Lemon Cream Cake

By AzWench

Ingredients

• Cake:
• 2 1/4 cups cake flour
• 1 tbl baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 1/4 cups buttermilk
• 4 Large egg whites (save yolks for lemon curd)
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 2 tsp grated lemon zest
• 1 Stick (8 tbl) unsalted butter, at room temp
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• Filling:
• 1/3 cup simple syrup (you'll need more to brush on cake)
• 1 package unflavored powdered gelatin
• 1 batch of lemon curd (recipe below)
• 1 package (8 oz) cream cheese, softened
• 3/4 cup whipping cream
• Lemon Curd:
• 2 Large lemons
• 4 Large egg yolks
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 4 tbl butter, cold
• Vanilla Crumb Topping:
• 1/2 cup flour
• 1/2 cup plus 2 tbs powdered sugar
• 5 tbl chilled butter cut into small pieces
• 1 tsp vanilla

Preparation

Step 1

Cake:

Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt.
Whisk together the milk and egg whites in a medium bowl.
Put the sugar and lemon zest in a mixer bowl or another large bowl and rub them together with fingers, until the sugar is moist and fragrant.
Add the butter and working with the paddle or whisk attachment, or with a hand mixer, beat at medium speed for a full 3 minutes, until the butter and sugar are very light.
Beat in the extract, then add one third of the flour mixture, still beating on medium speed.
Beat in half of the milk-egg mixture, then beat in half of the remaining dry ingredients until incorporated.
Add the rest of the milk and eggs beating until the batter is homogeneous, then add the last of the dry ingredients.
Finally, give the batter a good 2-minute beating to ensure that it is thoroughly mixed and well aerated.
Divide the batter between the two pans and smooth the tops with a rubber spatula.
Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until the cakes are well risen and springy to the touch—a thin knife inserted into the centers should come out clean.
Transfer the cakes to cooling racks and cool for about 5 minutes, then run a knife around the sides of teh cakes, unfold them and peel off the paper liners.
Invert and cool to room temperature, right side up (the cooled cake layers can be wrapped airtight and stored at room temperature overnight or frozen for up to 2 months).

Filling:

1. Bloom the gelatin in a few Tbs. of water for about 5 minutes. Heat the simple syrup over medium heat and add the gelatin, bring the mixture to a simmer, stirring constantly, until the gelatin is completely dissolved. Set aside to cool.

2. In a chilled mixing bowl, beat the whipping cream until it forms stiff peaks. Transfer to another bowl and set aside.

3. In the mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese and the lemon curd until it is well mixed. Slowly drizzle in the cooled simple syrup, scraping down sides as needed. Add the whipping cream and beat with the whisk attachment until incorporated.

4. Chill the mixture until slightly thickened.

Lemon Curd:

1. Zest lemons and set aside. Juice the zested lemons and strain the juice. In a msall mixing bowl, whisk the egg yolks and sugar until smooth. Stir in the zest and lemon juice.

2. Pour the mixture into a non-reactive saucepan. Over medium heat, bring to a simmer. Reduce the heat to low and continue to cook, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until the mixture thickens and coats the back of a spoon. Remove from heat and pour through a strainer into a glass bowl. Stir in the butter, 1 tbl. at a time. Cool to room temp, then press a piece of plastic wrap onto the surface and chill in the fridge until completely chilled and set.

Vanilla Crumb Topping:

In a bowl mix the flour and powdered sugar. Cut in the chilled butter until small pea sized balls form. Drizzle the vanilla over and mix to combine. Chill the mixture until needed.

Assembling the Cake:

When the cake cooled, slice in half horizontally. Brush the cut sides of the cake with the remaining simple syrup. Spread ⅔ of the filling on the bottom half of the cake. Top with the other layer of cake. Frost the top and the outside of the cake with the remaining filling and then press the crumb mixture onto the sides and top of the cake. Dust with powdered sugar. Chill for several hours or freeze to firm up the filling. Dust extra with powdered sugar before serving.