Lemon Layer Cake Question (I'm probably overthinking this)

[KristyDi]

I want to make a lemon blueberry cake for my DH's granny's 80th birthday this weekend. My plan is to make lemon cake, cut each layer in half so I have 4 layers and fill the top and bottom spaces with lemon curd and the middle with blueberry jam, then ice with yellow tinted lemon buttercream and garnish with fresh blueberries.

Here's the problem, I can't seem to find a good recipe for lemon flavored cake that isn't pound cake or dosen't start with boxed cake mix.

So I figured I could add fresh lemon juice and zest to a plain cake recipe right? But most of the ones I'm finding have milk in them. Won't the milk curdle when I add the lemon juice, or if I added them separately, would that not cause a problem? Or should I find a recipe that uses buttermilk and not worry about the curdling since milk w/ lemon juice added is a sub for buttermilk?

Should I leave the vanilla extract out, replace it with lemon extract, go half and half, add the original amt of vanilla and an equal amt of lemon?

Or does anyone have a tried and true recipe you'd be willing to share?

[Arduinna]

If you want a pronounced lemon flavor I'd used lemon extract. Or you could make a simple syrup with lemon juice and spoon it over the cooled cake layers before filling and icing. I use lemon and vanilla both.

[bremen]

a quick googling led me to this thread http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/376493
which contains several recipes which look like what you are looking for.
hope that helps!

[luv-my-boys]

personally I would use lemon extract. Lemon cake is a fav around here and I have never had a problem using milk and the extract together. Gives it a nice lemony (but not tart-like pucker your lips tart) flavor. YUMMM...now I want lemon cake

[jeanine123]

I've made this before and it's super yummy. It calls for a loaf pan but I think you could make it in a round cake tin and have it work just fine, it's not dense like a pound cake would be at all.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/i...ipe/index.html

And on the show she served it with a blueberry sauce, though I think the lemon curd, blueberry jam and fresh blueberries sounds really good too.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/i...ipe/index.html

[gmvh]

If your library has Cook's Illustrated magazines, there is one a few years back, it'll be a summer issue, that has an amazing lemon layer cake recipe that you could layer blueberries into. There is lemon curd between the layers and a slightly adjusted lemon-y seven minute icing on it. It's divine.

[blumooned]

I would use a white cake recipe & add lemon zest (not juice) & lemon extract. I would still use some vanilla, too. Replace, maybe, half to two-thirds of the vanilla with lemon.

There's a vegan orange cake recipe in the Joy of Cooking that I have turned into a lemon cake. (I'm not vegan - the cake is just really easy & good!) I couldn't find a direct recipe online, but this site has a variation. To make it lemon, replace the orange zest with lemon, & the orange juice with lemon juice, although I would use a little less & some water to make up the difference - pure lemon juice is potent! The link uses balsamic vinegar, but I usually use apple cider. You could add a little lemon extract to really beef up the lemon flavor, too. Also, sometimes when I make this cake, I do add an egg to make it extra fluffy.

Your cake sounds yummy!

[ikesmom]

This is the lemon cake I have made in the past. I don't ice it as much as the pic. You would leave the poppy seeds out too.

http://www.food.com/recipe/molly-kat...ed-cake-243259

[mumkimum]

Last year I made a buttermilk cake with lemon curd between the layers, and chocolate frosting for dd. Personally - if you're doing lemon curd and a lemon frosting, you wouldn't really need lemon flavored cake too (so going with a good buttermilk or vanilla cake recipe would turn out fine). I also found this lemon blueberry cake recipe trying to find the other recipe. I bet you could fudge it around a bit.

[LemonPie]

http://www.ourbestbites.com/2009/06/lemon-cupcakes.html

The Ina Garten recipe linked above is awesome too.

[KristyDi]

Thanks everyone I tried a modified recipe last night (replacing some liquid w/ lemon juice, very similar to the chowhound link above) it tastes awesome, but didn't come out of the pan whole, so it's now frozen will become cake balls at some future date.

This morning I tried again with parchment paper in the bottom of the pans and they came out beautifully, but have fallen in the center. I think I over beat the batter. DH and DD were distracting me while I was putting it together. :sigh

Now I'm thinking I'll level these 2 layers. Basically I'll cut off the edges to even with the center making the equivalent of 1 normal layer when I put them together. Then I'll bake another 2 layers (that will not fall or get stuck in the pan) and divide them horizontally so I have 6 thin layers and alternate filling w/ lemon curd and blueberry jam.

Why couldn't she like chocolate cake? I have an awesome chocolate cake recipe that has never failed me.

[ChristyMarie]

Originally Posted by KristyDi

This morning I tried again with parchment paper in the bottom of the pans and they came out beautifully, but have fallen in the center. I

That's what frosting is for.

FYI...for the layer with the blueberry jam you may want to pipe a bit of frosting around the edge first so the jam doesn't leak out the sides and into the outer layer of frosting.

[ashleyhaugh]

Originally Posted by blumooned

I would use a white cake recipe & add lemon zest (not juice) & lemon extract. I would still use some vanilla, too. Replace, maybe, half to two-thirds of the vanilla with lemon.

There's a vegan orange cake recipe in the Joy of Cooking that I have turned into a lemon cake. (I'm not vegan - the cake is just really easy & good!) I couldn't find a direct recipe online, but this site has a variation. To make it lemon, replace the orange zest with lemon, & the orange juice with lemon juice, although I would use a little less & some water to make up the difference - pure lemon juice is potent! The link uses balsamic vinegar, but I usually use apple cider. You could add a little lemon extract to really beef up the lemon flavor, too. Also, sometimes when I make this cake, I do add an egg to make it extra fluffy.

Your cake sounds yummy!

i think i made that orange cake for my ds's first birthday hes allergic to dairy.... i love my joy of cooking book, its my best love, most used cook book...

the cake was pretty good too, lol

[KristyDi]

Well it's finished and eaten. The cake was good, but the 3rd try fell again . Oh well, I just leveled it and stacked them.

Here's a pic. It really was delicious. I highly recommended the blueberry jam/lemon curd filling. I wound up putting both together, rather than separating them and it was amazing.

Thanks for the suggestions everyone. Since DH really liked the lemon cake I'll be trying some of the other recipes linked here to try to find one that works better.

[dbsam]

I'm glad it turned out delicious.

I have a great recipe...it's called lemon loaf but is more like cake. It does use lemons and milk and has never curdled. If you are going to cut layers, I would chill it first.
Here is the recipe (it's from the Chicago Tribune 1990 - not sure of the author)

1 ½ cups sifted flour
1 ½ teas baking powder
¼ teas salt
½ cup butter – softened
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
½ cup milk
finely grated rind and juice of one lemon
½ cups chopped pecans or walnuts (optional – I like it without)
juice of one lemon
¼ cup sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Sift flour w/baking powder and salt and set aside. Cream butter until light, slowly add sugar and beat until fluffy. Add eggs one at a time beating well after each addition. Add dry ingredients alternately with milk, beginning and ending with the dry and adding about one third of the total at a time. Add lemon rind and juice and beat just until smooth. Stir in nuts if you like and spoon into a greased and floured 9” by 5” by3” loaf pan. Bake about one hour until cake pulls from sides of pan and is springy to the touch. Let cool in the pan on a wire rack while you make the glaze. Heat lemon juice and sugar over low heat, stirring until sugar dissolves. Pour evenly over top of cake and let cake cool thoroughly in pan before turning out. Wrap tightly and store overnight before cutting.
It is really moist so cutting can be difficult – cut thick. Freezes well.