Desserts

Soft and Fluffy Lemon Cake

This fluffy lemon cake is so soft and fluffy and full of natural lemon flavour—all the flavour comes from a real lemon. Start by preheating the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Then, add sugar, oil softened unsalted butter, and fresh lemon zest to a large mixing bowl. With an electric mixer, cream the ingredients together, add vanilla extract, and stir it in.

Add flour to a bowl with baking powder and a teaspoon of salt for the dry ingredients, then whisk until thoroughly combined. You will also need whole milk on the side, and add the third cup of fresh lemon juice to the milk. From the spring, switch to a spatula so you do not overbeat the cake; alternate adding the dry ingredients and the milk mixture to the batter and finishing with the dry ingredients.

Fold everything until it’s combined and the batter has no lumps. This recipe uses only egg whites, which helps make a light, fluffy texture. Add six egg whites to a clean bowl, then beat the whites until they reach thick, stiff peaks. This should take about 5 minutes with the mixer on high speed. Add the egg whites to the batter and gently fold them with a spatula. Do not use an electric mixer at this point. Keep going until you get a uniform batter.

Pour the batter into two 8-inch greased baking pans and line the bottom with parchment paper. Bake in a preheated 350 degrees Fahrenheit oven for 30 minutes, let the cake cool in the pan for about 15 minutes before removing them and placing them on a wire rack. Wait until the cakes are cooled completely before you frost them.

Ingredients;

  • 3 Tablespoons fresh lemon zest
  • ⅓ cup (80ml) fresh lemon juice, about 3-4 lemons
  • ⅔ cup (160ml) whole milk
  • ½ cup (118ml) vegetable or canola oil
  • 4 Tablespoons (57grams) unsalted butter softened
  • 1 ¾ cup (350grams)  granulated sugar
  • Two teaspoons of vanilla extract
  • 3 cups cake flour see note to substitute all-purpose/plain flour (330g)
  • 1 Tablespoon baking powder
  • One teaspoon salt
  • Six large egg whites at room temperature are preferred
  • ¾ cup (175ml) lemon curd

Icing;

  • 4 oz cream cheese softened but still slightly cool (use the brick-style, full-fat cream cheese; do not use the spreadable kind sold in tubs 113g)
  • 1 cup (125 grams)  powdered sugar divided
  • 3/4 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 1/8 teaspoon salt
  • 3/4 (175ml) cups heavy cream cold

Instructions;

  1. Preheat oven to 350F (175C) and prepare two 8” round cake pans by spraying with baking spray and lining the bottoms with parchment paper. Set aside.
  2. Zest your lemons and set the zest aside. Juice the lemons until you have ⅓ cups of juice; whisk this with your milk and set aside.
  3. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer or a stand mixer, beat together oil, butter, sugar, reserved lemon zest, and vanilla extract until thoroughly combined.
  4. Combine flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium-sized bowl and whisk well.
  5. Stirring by hand, gradually alternate adding the flour and lemon/milk mixture to the butter mixture, stirring until just combined after each addition.
  6. Place egg whites in a clean, dry bowl and beat on high speed with an electric mixer until stiff peaks form.
  7. Using a spatula, gently fold egg whites into cake batter until thoroughly combined (don’t use your electric mixer at this point, or you will over-beat the batter).
  8. Divide cake batters evenly into prepared pans and bake at 350F for 28-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs.
  9. Allow cakes to cool in pans for 10 minutes, then run a knife around the edges to loosen them from the pan. Carefully invert onto a cooling rack to cool completely.
  10. Once the cakes have cooled completely, prepare the frosting.

For Icing;

  1. Combine cream cheese, 1/2 cup (62g) powdered sugar, vanilla extract, and salt in a large bowl and use an electric mixer to beat together until creamy and smooth.
  2. Combine the remaining powdered sugar (1/2 cup/62g) and heavy cream in a separate bowl. Beat with an electric mixer until stiff peaks form.
  3. With the low-speed mixer, stir the cream cheese and whipped cream until thoroughly combined.
  4. Pipe a dam/border along the inside rim of one cooled cake layer.
  5. Fill with lemon curd and spread evenly inside the dam.
  6. Top with the second layer of cake. Frost the entire cake with the remaining frosting.

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