The idea of making this lemon layer cake came from my sisters bridal shower back in September ’13.It was when I had to make a cake that had lemon or honey in it.Well… I ended up making both a lemon cake and honey cake. Basically that was our theme because our  sister Sweet-lana loves her tea with lemon and honey as much as one loves their coffee.She’ll have it in her to-go cup everywhere she goes.

For the cake as pictured above I made total of four layers and made more cream by half. Added blueberries inside.

For bridal shower I sliced the layers in half,but it was hard to keep the cake from falling apart. The cake layers are very delicate.

And I used pureed raspberries with sugar(strained) instead of whole raspberries.

 

 

 

 

 

Ingredients:

( Cake batter adapted from America’s Test Kitchen)

2 1/4 cups flour*

1/4 cup cornstarch*

1 cup whole milk,at room temperature

6 large egg whites,at room temperature.

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 3/4 cups granulated sugar

4 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

12 tablespoons unsalted butter at room temperature.

lemon zest of 2 lemons

* you can substitute these two ingredients of cake flour

 

Cream for 1 (2 layer ) cake:

1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream

8 oz. cream cheese

1  1/4 cup powdered sugar

1 tablespoon squeezed lemon juice

1-2 tablespoons limoncello liqueur

zest from one lemon

Syrup:

1/2 cup hot water

3 tablespoons sugar

3 tablespoons limoncello

2 tablespoons lemon juice.

-Combine all ingredients and let cool.

 

Fresh blueberries,raspberries or strawberries.

Whole or pureed with some sugar.

 

Direction for cake-

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Sift flour with cornstarch 3 times and set aside

In a large measuring cup,whisk together the milk,egg whites,lemon zest and vanilla.

In the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment,mix together the flour,sugar,baking powder and salt at med-low speed.

With the mixer running,add the butter pieces one at a time until the mixture resembles fine,even crumbs.

Stop the mixer and about 1/2 cup of the wet ingredients.

Beat the batter at medium speed until it is pale and fluffy,about 1 1/2minutes.

With the mixer running on med-low pour in  the rest of the wet ingredients,then crank the speed back up to medium and beat for 30 seconds more.Scrape down the bowl and beat for 30 more seconds.

Divide the batter equally among the two (9 inch) cake pans and smooth the tops.

Bake for 23-25 minutes,or until a toothpick come out clean-do not over bake.

Let the cakes cool in pans for 10 minutes,then remove the cakes from pans,and cool completely.

 

Cream-

In a mixer with whisk attachment ,whip cream cheese with powdered sugar.

Scrape the bowl and add lemon juice,zest, and limoncello.Whip again until ingredients are well incorporated.

On med-low speed gradually pour heavy whipping cream,bringing the speed higher gradually.

Whip the cream until stiff peaks.

 

Assembling-

Pierce first cake layer with toothpick or fork.

Pour/spray syrup on the cake.

Spread a good amount of frosting.

Arrange preferred berries on top of frosting.

Place the other cake on top of berries.

Pierce the cake and pour/spray syrup.

Spread frosting all over cake and decorate as desired.

 

[amd-zlrecipe-recipe:86]

 

This cake is amazing! Tres Leches Cake (three milk cake) is from Latin American origin.It’s basically a sponge cake soaked with a mixture of three types of milk;evaporated,condensed and heavy cream and frosted with luscious Chantilly cream.Originally this cake is made in a single layer sheet cake.I decided to give it a little twist by slicing it in half and adding a hint of rum and raspberries.Ohhh.. the taste is heavenly! Very moist and not too sweet.

Ingredients-

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

5 eggs separated

1 cup sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/3 cup milk

1 can(12 ounces) evaporated milk

1 can(14 ounces) sweetened condensed milk

1/2 cup heavy whipping cream

2 tablespoons dark rum (optional)

Chantilly frosting:

2 1/2 cups heavy cream

4 tablespoons powdered sugar

8-12 oz. Raspberries

Directions-

1.Preheat oven to 350 degrees.Line and grease a 9 inch round pan.

2.In a large bowl,whisk together the flour,baking powder and salt;set aside.

3.In a bowl of an electric mixer fitted with whisk attachment,whisk the egg yolks and 3/4 cup sugar until the mixture is thick and pale yellow.

4.Add the whole milk and vanilla and mix to combine.

5.Pour the egg yolk over the flour mixture and,using a rubber spatula,gently fold together until thoroughly combined.

6.Clean out the bowl and the whisk.Towel dry.

7.Add the egg whites to the bowl and whisk on high speed until soft peaks begin to form.With the mixer still running,pour the remaining 1/4 cup of sugar and beat until the egg whites are stiff but not dry.

8.Working in three batches,gently fold the egg whites into the batter until just combined.

9.Pour batter into the prepared pan and smooth the surface with spatula.

10.Bake for about 30 minutes,or until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.Let the cake cool completely.

11.Mix together evaporated milk,condensed milk,rum and heavy cream together in a small pitcher or glass measuring cup.

Chantilly cream:Whip heavy cream and powdered sugar until thick and stiff peaks form.

12.When the cake is cool,Slice the cake in half to have total of two layers.

13.Lay the first layer on the cake plate upside down.

14.Pierse the surface of the cake with fork or toothpick.

15.Slowly drizzle half of the milk mixture over the top of the cake,making sure to get around the edges of the cake.

16.Spread a thin layer of Chantilly cream and arrange raspberries all over the first layer of the cake.

17.Place the second layer on top of the raspberries.Pierce the cake surface with fork or toothpick really well.Slowly and gently drizzle the milk mixture,giving some time for the cake to absorb liquid and continue to drizzle the milk mixture.

18.Spread chantilly cream all over the cake top and sides.Decorate as desired.

[amd-zlrecipe-recipe:46]

Cake base adapted from pioneerwoman.com

This is a light and fresh breakfast,snack,or even dessert.Very simple to make  and nutritiously loaded with superfoods  .

[amd-zlrecipe-recipe:11]