Editor's Note: A lemony delight! We fell in love with this recipe from first sight. Slightly tart and perfectly sweet, the cake is a ultimate spring dessert. And it looks quite pretty, too, on a footed cake plate.
Submitted by Deborah, of Falls Church, Va., here's what she said about her recipe:
"This is a tart lemon curd cake that has been a family favorite dessert for several years. My grandchildren enjoy helping me make the cake from start to finish because it is made in stages — so their short attention span doesn't get tested!"
Ingredients:
Curd:
1 cup fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons freshly grated lemon zest
1 cup sugar
6 large eggs
1 cup butter, unsalted (cut into bits)
Cake:
1 1/2 cups cake flour
1 1/2 cups sugar, divided
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 egg yolks
1/4 cup canola oil
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1 1/2 teaspoons freshly grated lemon zest
8 egg whites (at room temperature when ready to use)
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
Thin slices of lemon rind (for garnish)
1 tablespoon confectioners' sugar for dusting cake
Frosting:
3/4 cup confectioners' sugar
2 cups chilled whipping cream
Directions:
For the curd:
1. Whisk together lemon juice, zest, sugar, and eggs in 2-quart heavy saucepan. Stir in butter and cook over medium heat, whisking frequently, until curd is thick enough to hold marks of whisk and first bubbles appear on surface, about 10 minutes.
2. Transfer curd to bowl. Cover curd with plastic wrap touching surface and chill until cold (at least 1 hour).
Note: Yield should be a little over 2 1/2 cups curd. Use 3/4 cup for cake, 1 1/4 cups for frosting, and remainder goes between cake layers.
For the cake:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter and flour four 9-inch cake pans; line bottoms with parchment paper.
2. Whisk cake flour, 1/2 cup sugar, baking powder, and salt together in a large bowl. In separate bowl, without mixing, place egg yolks, oil, lemon juice, lemon zest, and curd.
3. Combine egg whites and cream of tartar in another large bowl. With electric mixer, beat egg whites until soft peaks form. Gradually add the remaining 1 cup sugar, beating just until stiff peaks form (avoid overbeating because it will make the cake dense and tough).
4. Add egg yolk mixture to dry ingredients. Using same beaters, beat egg yolk and dry ingredients mixture until smooth. Fold in egg whites in three additions.
5. Divide batter equally between prepared pans. Bake cakes 15 minutes, or until tester inserted into center comes out clean.
6. Cool cakes in pans on racks for 15 minutes. Turn cakes out onto racks, peel off parchment, and cool completely.
For the frosting:
1. Beat confectioners’ sugar and 1 1/4 cups lemon curd in large bowl just until blended.
2. Beat whipping cream in medium bowl until firm peaks form. Fold cream into curd mixture in three additions. Chill until firm, at least 4 hours.
To assemble cake:
1. Dust top of bottom cake layer lightly with confectioners’ sugar.
2. Spread light layer of curd on cake followed by layer of frosting. Repeat with remaining layers.
3. Spread frosting around sides of cake. Refrigerate cake after frosting to set layers in place (about 1 hour).
4. Top cake with thin slices of lemon (patted dry) for garnish if desired.
Serves 8
See the other finalists from the Delicious Desserts Recipe Contest:
• WINNER: Ribbon Cookies
• Banana Cake
• Lemonilla Ice Cream
• Pistachio Cake
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