When Life Gives You Lemons...

Make lemon poppyseed cake!

Last summer I had an amazing cake from The Buttery in Santa Cruz. The cake itself was super filling but the frosting was light and made the cake more addicting. Unfortunately going down to Santa Cruz on the one-hour winding road for an amazing slice of cake would be a rare experience, so I embarked on my quest to make my own version of the cake. 

The Buttery's website described the cake as a poppyseed cake with lemon curd and cream cheese frosting, which is all I needed to find a way to experience that mouth-watering slice of cake again!

I began sifting through online blogs and magazines only to find that the most common lemon poppyseed cake was a pound cake usually iced with glaze. Finally I gathered recipes from all kinds of different sources, combined them together and edited it based on my own preferences! After many rounds of experimentation on this cake, I've finally come up with an amazing recipe:

 

Happy Birthday Mother :)

Lemon Poppyseed Cake:

3 cups cake flour

1.5 cups sugar

3 tbsp poppy seeds

2 sticks butter, softened

1 cup buttermilk

3 eggs

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

Zest of one lemon

1/4 cup lemon juice

3/4 tsp vanilla extract

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour 2 round cake pans (8").

2. In the bowl of a stand mixer, use the paddle attachment to cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. 

3. Add eggs one at a time and beat after each addition.

4. In a separate bowl, sift all dry ingredients. 

5. In a measuring cup, measure butter milk and juice from a lemon. (Use real lemons!)

6. Alternate between adding the dry ingredients and buttermilk/lemon mixture to the stand mixer bowl.

7. Add vanilla extract and beat for 10 seconds.

8. Pour batter into prepared pans and bake for 25 minutes. 

Step 6: Alternate between dry and wet ingredients. (Wet ingredients tend to stay on the top of the mixture because they're less dense. By alternating wet and dry, we can ensure that both will be mixed to consistency! *Yay science!*)

Lemon Curd:

3 eggs

3/4 cup granulated sugar

1/3 cup lemon juice

4 tbsp butter

1 tbsp lemon zest

1. Whisk eggs, sugar, lemon juice, lemon zest.

2. Place in a double broiler and stir constantly until the mixture thickens. (5-10mins.)

3. Cut butter into pieces and mix in. 

4. Remove from heat and cover with plastic wrap immediately so a skin doesn't form. 

5. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours. (Better if done the night before)

Double broiler. Keep whisking to prevent thickening!

Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting:

5.5 tablespoons (2/3 stick) unsalted butter, softened at room temp.

8 ounces (1 stick) cream cheese, softened at room temp.

1 cup confectioners' sugar, sifted

3/4 tsp vanilla extract

3/4 tbsp lemon juice

3/4 tsp lemon zest

1. In the bowl of a stand mixer, use the paddle attachment to cream butter and cream cheese for 2 mins. 

2. Add confectioners sugar. Mix until lumps disappear.

3. Add vanilla extract, lemon juice, a little at a time. Mix.

4. Add lemon zest. Mix.

Cake Assembly:

1. Cut each cake in half (so that the cake will comprise of 4 layers). 

2. Spread a layer of lemon curd, followed by a layer of cake. 

3. Frost the top layer and sides of the cake.

4. Decorate with lemon cross-sections!

Step 2: Spread a layer of lemon curd. 

Step 3: Add a layer of cake.

Step 4: Frosting!!

So my quest for making lemon poppyseed cake is finally complete :) It turned out well and the lemon is perfect for a light spring/summer flavor! Happy Baking!