Lemon Curd Cake
Light, fluffy lemon buttermilk cake filled with lemon curd and iced in white chocolate cream cheese froting.
Servings: 12
Ingredients
For the Lemon Curd
- 5 tablespoon (70g) unsalted butter diced
- ¾ cup (150g) granulated sugar
- 5 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- 2 lemons zested
- 2 large egg yolks
- 1 large egg
For the Lemon Buttermilk Cake
- 1 ½ cups (195g) cake flour
- 1 ½ cups (195g) all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- ½ tea salt
- 2 cups (400g) granulated sugar
- 1 lemon zested
- 1 cup (225g) unsalted butter at room temperature
- 4 large eggs
- 1 ⅓ cup (315ml) buttermilk
- 1 tea vanilla extract
For the White Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting
- 1 cup (225g) unsalted butter at room temperature
- 2 to 3 cups (240 to 360g) confectioners' sugar
- 9 ounces (255g) cream cheese at room temperature
- 6 ounces (170g) white chocolate melted and cooled
- 2 teas vanilla bean paste or extract
Instructions
To Make the Lemon Curd
- Place the butter in a heat safe bowl. Set a mesh sieve on top of the bowl and set aside.
- Whisk together the sugar, lemon juice, lemon zest, egg yolks, and egg in a saucepan. Cook over medium heat, while stirring slowly yet constantly with a heat-safe rubber spatula to keep the eggs from curdling. Reduce the heat if the sides of the pan begin to get too hot to the touch. Cook until the lemon curd thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon or registers 160°F on a candy thermometer.
- Once thickened, remove the curd from the heat and strain through the mesh sieve into the butter. Stir the lemon curd until the butter melts and combines. Press a piece of plastic wrap directly to the surface of the curd and refrigerate until cool and thick.
To Make the Lemon Cake
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease, flour, and line the bottoms of two 8-inch round cake pans with parchment paper and set aside.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the cake flour, all-purpose flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, add the sugar and lemon zest. Rub the ingredients together between your fingertips until fragrant and lemony. Add the butter. Using the paddle attachment, mix on medium speed until light and fluffy, 2 to 4 minutes.
- Add the eggs, one at a time, allowing each to incorporate into the mixture before adding the next. Add the vanilla and mix to combine. Stop the mixer and scrape down the sides of the bowl.
- Add half of the dry ingredients and mix on low speed until incorporated. Stream in the buttermilk and mix until combined. Add the remaining dry ingredients and mix until combined and the batter is smooth (it will be quite thick).
- Evenly divide the batter between the prepared pans. Bake the cakes for 32 to 36 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs. The cake layers are tall, but try not to over bake. They will be golden brown on top when done.
- Allow the cakes to cool on a wire rack for about 20 minutes before removing them from their pans. Continue to let them cool completely before assembling.
To Make the White Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting
- Place the butter in the bowl of a mixer fitted with a paddle attachment (or in a mixing bowl with a hand mixer), and mix on medium-low speed until creamy, 1 to 2 minutes. Add 2 cups (240 g) confectioners’ sugar on low speed and mix until incorporated. Bump up the speed and mix on medium speed until combined.
- Add the remaining ingredients. Mix on medium speed until light and creamy, another 2 to 4 minutes. The frosting will lighten in color and become more aerated and fluffy when done. Mix in the remaining sugar until it is a spreadable consistency, or as needed.
To Assemble
- To create the white chocolate curls, heat a bar of chocolate in the microwave at half power in intervals of 30 seconds until slightly softened. Use a vegetable peeler to scrape against the long side of the bar. The chocolate should be just soft enough to curl with a little pressure from the peeler, but not melt in your hand. Allow the curls to fall onto a piece of parchment paper. Set aside.
- Once the cakes have completely cooled, use a long serrated knife to carefully slice each cake in half horizontally. You will have four cake layers.
- Place one cake layer on a cake board or serving dish. Fill a piping bag fitted with a medium round tip with some of the frosting, set aside.
- Spread about ¼ cup of frosting on the cake with an offset spatula. It will be a very thin layer of frosting that acts as a barrier between the cake and lemon curd. Pipe a ring of frosting around the outer edge of the cake to create a frosting dam. Fill the center with ⅓ of the lemon curd. Use the back of a spoon to spread it out until smooth.
- Top with the next layer of cake and repeat. Place the last layer of cake on top, cut-side down. Crumb coat the cake in a thin layer of frosting then place in the refrigerator for 15 to 20 minutes.
- Once chilled, frost the top of the cake with the cream cheese frosting. Continue to frost the sides of the cake. The layer of frosting on the sides does not need to be thick or perfect since they will be mostly covered in chocolate curls.
- Carefully press the chocolate curls onto the sides of the freshly frosted cake. Some of the curls will break, but that is okay. Decorate the top with the sugared cranberries.
Notes
- Serve the cake at room temperature. If not served right away, store the cake in the refrigerator. Allow it to come to room temperature before eating.
- Cover leftovers with plastic wrap and store in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
- This filling and frosting can be quite soft. If you are having trouble stacking the cake, refrigerate as you go. Crumb coat the sides as you stack to make sure no lemon curd slips out between the layers.
- The frosting consistency relies on the temperature of the ingredients. The butter, cream cheese, and melted white chocolate should all be the same temperature. If too soft, add a bit more confectioners’ sugar or chill in the refrigerator very briefly (you don’t want the chocolate to turn solid again).