Lemon Cake with Lavender Frosting & Candied Lemons
Some weeks you win, some weeks you lose, and others put you in such a tailspin you're not sure if you've won or lost. For me, when things tend to get more stressful than usual, I like to stick to a structured routine as much as possible. That way I know how much time I have for everything and can minimize time for distractions.
Amidst all of the chaos of this week, I did find some time for myself at the gym - miraculously getting there before work - and going to see Ready Player One. I feel like I missed a lot of the references, but thought it was entertaining. I am not good at watching movies. I don't know why, but I haven't seen a lot of "must see" movies and really don't have an interest in it. I smile and tell people I'll for sure add it to my list of movies/tv shows I need to watch but really it's not going to happen unless someone comes over and watches the movie with me. I will however binge watch food documentaries and series on Netflix, and really enjoyed the first season of Mind of A Chef and Ugly Delicious.
I told myself I would put up at least four blogs this month so this is the second of the four and I think I'm doing a good job staying on track. For this post, I wanted to do something springtime flavored and for me that means citrus. I recently bought two citrus trees for my porch and hopefully I don't kill them and they produce fruit. Until then, the grocery store is my best friend. Not to overdo it on the citrus, I made a lavender-vanilla butter cream to hold the cake together and a surprise layer of lemon curd in the middle finished the cake off. I bought some pink lemons at the store and candied them which turned them orange, but still delicious to eat.
Lemon Cake with Lavender Frosting and Candied Lemon Wheels
INGREDIENTS
Cake
12 tablespoons (1.5 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1 ½ cup sugar
¾ sour cream
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons lemon zest
6 large egg whites
2 ½ cup all purpose flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
½ cup milk
1 tablespoon water
⅓ cup lemon juice
Frosting
1 cup salted butter, softened
4 - 5 cups powdered sugar
3-4 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1-2 teaspoon lavender extract
Candied Lemon Wheels
Two small lemons, sliced thin
1 cup water
¼ cup lemon juice
1 cup sugar
Other Ingredients
Lemon Curd
Cake Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees and prep two 8” round cake pans with oil and parchment paper on the bottom.
In the bowl of a stand mixer or large bowl with a hand mixer, cream the butter and sugar together on medium to high speed until light and fluffy, about 4 minutes.
Add sour cream, vanilla, lemon zest and mix until combined.
Pour in egg whites and slowly mix until well incorporated, scraping the bowl down as needed.
In another bowl, sift together the dry ingredients.
In a measuring cup, stir the remaining cake ingredients together.
Add the dry and wet ingredients to the batter, alternating dry and wet until everything is well combined.
Pour batter evenly into two cake rounds and bake for 28-30 minutes until a tester comes out clean.
Remove from oven and let cool in pan for 5-10 minutes before transferring to wire rack until fully cooled.
Put cakes back in the pans, cover with foil and chill overnight.
Frosting Instructions:
In the bowl of a stand mixer, or bowl with a hand mixer, whip butter until light and smooth.
Add in half of the powdered sugar, vanilla, lavender, and two tablespoons of milk.
Mix slowly until powdered sugar is mixed in and then turn the mixer on high until frosting turns lighter in color.
Add remaining powdered sugar and milk, mixing until combined.
Place into piping bag or cover frosting until ready to use.
Candied Lemon Instructions:
In a large skillet or saute pan, add water, lemon juice and sugar and cook on high until sugar is dissolved and water is bubbling.
Turn the temperature down to medium and add in lemon wheels, flipping every few minutes until wheels are candied, about 20 minutes
Place on wire rack to cool. Reserve lemon syrup for future use.
Cake Assembly:
Take one layer of your cake and put it on a cardboard circle or wherever you plan to serve the cake.
On the outer edge of the cake, pipe two layers of frosting creating a wall around the edge.
Spoon in lemon curd and spread until even. I used about a ½ cup to fill my cake.
Flip the remaining cake layer over so the bottom is facing up and place on top of the lemon curd and frosting.
Frost the entire cake with a crumb coat and let set for about 10 minutes in a cool place.
Use the remaining frosting to add to your cake as needed.
Pipe spots on the top of the cake to hold the candied lemons.
Placed candied lemons on each frosting tip.
Refrigerate until ready to serve.