Lemon Sponge Vertical Layer Cake With Raspberry Buttercream Recipes

LEMON RASPBERRY BUTTERMILK CAKE RECIPE

Steps:

• Combine raspberries and sugar in a sauce pan and bring to a boil. Use an immersion blender to make the filling smooth (or leave chunky if you prefer). Combine your cornstarch and water to make a slurry. Pour it into the raspberry mixture and let it simmer until mixture is clear and thickened. Remove from heat, stir in lemon juice and zest and let cool before using. Store leftovers in the fridge for up to a week or freeze for 6 months.
• Place egg whites and powdered sugar in a mixing bowl with the whisk attachment. Whisk to combine. Add in butter in small chunks then vanilla extract and salt. Whip on high until light and fluffy and white. Optional: whip in 1/4 cup raspberry pureeOptional: switch to the paddle attachment and mix on low for 15-20 minutes until all air bubbles are gone.
• Heat oven to 335º F/168º C - 350º F/177º C. I tend to use lower setting to prevent my cakes from getting too dark on the outside before the inside is done baking. Make sure all ingredients are at room temperature or slightly warm (eggs, buttermilk, butter)
• Measure out buttermilk. Place 4 oz in separate measuring cup. Add oil to the 4oz of buttermilk and set aside. To the remaining milk, add your eggs (lightly whisked to break them up) extract, lemon juice and lemon zest.
• Measure out dry ingredients and place them into the stand mixer bowl.
• Attach the paddle to the mixer, and turn on the slowest speed (setting 1 on Kitchen Aid mixers). Slowly add chunks of your softened butter until it is all added. Let mix until batter resembles coarse sand.
• Add your milk/oil mixture all at once to the dry ingredients and mix on medium (speed 4 on kitchenaid) for 2 full minutes.
• Scrape the bowl. This is an important step. If you skip it, you will have hard lumps of flour and unmixed ingredients in your batter. If you do it later, they will not mix in fully.
• Slowly add in the rest of your liquid ingredients in 3 parts, stopping to scrape the bowl one more time halfway through. Your batter should be thick and not too runny.
• Lightly grease 2 8" cake pans cake goop or other pan release. Fill pans 3/4 full. Give the pan a little tap on each side to level out the batter and get rid of any air bubbles.
• Add 3-4 large dollops of your raspberry filling to the cake batter and use a spoon or knife to swirl it through the batter. I also add in about 1/4 cup of fresh raspberries dusted with flour sprinkled on top. Do not stir them in.
• I always start by baking for 30 minutes for 8" and smaller cakes and 35 minutes for 9" and larger cakes and then checking for doneness. If the cakes are still really jiggly, I add another 5 minutes. I check every 2 minutes after that until I'm close and then it's every 1 minute. Cakes are done when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with a few crumbs.
• After cakes have cooled for 10 minutes or the pans are cool enough to touch, flip the cakes over and remove from the pans onto the cooling racks to cool completely. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator.
• Once the cakes are chilled in the refrigerator and feel firm you can trim off the brown edges from the sides (optional) and fill with your buttercream and more of your raspberry filling. It's best to create a dam (see video) to help hold in the raspberry filling and keep it from oozing out. Crumb coat the cake with buttercream, chill then apply your final coat of buttercream. Top with lemon slices, more raspberries and a drizzle of raspberry filling around the outside edge.

RASPBERRY LEMON CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350F Butter and flour 2 non-stick 8 inch cake pans. I like to put a round of parchment paper on the bottom of the pans just to insure a good release.
• Cream the butter, sugar, and lemon zest together until light and fluffy, scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary.
• Beat in the egg yolks, one at a time, along with the vanilla.
• In a separate bowl beat the egg whites until soft peaks form.
• Whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, and baking soda.
• Add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture alternately with the yogurt and mix until well combined. Scrape down the bowl.
• Fold in the whipped egg whites, and when no white streaks remain.
• Fold in the berries.
• Spread the batter evenly between the two cake pans and even out the tops with an offset spatula.
• Bake the cakes on the same oven shelf for about 30 minutes, or until the center springs back when touched and the edges are just starting to turn golden. Don't over bake.
• Let the cakes cool for 10 minutes before turning them out and cooling them completely on a rack.
• To make the frosting cream the butter, sugar, (and the drop of food coloring, if using) adding enough lemon juice to make a creamy spreadable frosting. Beat until smooth and creamy. Add more sugar for a stiffer frosting, and more lemon juice if it's too stiff.
• Frost the cake when completely cool. Add a generous amount of frosting to the first layer, then top with second layer and finish frosting top and sides.

LEMON RASPBERRY CAKE WITH LEMON CREAM CHEESE FROSTING

Steps:

• For the cake: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter two 9-inch cake pans, then line the bottoms with parchment paper and butter the paper.
• Combine the butter, granulated sugar, oil, lemon zest and vanilla together in a large bowl. Beat with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Beat the eggs in, one at a time. Beat in the lemon juice.
• Whisk the flour, baking powder and salt together in a bowl.
• Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture in 3 batches, alternating with the milk and beginning and ending with the flour.
• Divide the batter evenly between the two prepared cake pans. Bake in the center of the oven until a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out clean, 20 to 25 minutes. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then run a thin knife around the edges of the pans and invert onto racks to cool completely.
• For the frosting and filling: Beat the butter, cream cheese, lemon zest and juice and vanilla together in a large bowl with an electric mixer until very smooth. Add the confectioners' sugar and beat until incorporated and smooth. Separate 1 cup of the frosting to a bowl. Mix the jam into the cup of frosting.
• Spread the raspberry frosting on top of one cake layer. Arrange most of the raspberries on top (reserve 7 or 8 for the top of the cake). Carefully put the second cake layer on top. Take about 1 cup of the remaining plain frosting and use it to cover the entire cake in a thin, even layer (it is okay if it looks messy). Refrigerate the cake until the frosting is firm, about 20 minutes. Use the remaining frosting to evenly cover the cake. Mound the remaining raspberries in the center and serve.

UPSIDE-DOWN LEMON SPONGE CAKE WITH LEMON-MAPLE BUTTER

Steps:

• Heat the oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit/160 degrees Celsius.
• Trim the 3 lemons, slicing and discarding the tips, then cut each lemon into very thin (1/10-inch/1/4-centimeter-thick) rounds to get 24 slices; discard the seeds (pips). Place a large nonstick skillet over high heat. Working in about three batches, add lemon slices in a single layer and cook until nicely charred on both sides, 1 to 2 minutes per side. Repeat with the remaining slices and set aside.
• Line a baking dish about 8-by-12 inches/20-by-30 centimeters in size with a piece of parchment paper large enough to cover the base and sides, and enough overhang to later fold over the batter. Pour 1/2 cup/120 milliliters maple syrup into the prepared dish. Halve the vanilla bean (pod) lengthwise, scrape the seeds into a small bowl, then add the scraped-out halves to the prepared dish. Top with the charred lemon slices, spreading out so they cover the entire base while overlapping slightly in spots.
• Sift the flour, baking powder and salt into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, and mix on medium speed to combine. Add the room-temperature butter, eggs and egg yolk, brown sugar, milk, reserved vanilla seeds and the remaining 3 tablespoons maple syrup, and mix on medium-low speed for 2 minutes until combined. The mixture will look like it's split a little with some smaller cubes of butter, but that's O.K.
• Spoon the mixture into a piping bag or resealable plastic bag, snipping the base, and pipe the mixture directly on top of the lemons in the baking dish in an even layer (this ensures the lemons don't move around too much). Using the back of a spoon, smooth over the mixture to create an even layer. Fold over the excess parchment paper to cover, then wrap the dish tightly in foil.
• Place the baking dish into a larger roasting pan (tin) that is roughly 10-by-14 inches/24-by-36 centimeters. Carefully add about 1 inch/3 centimeters boiling water to the pan, transfer to the oven and bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 60 minutes. Lift the baking dish from the water, remove the foil, and unwrap the parchment paper. Set aside for 5 minutes before carefully inverting the whole thing onto a platter, carefully removing the parchment paper to expose the lemons.
• During the last 10 minutes of baking, prepare the lemon-maple butter: Add the lemon juice and maple syrup to a small saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. Cook for about 2 minutes, then turn the heat down to low. Once the mixture is no longer simmering, gradually whisk in the chilled butter a little at a time until you have an emulsified sauce.
• Drizzle half the lemon-maple butter all over the warm sponge cake and serve warm, with the remaining lemon-maple butter and crème fraîche alongside.

EASY LEMON LAYER CAKE

Steps:

• Heat the oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4 and line the base of two 20cm sandwich tins with baking parchment. Beat the butter and sugar together for 3 mins using an electric whisk until smooth and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well between each addition and scraping down the sides of the bowl. Fold in the flour and baking powder until well incorporated, then fold in the yogurt, vanilla and lemon zest. Divide between the tins and bake for 30-35 mins until golden and a skewer inserted into the middles comes out clean.
• Meanwhile, make the drizzle. Tip the sugar, lemon juice and 100ml water into a small pan set over a medium heat and stir until dissolved. Add the lemon zest, bring to the boil and simmer for 2-3 mins until the zest has softened and the liquid is syrupy. Remove the zest to a sheet of baking parchment using a slotted spoon, and remove the syrup from the heat.
• Leave the sponges to cool for 10 mins in the tins, then pour over the warm drizzle. Leave to cool completely.
• For the icing, beat the butter and icing sugar together using an electric whisk for 4-5 mins until smooth, scraping down the sides of the bowl as you go. Add the vanilla and soft cheese and beat for 4 mins more until thick and creamy. Don't worry if it doesn't look thick at first - it will loosen, then thicken again as you beat it.
• Remove the cooled sponges from the tins. Spoon the icing into a piping bag fitted with a star nozzle. Put one sponge on a cake stand or serving plate, and pipe just under half the icing around the edge using a circular motion for a wavy effect. Pipe a little more icing over the empty middle (this doesn't need to be neat) and smooth with the back of a spoon. Chill for 45 mins-1 hr until set. Top with the second sponge, then pipe eight blobs of icing around the edge at regular intervals, leaving a gap between each. Spoon the candied lemon zest into each gap, then serve.