Limoncello Cake with Mascarpone Frosting

By rmulleni

Lemon-lovers rejoice--there's nothing quite like the pucker from this Limoncello Cake with Mascarpone Frosting, so gather the family and your closest friends, and share this dessert at your next celebration. The creamy frosting is made with lemon curd and mascarpone cheese then topped with freshly whipped cream. Serve this after any celebratory dinner when you really want to show off your skills without working too hard.

Ingredients

• CAKE:
• 2 1/2 cups flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 3 eggs
• 1/2 cup buttermilk
• 1/2 cup limoncello or lemon-flavored liqueur
• zest and juice of one lemon
• white chocolate shavings to garnish
• FROSTING:
• 16-ounces mascarpone cheese, about 2 cups
• 1 1/4 cups lemon curd
• 2 cups chilled whipping or heavy cream
• 2/3 cups powdered sugar

Details

Servings 12
Preparation time 10mins
Cooking time 35mins

Preparation

Step 1

CAKE:
Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly grease 2 (9-inch) round cake pans and line with parchment paper. Grease and flour the parchment paper.

Mix the limoncello, lemon juice, and lemon zest together and set aside. In a bowl, whisk flour, baking soda, and salt until well combined and set aside. Cream butter and sugar. Add eggs one at a time. Add flour alternately with buttermilk and limoncello mixture.

Bake cakes for 20 to 25 minutes. Cool completely in pans. Once cool, remove from pans.

Place the first layer on serving plate. Frost top with 1/3 frosting. Place the second layer on top. Frost with half of the frosting. Use remaining frosting to frost the sides of the cake and decorate the top with optional white chocolate shavings.

FROSTING:
Cream together mascarpone cheese and lemon curd. Whip cream to medium peaks (about the same texture as thawed Cool Whip, stiffer than soft peaks), then slowly add the powdered sugar to the whipped cream until it's fully incorporated. Fold cheese mixture into whipped cream and mix until completely combined.