therecipecritic
Lemon Layer Cake
Lemon Cake is everything you want in a sweet, yet zingy cake! Tender moist layers of refreshing lemon cake are smothered with a tart but sweet frosting.
👥 12 Servings⏱️ Prep & Cook: 1h 20m⏳ Prep: 45 min🔥 Cook: 35 min👤 The Recipe Critic📖 therecipecritic
🥘 Ingredients
Check off ingredients as you prepare them:
🍳 Cookware
- ●pan
- ●oven
- ●bowl
- ●whisk
- ●spatula
- ●mixing bowl
- ●stove
📝 Preparation Steps
1
Cake
2
prep
3
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit. Prep 2, 8-inch round cake pans by spraying them with nonstick cooking spray. Use a parchment round on the bottom of the pan and spray that again with cooking spray. Dust the whole inside of the pan with flour and tap out the excess.
4
sift
5
In the bowl of a stand mixer, sift together cake flour, baking powder, salt, baking soda, and 1 ¼ cups granulated sugar.
cake flour2 cupsbaking powder1 tablespoon
6
mix
7
In a small bowl, mix melted unsalted butter, buttermilk, vegetable oil, vanilla, fresh lemon juice, lemon zest, and egg yolks until combined.
½ cup unsalted butter (melted)unsalted butter (softened)1 poundvanilla1 teaspoonlemon zest3 tablespoons
8
whisk
9
In a separate, clean bowl of your stand mixer, use the whisk attachment to beat the egg whites until foamy, about a minute. Lower the speed to medium-low and add in the remaining ¼ cup of sugar while the mixer is still running. Allow the egg whites to beat until stiff peaks form, just about a minute. Set aside.
egg whites4
10
mix
11
With the bowl containing the flour mixture, use the whisk attachment on low and slowly add the butter mixture to your flour while mixing, about ⏱️ 15-20 seconds. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and the whisk and mix again at medium-low until the mixture is combined, about 15 more seconds. Fold in about ½ of the whipped egg whites until combined, then gently fold in the rest, taking care to make sure it’s fully incorporated and no streaks remain.
egg whites4
12
bake
13
Pour your batter into the prepared cake pans. Bake for ⏱️ 30-45 minutes, or until the tops of the cakes bounce back when touched and a toothpick comes out clean.
14
cool
15
Cool the cakes in the pans for about ⏱️ 10 minutes before flipping them upside down on a cooling rack and removing the pans. Allow the cakes to cool upside down on the cooling rack. This will make the tops of your cakes nice and level.
16
chill
17
Once the cakes are cooled, wrap them individually in plastic wrap and store in the fridge overnight, or at least ⏱️ 4 hours. Chilling the cake layers makes it easier to frost without getting crumbs in your frosting.
18
frost
19
When the cakes are done chilling, use an offset spatula to ice your cake with the frosting, using it for the filling as well.
20
Frosting
21
heat
22
Set a small pan on the stove. Put about an inch of water in the pan and bring it to a simmer over medium-low heat. In a mixing bowl, whisk together the egg whites and sugar. Place the bowl over the water, making sure the water doesn’t touch the bowl.
egg whites4
23
whisk
24
Whisk constantly until a thermometer reaches 165 degrees Fahrenheit. Remove the bowl and use the whisk attachment of your mixer to whip the egg whites on high until you have medium stiff peaks and the bowl has cooled to room temperature.
egg whites4
25
mix
26
Switch to the paddle attachment and, with the speed at medium, add in the butter 1 tablespoon at a time until it is all incorporated. Add in the lemon zest and salt and turn the speed up to medium-high. Mix until the frosting becomes thick. It may take a bit, and it may look like it has curdled, but trust the process and keep mixing! It will come together for a nice, smooth, rich frosting. Keep the frosting in an airtight container at room temperature until the cake layers are ready to be frosted.
lemon zest3 tablespoons
Nutrition Facts
calories
684 kcal
fat Content
45 g
serving Size
1 serving
fiber Content
1 g
sugar Content
51 g
sodium Content
351 mg
protein Content
6 g
trans Fat Content
2 g
cholesterol Content
157 mg
carbohydrate Content
67 g
saturated Fat Content
26 g
unsaturated Fat Content
16 g
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