I have been eyeing this cake on
sweetpolitia for weeks now! I have wanted to give it a try and just never had the time... I just had to share it with you guys as the Delectable Dish of the week. If you try it, please post pictures for us to see! If it is rainy where you are as it is in the Mountains of Western North Carolina, this sunny cake may be the key to add some much needed sunshine to your life!
Lemon-Blueberry Layer 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 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 centre comes out clean, about 25 minutes. Cool cakes in pans on racks for about 10 minutes, then invert onto racks until completely cool.
*The Lemon-Blueberry cake base adapted (actually adapted ;)) from Epicurious
Zesty Lemon Frosting
Ingredients
1 cup soft unsalted butter
2 teaspoons lemon zest
6 cups icing sugar
60 ml fresh lemon juice
6 tablespoons whipping cream (35% cream)
1/2 teaspoon pure lemon extract
2 tablespoons water
pinch salt
1 drop of AmeriColor “Electric Yellow” gel color (optional)
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. If using color gel, add a drop or two (really, no more than that, because too much sunshine really can be a bad thing!), then beat until blended. Yields enough to frost outside of three layer 8″ round cake.
Filling: 2 x Lemon Curd recipe from
Martha Stewart
Assembly
Spread thin dollop of frosting on an 8″ thin cake board. Transfer 1 cake layer to board, face up. *Create a dam around the perimeter of the layer using frosting in a pastry bag fitted with a coupler, then spread lemon curd (apprx 1 cup) inside the dam–this prevents the curd from reaching out over edges. Top with another cake layer, face up; repeat frosting around perimeter and lemon curd filling. Top with third cake layer, face down (brown smooth side up). Spread thin layer (crumb coat) of Zesty Lemon Frosting over top and sides of cake, using offset palette knife and bench scraper for smooth finish. Place cake in refrigerator for apprx 30 mins. Remove from refrigerator and using same method, frost cake with generous layer of frosting, smoothing again. For ruffled border, add frosting to piping bag with petal tip (Wilton #123), and with skinny end facing out, use back and forth/up and down motion to create short ruffles.
For the vanilla layer, I used the cake recipe from the
Classic Vanilla Butter Cake post.
Due to the lemon curd filling, keep cake covered and refrigerated (for up to 2 days) but serve room temperature.
*Update: Here are some other fun ways of creating this cake with alternate flavours:
- Use a cream cheese frosting, lemon or plain
- Replace blueberries with other berries or berry combinations
- Use frosting to fill in place of lemon curd
- Use a smooth blueberry jam as filling in place of lemon curd
- Make all 3 layers lemon-blueberry cake
Enjoy! And visit
sweetapolitia for many more delicious cake recipes!
xoxo Cassidy
For each potato, stuff an 8-inch section of nude-colored nylons with pillow batting (A).
Twist both ends and use a needle and thread to sew them to the bottom (B).
For each eye, push the threaded needle up from the bottom and out the top of the potato, then back through about 1/8 inch from where it came out (C). Pull the needle out the bottom and knot the thread to secure it. Before "serving," use scissors to cut a slit in the top and add a pat of craft foam butter.
For the fakin': Remove the wrapping from a square caramel and a Tootsie Roll Midgee. Microwave the candies for 4 seconds to make them soft. Use your thumb and forefinger to slightly flatten each candy piece, then press them together.
Halve the candy, then stack and press the pieces into alternating layers.
Slice a 1/4-inch-wide piece from the stack. Pinch and stretch the piece lengthwise into a flat bacon strip, then cut it in half. Add ripples to each half by gently bending the edges. Makes 3 strips (6 pieces).
