Ultimate Lemon Layer Cake

First off, I want to apologize for the delay in post.  I have been trying to squeeze in as much stuff as possible prior to starting residency.  My baking hasn't seized, but my blogging was put on the back burner so I could take the time to see as much of the sun as humanly possible.  Anyways, I picked this recipe Ultimate Lemon Layer Cake recipe out weeks ago specifically for my roommate from college's bachelorette party.  We went camping at Bastrop State Park for her party.  I know you are thinking that the idea of having a bachelorette party in the woods in Texas in the summer may be a little crazy, but the event went wonderfully actually.  It was a little hot...okay a lot hot...but really fun.  Now, I know you probably have a second burning question as you read this.  You took a cake camping?!  My parents thought the idea of taking a fancy cake camping was absurd, but I thought, why not?  So this is a tale of the cake I took camping...I hope you enjoy the recipe.

From March/April 2007 Cooking Illustrated Magazine

                                              Above:  Here I am with the cake finally completed!




Ingredients

Lemon Curd Filling
-- 1 cup juice about 6 lemons
-- 1 tsp powdered gelatin (I used Kerr's unflavored)
-- 1 1/2 cups (10.5 oz) granulated sugar
-- 1/8 tsp salt
-- 4 large eggs
-- 6 large egg yolks (reserve egg whites for cake)
-- 8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into 1/2 inch cubes and frozen

Cake
-- 2 1/4 cups (9 oz) cake flour, plus extra for pans
-- 1 cup whole milk, room temperature
-- 6 large egg whites, room temperature
-- 2 tsp vanilla extract
-- 1 3/4 cups (12 1/4 oz) granulated sugar
-- 4 tsp baking powder
-- 1 tsp table salt
--12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into 12 pieces, softened but still cool

Fluffy White Icing
--2 large egg whites
-- 1 cup (7 ounces) granulated sugar
-- 1/4 cup water
-- 1 tablespoon juice from 1 lemon
-- 1 tablespoon corn syrup

Directions
1. For the Filling: Measure 1 tablespoon lemon juice into small bowl; sprinkle gelatin over the top.  Heat remaining lemon juice, sugar and salt in medium nonreactive saucepan over medium high heat, stirring occasionally, until sugar dissolves and mixture is hot but no boiling.  Whisk eggs and yolks in large nonreactive bowl.  Whisking constantly, slowly pour hot lemon-sugar mixture into eggs, then return mixture to saucepan.  Cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly with heatproof spatula, until mixture registers 170 degrees on instant-read thermomenter and is thick enough to leave trail when spatula is scraped along pan bottom, 4 to 6 minutes.  Immediately remove pan from heat and stir in gelatin mixture until dissolved.  Stir in frozen butter until incorporated.  Pour filling through fine mesh strainer into nonreactive bowl (you should have 3 cups).  Cover surface directly with plastic wrap; refrigerate until firm enough to spread, at least 4 hours.

2. For the cake: Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350 F degrees.  Grease and flour two 9 inch wide by 2 inch high round cake pans and line with parchment paper.  In 2-cup liquid measure or medium bowl, whisk together milk, egg whites, and vanilla.

3. In bowl of standing mixer fitted with paddle attachment, mix flour, sugar, baking powder and salt at low speed.  With mixer running at low speed, add butter one piece at a time; continue beating until mixture resembles moist crumbs with no visible butter chunks.  Add all but 1/2 cup milk mixture to crumbs and beat at medium speed until mixture is pale and fluffy, about 1/5 minutes.  With mixer running at low speed, add remaining 1/2 cup milk mixture; increase speed to medium and beat 30 seconds more.  Stop mixer and scrape sides of bowl.  Return mixer to medium speed and beat 20 seconds longer.  Divide batter evenly between cake pans; using rubber spatula, spread batter to pan walls and smooth tops.

4. Bake until toothpick inserted in center of cake comes out clean, 23 to 25 minutes.  Loosen cake from sides of pan with small knife, cool in pan 10 minutes, then invert onto greased wire rack; peel off parchment paper.  Invert cakes again; cool completely on rack, about 1.5 hours.

5. To Assemble: Cut cakes horizontally into 4 layers total.  Aka each cake will have 2 even layers.  Place bottom layer of 1 cake on cardboard round or cake plate.  Using icing spatula, spread 1 cup lemon filling evenly on cake, leaving 1/2 inch border around edge; using cardboard round gently replace top layer.  Spread 1 cup filling on top.  Using cardboard round, gently slide bottom half of second cake into place.  Spread remaining cup of filling on top.  Using cardboard round, place top layer of second cake.  Smooth out any filling that has leaked from sides of cake; cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate while making icing.

6. For the Icing: Combine all ingredients in bowl of standing mixer or large heatproof and set over medium saucepan filled with 1 inch of barely simmering water (do not let bowl touch water).  Cook, stirring constantly, until mixture registers 160 degrees on instant-read thermometer, 5 to 10 minutes.  Remove bowl from heat and transfer mixture to standing mixer fitted with whisk attachment.  Beat on medium speed until soft peaks form, about 5 minutes.  Increase speed to medium-high and continue to beat until mixture has cooled to room temperature and stiff peaks form, 5 minutes longer.  Using icing spatula, spread frosting on cake.  Serve.  (Cake can be refrigerated for up to 1 day before serving)

The Icing battle begin with this recipe.  I know I have written in previous entries my complications with icing.  It is my current Achilles heel of baking.  I somehow have managed to put together most of  my cakes recently.  Knock on wood.  However, the icing has been far more of a challenge.  I know on this blog that I discuss my mistakes a lot.  It may make me sound like I am the worst baker ever too.  I am a big believer though that in order to really improve at something that you have to push yourself.  Pushing yourself is evident when mistakes are made.  You are trying something new.  I tried the above icing recipe twice.  Each time I could not manage to get the icing to stiffen in my mom's fancy Kitchen Aid mixer.  I was frustrated and disappointed.  Despite my stubborn nature, I ended up though tossing the above icing recipe and making a boiled white icing recipe from a different cookbook.  I don't have the recipe for the icing with me currently, but will have to include it in a future post.  It was fantastic and it stiffened quite easily.  I think the main problem I was having with the other icing was getting the temperature of the mixture over the stove to 160 F.  (My mom's electric stoves have trouble deciding when to heat up and produce inconsistent heat.  I know...excuses excuses :) )  One hundred sixty degrees must be the trick to the icing though.  I will try again this same recipe and see if I am more successful.

Let's move on to evaluating the recipe.  I give the cake a 3.7 out of 5.  It was good, but not so good to run home and tell your mom about it.  The cake itself wasn't something really special.  It was moist and light in taste.  It definitely wasn't hard to eat.  However, much in my disappointment lay in the fact that the cake itself did not taste like lemon.  I thought with the title of the cake being the "Ultimate Lemon Layer Cake" that there would be a lemon taste to the cake.  The recipe's title was somewhat deceiving.  There was no lemons or lemon flavoring even added to the cake itself.  Inconceivable!  There was lemon though in the icing and filling.  The lemon curd filling was my favorite part of the cake.  It was fantastic.  Sweet and lickable.  I found myself licking it out of the bowl as I was spreading it.  This is a rare occurrence for me.  I will be making the filling again and spreading it onto a different cake.  One thing to make note of with the filling is that it didn't take long to make over the stove, but it is important to remember that it has to refrigerate for hours prior to actually spreading.  A little like jello eh? (especially with the gelatin).  The icing I discussed above and I will include the recipe for the actual icing I used in a future post.  Summary= Make Lemon Curd Filling and Go Camping with cakes