Blue Ribbon Lemon Cake

By dinachapman

Ingredients

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 2 cups whole-milk yogurt
• 2 cups sugar
• 6 eggs, separated
• 2 tablespoons grated lemon zest
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• Lemon Glaze (recipe follows)
• Lemon Curd Filling (recipe follows), or 1 cup prepared lemon curd
• Limoncello Icing or Lemon Icing (recipes follow)
• Meringue garnish (optional; recipe follows)

Preparation

Step 1

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Grease and flour three 8-inch cake pans.
Sift the flour, baking powder and salt into a bowl. In another bowl, whisk together the oil, yogurt, sugar, egg yolks, lemon zest and vanilla.
Slowly blend the dry-ingredient mixture into the wet-ingredient mixture. Whisk the egg whites until stiff but not dry, and fold into the yogurt mixture. Pour into the prepared pans and bake 30 to 35 minutes. Cool for 10 minutes and invert onto cake racks. Cool completely.
To assemble the cake, place 1 cake layer on a cardboard cake circle or a plate. Brush with 1/3 of the Lemon Glaze. Pipe a circle of frosting around the top edge of the cake layer. Spread ½ cup Lemon Curd Filling within the circle atop the cake. Repeat with the second layer. Place the third layer atop the cake, then coat with remaining glaze. Spread the Limoncello Icing on the sides and top of the cake. Garnish with the meringue pieces.
Makes 16 servings.
Lemon Glaze: Halve 3 lemons and squeeze out the juice, reserving the juice for another use. Place the squeezed lemon halves in a small saucepan with 1 cup water and 1 cup sugar. Heat and cook, stirring, until the sugar dissolves, about 20 minutes. Strain and cool. Can be prepared the day before and refrigerated.
Lemon Curd Filling: Sprinkle 1 teaspoon unflavored gelatin over 1 tablespoon lemon juice in a small bowl. Combine 1/4 cup lemon juice, 3/4 cup sugar and 1/8 teaspoon salt in a saucepan and heat over medium heat, stirring, until the sugar dissolves and the mixture is hot but not boiling. Whisk 5 egg yolks in a bowl. Whisking vigorously, slowly add the hot lemon-sugar mixture to the egg yolks. Return the mixture to the saucepan and cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly until the mixture reaches 170 F on a candy thermometer. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the gelatin mixture until it is dissolved. Stir in 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, cut into ½ -inch cubes. Pour through a fine-mesh strainer into a clean bowl. Press plastic wrap directly onto the surface and refrigerate until firm, at least 4 hours. Can be prepared the day before and refrigerated.
Limoncello (or Lemon) Icing: In a mixing bowl, cream together 16 ounces (4 sticks) room-temperature unsalted butter and 16 ounces Crisco shortening. Blend in 32 ounces powdered sugar, ¼ cup limoncello liqueur, 1 teaspoon salt and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract. Whisk at high speed for 10 minutes, scraping down the sides until light and fluffy. Alternatively, omit the limoncello and substitute 1/3 cup (or more to taste) fresh lemon juice for a nonalcoholic version. This recipe makes a lot of frosting; you might not use it all.
Meringue garnish: Placed a Silpat (silicone liner) on a heavy baking sheet. Preheat oven to 200 F. Beat together 4 room-temperature egg whites until frothy; add ½ teaspoon cream of tartar and continue beating. Gradually add ½ cup plus 1 tablespoon superfine sugar (made by processing granulated sugar in a food processor for 2 minutes) while beating, until the whites are very stiff and glossy. Sift 1 cup powdered sugar and fold into the meringue. Spread onto the prepared baking sheet. Bake for 2 hours, until dry but not brown. Cool and break the meringue into small pieces; use to decorate the top and sides of cake in a mosaic pattern. Can be prepared a day ahead and stored in an airtight container.
Editor's note: The Texas-size calorie count per serving reflects the generous quantity of icing Graass recommends to allow for cleaning your spatula as you frost, and extra to carry to repair any damage in transport. The cake was analyzed by Cooper Clinic for 16 servings. The analysis includes the cake plus glaze, filling and icing, but it does not include the optional meringue garnish.
PER SERVING: Calories 1,195 (55% fat) Fat 74 g (29 g sat) Cholesterol 219 mg Sodium 275 mg Fiber 1 g Carbohydrates 127 g Protein 7 g