Lemon lovers will not sour on this lemon cake with stunning geometric pattern pipped on the outside.
Ingredients
Cake
840g all-purpose flour
530g caster (superfine) sugar
½ tsp salt
2 tbsp baking powder
750ml of milk
250ml vegetable oil
250g unsalted butter, softened
4 tbsp Greek yogurt (can substitute with sour cream)
4 tsp vanilla extract
4 large eggs
Zest of two lemons
½ cup lemon juice
10 drops lemon food gel
Jelly Jewels
6 tbsp powdered gelatin
12 tbsp cold water
500ml cups lemon juice
125g cup caster sugar
Frosting
3 batches Swiss meringue frosting
10 drops yellow food gel
3 tbsp lemon curd or 3 tsp lemon essence
Instructions
Jelly Jewels
Add water and gelatine to a large mixing bowl. Mix until well combined. Allow to sit for 2 min. Add lemon juice and sugar to a microwave safe bowl or jug and microwave for 3 min. Add gelatine and stir until completely dissolved. Spray jewel mold with oil and wipe exess away with a paper towel. Fill molds up with jelly mixture. Chill for 2 hours.
Frosting
Combine all ingredients together and mix.
Cake
Preheat a fan-forced oven to 160C (320F) or 180C (356F) for a conventional oven. Spray an 8” cake tin with oil spray and line the bottom with baking paper.
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, add the flour, baking powder, caster sugar and salt. Turn mixer on low speed and allow it to mix for a couple minutes to help everything combine well (alternatively you may do this by sifting the ingredients together). Add the softened butter and mix until it resembles a fine sand like texture.
Add the milk, oil, Greek yogurt, eggs, lemon zest, yellow food dye and vanilla extract into the bowl with the dry ingredients and mix on medium speed until no dry ingredients are visible. Scrape down the bowl and mix for another 20 seconds.
Fill three 8” cake tins with batter.
Bake for 30 min or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Allow the tins to cool for 2 min and then carefully flip the cake tins over on to a cooling wrack to cool completely before using.
Using a large serrated knife, carefully trim the top off each layer of cake to make even and flat layers. Try to aim to get them all the same height. An easy way to do this is to find the lowest height of the cake, place a skewer or toothpick next to that point and mark it. As you go around each side of the cake cutting it, use the marked skewer to make sure each cut is at the same height.
To prepare crumb coat, add a dab of frosting onto an 8” cake board or serving plate. Add first cake layer. Use a piping bag filled with frosting to frost aroud the outside permiter of the cake layer. Add a thin layer in the middle of the cake and then add dabs of lemon curd on top. Use a small offset to smoothen out and layer the frosting on each layer before adding the next layer of cake. Add more frosting around the outside to fill the grooves between each layer. This should just be a neat thin layer of frosting which is aimed at trapping any cake crumbs so that random bits of cake crumbs don’t show up on the outside of the cake.
Add a fresh layer of frosting using a small offset spatula. Use a cake scraper to smoothen out the frosting around the sides. Then smoothen out the top using a the cake scraper. Chill for 2 hours.
To add final layer of frosting add frosting to a piping bag and frost the sides and top of the cake. Use a cake scraper to smoothen out the top of the cake first. Then work the scraper around the sides. If there are any bubbles or any spaces that need filling, add more frosting and work the cake until it’s smooth. Smoothen out the top again and chill for 2 hours.
Fit the end of a piping bag with a Wilton #5 round tip to draw large geometric shapes on the outside of the cake. Fill the shapes in with more lines. This can take a while. Put on a Beyoncé album and pipe for Yo LIFE! And Don’t F it up! #RuPaul
Finish off by adding jellies on top up to an hour before serving.
Recipe by Cooking TV Recipes at https://cookingtv-channel.com/hold-up-they-dont-love-you-like-i-love-you-via-the-scran-line-full/