You’ll love this layer cake for its burst of lemon in every bite. Soft sponge cake layers soaked with lemon syrup & filled with homemade lemon curd & lemon Swiss buttercream frosting.
1
Use my go-to 3-ingredient sponge cake recipe as a starting point. Add freshly squeezed lemon juice & zest for a subtle lemon flavor.
2
Whisk together eggs, sugar, lemon juice & lemon zest. Cook the mixture over low heat until it reaches 170°F, stirring constantly.
3
Remove from heat and stir in butter. For silky smooth texture, run the curd through a sieve.
4
Whisk egg whites, sugar and lemon juice & gently cook it in a double boiler over simmering water until the mixture reaches 160°F.
5
Then whip the egg white mixture with a whisk attachment until stiff peaks form, about 10 mins.
6
Add butter one tbs at a time. Now, switch to paddle attachment & add salt. Whip the buttercream for another min or so until nice & fluffy.
7
Bring the water to a boil & stir in sugar & lemon juice. Once the sugar is fully dissolved, remove from heat & cool completely.
8
Then whip the egg white mixture with a whisk attachment until stiff peaks form, about 10 mins.
9
Pipe a border with the buttercream around the edges of the cake & fill the middle with half of the lemon curd, if you’re making 3-layer cake.
10
Pipe more buttercream over the curd & evenly smear the frosting with an offset spatula.
11
Place the next cake layer & repeat the layers until all the layers are completed. Then frost the entire cake on the sides & on top.
12
I smeared some lemon curd on top, piped dollops of buttercream frosting & sprinkled fresh lemon zest curls. And my lemon macarons added an instant wow-factor as well!