Description
Luscious lemon and blueberry cake, layered with lemon curd, and frosted with tart and sweet lemony frosting.
Ingredients
Scale
- LEMON LAYER CAKE:
- 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
- LEMON FROSTING:
- 1/2 c. Crisco shortening
- 2 tsp. lemon zest
- 5–6 c. confectioners sugar
- 1/4 c. fresh lemon juice
- 6–8 Tbsp whipping cream
- 1/2 tsp. pure lemon extract
- 2 Tbsp water
- pinch salt
- yellow food coloring
Instructions
- FOR THE CAKE:
- 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 center comes out clean, about 25 minutes. Cool cakes in pans on racks for about 10 minutes, then invert onto racks until completely cool.
- FOR THE FROSTING:
- Cream shortening and lemon zest in bowl of electric mixer fitted with paddle attachment, about 3 minutes. Slowly add confectioners sugar, mixing on low speed for about 2 minutes. Add remaining ingredients and beat on med-high for 3-4 minutes until very fluffy. Add food coloring to color desired.
- 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 (approx 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 approx 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.
- Prep Time: 20 mins
- Cook Time: 45 mins