together.  Set aside.  Mix all of the liquid ingredients together.  Set aside.  Crack the eggs into a separate bowl.  Set aside.

In the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream together the butter, cream cheese, sugar, and zest at the lowest speed for 3 to 4 minutes.  Add the eggs, one at a time, fully incorporating after each addition.  Add the dry ingredients alternately with the liquid ingredients, frequently scraping down the sides and bottom of the bowl.

Prepare the 9-inch round pans by spraying with nonstick spray and lining with parchment paper.  Divide the batter evenly between 2 pans.

Bake for approximately 30 minutes.  Cool completely before removing from pan.

Lemon Curd:

Lemon juice (freshly squeezed), 2/3 cup

Eggs, 6 large

Egg yolks, 2 large

Sugar, 2 cups

Unsalted butter (room temperature), 1 cup

Place all of the ingredients, except for the butter, in a double boiler.  Whisk together, just enough to break up the eggs and combine the mixture.  Cut the butter and add.  Place the bowl on top of the pan of boiling water.  Bring the water to a simmer and cook the mixture over medium heat, stirring frequently.  Cook for 40-50 minutes, until the mixture reaches 180 °F, and becomes thick.  Remove from heat and pour through a fine-mesh strainer.  Let cool to room temperature.

This can be made up to a week ahead of time.  Refrigerate until needed.

Italian Meringue Buttercream:

5 egg whites

1 1/4 cups extra-fine granulated sugar (divided)

1/4 cup cold water

1 pound (4 sticks) unsalted butter

2 to 4 tablespoons of dark rum (to taste)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Separate the egg whites into the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the wire whip attachment. Measure 1 cup sugar and the water into a 1-quart, heavy-bottomed saucepan.

Gently stir with the candy thermometer to combine. Place the remaining 1/4 cup sugar into a small bowl and set aside. Cut the butter into tablespoon sized pieces and set aside in a medium bowl.

To make the sugar syrup, place the candy thermometer in the saucepan and heat the mixture over medium-high heat. Partially cover with a lid to capture the evaporating water-this helps to moisten the sides of the saucepan to prevent sugar crystals from forming.

With the mixer on high speed, begin whipping the egg whites to stiff peaks. When the peaks are stiff you have a meringue. Keep the mixer running and add the remaining 1/4 cup of sugar into the meringue.

Raise the heat under the sugar syrup to bring the syrup to 245° F. When the syrup reaches 245° F, remove the thermometer and slowly pour the syrup into the meringue.

After 1 or 2 minutes reduce the mixer speed to medium, until the meringue is cooled. Add the butter 1 tablespoon at a time. Increase the mixer speed to high until the butter is fully incorporated. Add in the vanilla.

Divide in half.  Add approximately ½ cup of the lemon curd to one portion.  Fold in.

Assemble the Cake:

Place the bottom cake layer on the serving plate or turntable.  Frost with lemon curd-flavored buttercream.  Add the top cake layer.  Frost the entire cake with a thin layer of the vanilla buttercream to create a crumb layer.  Refrigerate for 5 minutes to allow the frosting to set.  Repeat, making sure to keep the top layer as thin as possible.  Using a piping bag, pipe a circle of buttercream around the outside parameter of the cake.  Refrigerate for 5 minutes to allow the frosting to set.  Next, pour the lemon curd onto the center or the cake, smoothing it towards the edges.  The buttercream circle should keep the curd from spilling over.  Finally, decorate the outer edge of the cake however you like.  I use simple dollops of buttercream from the piping bag.

**If you are going to serve the cake at a later date, I recommend refrigerating the cake.  Be sure to take the cake out 1-2 hours before you are planning on serving it, as this will allow it to come to room temperature, making the buttercream much tastier.  Enjoy!