Month: April 2022

The absolute best southern lemon layer cake you will ever try! Prep Time 30 mins Cook Time 30 mins rest time 45 mins Total Time 1 hr Course: Dessert Cuisine: American Servings: 20 slices Calories: 477kcal Author: Sommer Collier

Ingredients

For the Cake –

• 2 ¾ cups cake flour, sifted (or 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour + ¼ cup cornstarch)
• 2 teaspoon baking powder
• ¼ teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups granulated sugar
• 10 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
• 4 large eggs
• ¼ cup vegetable oil
• Zest of 1 lemon (save juice for frosting)
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon lemon extract
• 3-5 drops yellow food coloring *optional
• 1 ¼ cup whole-fat buttermilk

For the Frosting –

• 1 ½ cups unsalted butter, softened (3 sticks)
• 3 tablespoons buttermilk
• 1 ½ tablespoons lemon juice
• 5-7 cups powdered sugar

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spray or grease two 9-inch round cake pans. Cut out 9-inch parchment paper circles, and press down in the bottom of each pan. (Trace the pan for perfect circles.)
• For the Cake: In the bowl on an electric stand mixer, cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. (Cream: Beat on high approximately 3-5 minutes to break down the sugar crystals.)
• In a separate bowl, mix the cake flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
• Once the butter and sugar are well creamed. Scrape the mixing bowl with a rubber spatula. Then turn the mixer on low and beat in the eggs, oil, lemon zest, vanilla extract, lemon extract, and yellow food coloring.
• Scrape the bowl again. Turn the mixer back on low and alternate adding the flour mixture and buttermilk until both are well combined. Once the batter is smooth, turn the mixer off immediately.
• Pour the batter evenly into the two prepared pans. Bake on the middle rack, undisturbed for 30 minutes.
• If the center of the cakes are puffed up, check the cake by inserting a toothpick into the center. If it comes out clean, take them out of the oven. If the toothpick has batter on it, bake another 5-10 minutes and recheck.
• Allow the cakes to cool 10 minutes in the pans. Then carefully flip them out on a cooling rack. Remove the parchment paper and cool completely.
• For the Frosting: Once the cakes are room temperature, place the butter in a clean stand mixer bowl. Beat until fluffy. Then scrape the bowl and turn on low. Mix in the buttermilk and lemon juice. Then add the powdered sugar one cup at a time, beating to incorporate.
• After adding 5 cups of powdered sugar, turn the mixer up to beat out any clumps. Check the consistency of the frosting. If it is too loose, add another 1-2 cups of powdered sugar and beat until smooth.
• To Assemble:Move one cake to a cake stand or platter. Scoop about 2 cups frosting onto the cake. Use a large flat spatula to spread the frosting out evenly.
• Set the second cake on top of the frosting, being careful to center the cake. Gently press the cake a little to level the top. Then scoop all remaining frosting on top of the cake. Use the spatula to work the frosting over the top and down the sides.
• Turn the cake stand to smooth out the sides with the flat edge of the spatula. Once you are satisfied with the sides, use the spatula to make swooping marks on the top of the cake. Use a wet paper towel to clean up the cake stand.
• Cover and keep at room temperature for up to 4 days, or refrigerate for up to a week. When ready to serve, make sure the cake is at room temperature… All classic layer cakes taste best at room temperature!

Notes

if you use lemon oil, ⅛ teaspoon lemon oil per teaspoon of lemon extract.

Pro Frosting Tips: If you have a tendency to get crumbs in the frosting when you try to frost a cake, you can:

• Spread a thin “crumb coat” layer of frosting over the cake to catch and seal in the crumbs. Then spread on the final “pretty” layer of frosting on top.
• Or you can wrap the cakes in separate pieces of plastic and freeze them. Then a few hours later, you can unwrap, level, and frost the cake with a lot of added stability. Just be sure to do this at least 6 hours before serving so the cake layers have time to thaw.

Nutrition

Serving: 1slice | Calories: 477kcal | Carbohydrates: 63g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 23g | Saturated Fat: 15g | Cholesterol: 86mg | Sodium: 178mg | Potassium: 97mg | Fiber: 0g | Sugar: 50g | Vitamin A: 675IU | Vitamin C: 0.4mg | Calcium: 50mg | Iron: 0.4mg

This is my favorite white cake recipe.

Favorite White Cake Recipe

Sally McKenney

Cream the Butter: To achieve a good rise, properly cream the butter and sugar together. We have a crutch of baking powder and soda, but the recipe begins with that very first and imperative step: beating the butter and sugar together until creamy.

Egg Whites: Use ONLY egg whites. No yolks. Not only will using only egg whites give us a pristine white cake, it will ensure that the crumb is not weighed down by the fat in egg yolks. Think about it: lighter confections such as marshmallows and angel food cakes only require egg whites. Same story here.

Sour Cream: Sour cream is the cake’s security blanket; it keeps everything moist.Cake Flour: Cake flour is almost 30x finer than all-purpose flour. Using it is a surefire way to achieve a delicate and delicious texture. It’s sold in the baking aisle and you can use the rest of the box in any of these recipes that use cake flour.

Room Temperature: Make sure all of your ingredients are at room temperature. When ingredients are the same temperature, they bind together more readily than if you had some cold and some warmer ingredients. Colder ingredients, especially egg whites, will produce a thicker batter and, since it’s cold, will take longer to bake. This changes everything..

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Prep Time 30 minutes mins

Cook Time 24 minutes mins

Servings 10

Equipment

• 2 9 inch cake pans grease and lightly flour pans. If want to use 9 x 13 pan, bake 40 minutes

Ingredients

  

• 2 1/2 cups cake flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp salt
• 3/4 cup unsalted butter softened to room temperature 1 1/2 sticks
• 1 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 5 large egg whites at room temperature
• 1/2 cup sour cream at room temperature
• 1 tbsp pure vanilla extract Yes, tablespoon!
• 1 cup whole milk at room temperature

Instructions

 

• Instructions Preheat the oven to 350°F (177°C).

  Grease and lightly flour two 9-inch cake pans.

  Whisk the cake flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together. Set aside.

  Using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, beat the butter on high speed until smooth and creamy – about 1 minute.

  Add the sugar and beat on high speed for 2 minutes until creamed together. Scrape down the sides and up the bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed. 

  Add the egg whites. Beat on high speed until combined, about 2 minutes.

  Then beat in the sour cream and vanilla extract. Scrape down the sides and up the bottom of the bowl as needed.

  With the mixer on low speed, add the dry ingredients until just incorporated.

  With the mixer still running on low, slowly pour in the milk until combined. Do not overmix. You may need to whisk it all by hand to make sure there are no lumps at the bottom of the bowl. The batter will be slightly thick.

  Pour batter evenly into cake pans. Bake for around 24-25 minutes or until the cakes are baked through. To test for doneness, insert a toothpick into the center of the cake. If it comes out clean, it is done. Allow cakes to cool completely in the pans set on a wire rack. The cakes must be completely cool before frosting and assembling.