Something awful just happened. When I walked into my yoga class the lady looked at me like I was a crazy person. Turns out the class was at 7:30…not 8:30. First of all, how embarassing! And second, what a bummer! Stupid schedules! I knew only 2 things could cheer me up: a stop at Hobby Lobby and writing about this delicious cake.
This Lemon Chiffon Layer Cake was perfect in so many ways. The frosting was lemony and velvety smooth. The lemon curd filling was tangy and delicious. And the cake itself was light and airy. Anybody that loves lemon will love this cake because lemon is prominent in every step.
With that being said, this cake went wrong in a few ways too. First, we filled the center with way too much lemon curd so the subsequent oozing was may-jah. Also, we tried to pipe our frosting like Apron of Grace but we were not at all successful. Hers looked beautiful. However, we came up with a different piping method that was easier and turned out great. We’ll practice her method a lot more and hopefully one day we’ll get it right.
On a side note: Happy Labor Day Weekend everybody!
Note: As you can see from our picture we filled the layers with too much lemon curd and it ended up oozing out. We love lemon curd but this was a sweet, sticky mess. Be careful to not overdo it like us!
Note: According to the recipe, the cake should have been 4 layers because each of the cakes should be leveled. We skipped that part :-/
Note: If you don’t have cake flour click here – Joy has just solved your problem.
Here's what you'll need
We started by mixing the egg whites to form stiff peaks. Add the cream of tartar.
Meanwhile prepare your dry ingredients
Make a well and add the oil, egg yolks, water, vanilla and lemon juice and zest
Mix that all together
In 3 increments, fold in the egg whites
Flour and grease 2 cake pans
Pour in the batter
Now for the frosting
Mmm lemon flavoring
In goes the powdered sugar
Here is where we went crazy with the lemon curd. But it tastes so good!
As I mentioned earlier we only did 2 layers. But you could level the cake and do 4
We used lemon slices to fancy up the sides.
Ingredients
For the Cake:
2 cups cake flour
1 ½ cups sugar
3 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
½ cup vegetable oil
7 egg yolks
¾ cup cold water
1 teaspoon lemon zest
3 tablespoon lemon Juice
½ teaspoon vanilla
7 egg whites, beaten stiff
½ teaspoon cream of tartar
For the Buttercream Frosting:
2 cups butter
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 tablespoon lemon flavoring
1/3 cup cold water (may need more)
2 pounds confectioners’ sugar
Lemon curd for the layers. (we used store bought from Whole Foods)
Directions
Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. In a large bowl combine the dry ingredients. Make a well in the center and add oil, egg yolks, water, zest, lemon juice and vanilla. Beat until smooth.
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the egg whites and cream of tartar until stiff peaks form. Add beaten egg whites to batter in 3 increments, folding gently but thoroughly between each addition. This step is key in creating a perfect chiffon cake.
Pour the batter into 2 greased and floured 8-inch cake pans and bake for about 25-30 minutes.
Let cakes cool in pans for 10 minutes before flipping onto cooling racks to finish cooling completely.
While the cakes cool start your frosting. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, whip butter until light and creamy, about 3 minutes. Add liquids and mix until combined. Gradually add the confectioners’ sugar while mixing. At this point you may need to add more liquid. You are trying to achieve a spreadable and fluffy consistency. Whip for several minutes.
To assemble the cake (we did not level our cakes but rather made 2 layers), place first layer on a serving platter and spread a thin layer of lemon curd on top, continue until all the cake layers are used up, but avoid lemon curd on the top of the last layer. Place a book or light object on top to set the layers for about 10 minutes.
Frost the cake as desired. Garnish with lemon slices or a sprig of fresh mint.
Source: adapted from Apron of Grace
