Last week’s cookie-baking extravaganza left me with six egg yolks, which of course I turned into lemon curd, which I then needed to use up in some creative way. Hence, white cake with lemon curd filling and sweet lemon frosting.
Recipes for single-layer cakes like this one are quite useful, especially if you’re baking for a date night or a small gathering. Tonight, Mike and I will celebrate New Year’s Eve, and this little treat will be perfect for our dessert.
Just a few items to note: my sweet lemon frosting is similar to lemon cream cheese frosting, and it’s based on another lemon frosting recipe I saw recently, with different ratios to increase the sweetness. Appearance-wise, don’t worry if your lemon curd filling and frosting drip over the sides of your cake; this just makes the end result a more charming, old-fashioned-looking dessert.
White Cake
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups flour
- 1/2 tablespoon baking powder
- 1 cup sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 cup shortening
- 1 egg
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
- 3/4 cup milk
Preparation
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spray a 9-inch round cake pan with baking spray; line with a parchment circle and spray the parchment.
In a small bowl, combine flour and baking powder; set aside.
In a mixing bowl, cream together sugar, shortening, and salt until fluffy.
Add egg and vanilla; beat until combined.
Add flour mixture and milk in alternating batches, starting and ending with the flour and beating until just combined.
Pour batter into prepared pan; bake for 25 minutes, until top is golden and a cake tester comes out clean.
Cool cake completely before filling and frosting.
Lemon Curd Filling
- 1 recipe lemon curd, prepared in advance. Reserve about 2 tablespoons prior to filling the cake for the frosting.
Sweet Lemon Frosting
Ingredients
- 4 tablespoons butter
- 2 ounces cream cheese
- 2 tablespoons lemon curd
- About 2 1/4 cups powdered sugar
Preparation
In a mixing bowl, beat butter and cream cheese until very well blended, about 3 minutes.
Add 1 cup powdered sugar and 1 tablespoon lemon curd; beat on low to begin, then increase speed and beat on medium until well-blended. Add additional cup powdered sugar and additional tablespoon lemon curd; beat on low to begin, then increase speed to medium and beat until very well-blended. Taste; add another 1/4 cup powdered sugar if desired.
To assemble the cake:
Using a very sharp knife, cut cake in half horizontally. Flip top half onto a cake platter top-side down and spread lemon curd in an even layer. Lemon curd will drip over the sides; this is fine.
Top with the remaining cake half and frost the top of the cake only, so you’ll be able to see the sides. Store in the fridge.
amy bakes in the 'burgh 