I have had the privilege of participating in Roller Derby for many years. Now that even though I do not skate or volunteer in the league anymore I am lucky to have met a lot of cool people in the process. I just had a friend who I met while traveling in Roller Derby and he was able to swing into town during his trip on his birthday. When asked what type of cake he wanted on his birthday he requested Lemon. I haven't made this type of cake before so I was up for the challenge. I wanted to notch it up a level and made 2...count them 2 types of curd to have in the cake as a filling. I believe the raspberry curd is a great complement to this dish. It was tart and danced on the tongue. YUMMO!
Raspberry Curd (Adapted by Beantownbaker) :
Ingredients :
– 12 oz Frozen Raspberries (or fresh)
– 5 large egg yolks
– 1 cup sugar
– 1/2 stick butter
– 2 Tbsp Lemon juice
– 1/8 tsp salt
Steps :
– Melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat.
– Add the raspberries, lemon juice, egg yolks, sugar, and salt and cook, mashing the berries and stirring frequently at first and them constantly at the end, until thickened, about 10 minutes.
– Pour the mixture through a coarse strainer set over a bowl, pressing hard on the solids to extract as much liquid as possible.
– Cool to room temperature; the curd will continue to thicken as it cools.
– Refrigerate, covere, until ready to serve, or for up to 1 month.
Lemon Curd
also adapted from Martha Stewart
6 large egg yolks
Zest of 3 lemons
1/2 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (about 4 lemons)
12 tablespoons sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, cold, cut into pieces
Whisk together yolks, zest, juice, and sugar in a small saucepan. Set over medium heat, and stir constantly with a wooden spoon. Cook until mixture is thick enough to coat the back of the wooden spoon, 5 to 7 minutes.
Remove pan from heat. Add butter, 1 piece at a time, stirring until incorporated. Pass through a fine mesh sieve into medium bowl. Stirring frequently, let stand until cool.
Place a sheet of plastic wrap directly on surface of curd to prevent skin from forming; wrap tightly. Refrigerate until firm and chilled, at least 1 hour. Store refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 2 days.
Lemon Velvet Cake
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/lemon-layer-cake-recipe
Prep time
20 mins
Cook time
35 mins
Total time
55 mins
Ingredients
•
1¼ cups sifted all purpose flour
•
1½ cups sifted cake flour
•
½ teaspoon baking soda
•
1½ tsp baking powder
•
1 teaspoon salt
•
1½ cups sugar
•
⅔ cup vegetable oil
•
⅓ cup vegetable shortening at room temperature
•
1 tsp good quality vanilla extract
•
2 tsp pure lemon extract
•
3 large eggs
•
1½ cups buttermilk
•
zest of two small or one large lemons, grated and finely chopped
Lemon Frosting:
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
3 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
2 tablespoons heavy cream
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
Yellow Food Gel
Instructions
1.
Grease and flour 2 nine inch round cake pans and line the bottom with 2 circles of parchment paper. Sift together both flours, baking soda. baking powder, salt and sugar, Set aside.
2.
In the bowl of an electric mixer beat together the vegetable oil, shortening, vanilla and lemon extract. Beat well at high speed with whisk attachment until light and fluffy
3.
Beat the eggs in one at a time.
4.
Fold in the lemon zest.
5.
Fold in the dry ingredients alternately with the buttermilk.
6.
I always add dry ingredients in three divisions and liquid ingredients in 2 divisions. It is very important to begin and end the additions with the dry ingredients. Do not over mix the batter. As soon as it has no lumps in the batter, pour into the two prepared 9 inch cake pans.
7.
Bake at 325 degrees F for 30-35 minutes or until a wooden toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow the cake to cool in the pans for 10 minutes before turning out onto wire racks to cool completely.
8.
To make the lemon frosting, in the large bowl of the electric mixer, using the paddle attachment or beaters, beat the butter on medium speed until creamy, about 30 seconds. Gradually beat in the confectioners' sugar on low speed. Add the cream, lemon juice, vanilla, and lemon zest. Increase the speed to medium-high, and beat for about 3 minutes, or until the frosting is light and fluffy.
Fill the cake with a layer of the raspberry curd and frost the cake with the frosting and top with the lemon curd.
Serving size: 12-16 servings
