I remember once upon a time for my birthday, my husband made me a lemon cake with lemon frosting. I remember it well because that is exactly the type of cake that he wants. Me? I like a good German chocolate cake. We get a good laugh over it now but rest assured I will never forget that his favorite cake is lemon with lemon frosting. He’d probably like lemon drops on top too.
So when I stumbled across this recipe in my Cook Pleasures magazine, into the ‘try’ pile it went. We had it tonight for dessert and it was a hit all the way around. The cake is the texture of a good corn bread–moist but a little crumbly and the frosting is simply divine. If you like lemon, this is definitely your dessert. The cake and frosting are filled with lemon juice, lemon zest and lemon curd.
You Will Need:
2 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 tablespoon grated lemon peel*
3 eggs
2/3 cup whole milk
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
For the frosting:
8 oz. package of cream cheese
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1/2 cup lemon curd
2 tablespoons grated lemon peel
4 cups powdered sugar
Directions:
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 13 x 9 inch baking pan with cooking spray. Whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in medium bowl.
Beat 3/4 cup butter and sugar in large bowl at medium speed until light and fluffy. Beat in 1 tablespoon of lemon peel. Add eggs once at a time, beating well after each addition. Combine milk, lemon juice and vanilla in small bowl. At low speed, beat in flour mixture in 3 parts alternately with milk mixture just until blended.
Spread the batter in the greased pan. Bake 35 to 40 minutes. The cake should be a deep golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center should come out clean. Cool completely before frosting.
For frosting, beat cream cheese, ½ cup butter, lemon curd and 2 tablespoons lemon peel at medium speed 2 minutes or until smooth. Slowly add powdered sugar; beat 2 minutes or until light and fluffy. Spread frosting over cake. Cover and refrigerate to set frosting. Serve at room temperature.
*Make sure when you’re zesting the lemon to get the peel, you avoid the white pith part of the lemon. The pith is very bitter, while the peel will lend a strong and aromatic flavor to the dish.
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