Lemon Curd Filling For A Three Layer Cake Recipes

LEMON CURD FILLING

Steps:

• Whisk together egg yolks, granulated sugar, lemon zest and juice and cornstarch in a small heavy saucepan until combined. Cook mixture over medium, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until mixture is thick and coats the back of spoon, 6 to 8 minutes. Remove from heat. Whisk in cold butter until melted and smooth.
• Pour mixture through a fine mesh strainer into a medium bowl; discard any lumps. Place bowl with strained lemon curd in a large bowl filled with ice water. Let stand, stirring often, until mixture is cool, about 20 minutes. Remove medium bowl from ice bath, and place a piece of plastic wrap directly on lemon curd (to prevent a film from forming).
• Cover and chill until curd is firm, at least 4 hours or up to 3 days.

WHITE LAYER CAKE WITH LEMON CURD FILLING

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter two 9-by-2-inch round cake pans; line bottoms with parchment paper rounds. Butter parchment, and dust with flour, tapping out excess; set aside.
• Into a medium bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter and 2 cups sugar until light and fluffy, 3 to 4 minutes, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Beat in vanilla. With mixer on low speed, add flour mixture in three parts, alternating with milk and beginning and ending with flour; beat until just combined. Transfer mixture to a large bowl; set aside.
• In the clean bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat egg whites on low speed until foamy. With mixer running, gradually add remaining 1/4 cup sugar; beat on high speed until stiff, glossy peaks form, about 4 minutes. Do not overbeat. Gently fold a third of the egg-white mixture into the butter-flour mixture until combined. Gently fold in remaining whites.
• Divide batter evenly between prepared pans, smoothing with an offset spatula. Bake, rotating pans halfway through, until cakes are golden brown and a cake tester inserted in centers comes out clean, 30 to 35 minutes. Transfer pans to a wire rack to cool 20 minutes. Invert cakes onto rack; peel off parchment. Reinvert cakes, and let them cool completely, top sides up.
• Using a serrated knife, trim tops of cake layers to make level. Place one layer on a serving plate, cut side up. Using a pastry bag fitted with a coupler, pipe frosting around the perimeter. This dam will prevent the lemon curd filling from seeping out. Fill cake with lemon curd. Place other cake layer on top, cut side down. Spread entire cake with frosting, swirling to cover.

LEMON CURD FILLING (FOR A THREE LAYER CAKE)

Steps:

• 1. Place all ingredients in a medium, heavy bottomed, pan.
• 2. Using med/lo heat, whisk constantly until thickened. You will need to whisk a little faster toward the end and even use an on burner/off burner technique. You do not want to scramble the eggs.
• 3. When thickened, transfer immediately to a bowl to stop the cooking process. Place bowl in another bowl of ice water if you want to use right away. Otherwise, cover with plastic when cooled and keep in the refrigerator until ready to use. Lemon Curd can be made a day or two in advance of baking your cake.
• 4. This makes plenty for a 3 layer 9 inch cake. Frost the sides, if desired, with your favorite white icing.
• 5. Note: lemon curd must be kept refrigerated. Your cake can set out for an hour before slicing. Return any unused cake to the fridge.

LEMON LAYER CAKE WITH LEMON CURD FILLING AND LEMON BUTTERCREAM ICING

Steps:

• To Make the Lemon Curd: In a medium saucepan, whisk together the egg yolks, zest, lemon juice, extract, and sugar, until thoroughly combined. Using a wooden spoon, stir constantly over medium heat. Cook about 20 minutes until thick and bubbly. Remove from the heat and add the butter, one piece at a time, stirring to incorporate. Place in the refrigerator overnight until firm. To Make the Cake: Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease and lightly flour 3 (9x2-inch) round cake pans, then line the bottoms with waxed paper or parchment circles. In a large bowl, combine the flours; set aside. In a large measuring cup, combine the milk, lemon juice and zest, whisking until smooth. Set aside. In a large bowl, on medium speed, beat the butter until smooth. Add the sugar gradually and beat until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, waiting until each one is completely incorporated before adding the next one. Add the flour blend in 4 parts, alternating with the milk mixture, beating well after each addition before adding the next. Scrape the bowl and beaters, making sure there are no unincorporated ingredients in the bottom of the bowl. Divide the batter equally between the prepared cake pans, smoothing the tops. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, spinning and reversing pans halfway through, or until a cake tester inserted into the center of cake comes out clean. Let cakes cool in pans for 10 minutes. Remove from pans and cool completely on a wire rack. When the cake has thoroughly cooled, spread the icing or curd evenly between layers and over top of cake using an off-set spatula. To Make the Lemon Buttercream Frosting: Place the butter in a large mixing bowl. Add 4 cups of the sugar, the juice, and the zest. Beat until smooth and creamy. Gradually add the remaining sugar, 1 cup at a time, until icing is thick enough to be of good spreading consistency. If desired, add a few drops of yellow food coloring and mix thoroughly. Use and store at room temperature.

LEMON LAYER CAKE WITH LEMON CURD AND MASCARPONE

Steps:

• For lemon curd:
• Whisk first 4 ingredients in medium metal bowl. Set bowl over saucepan of simmering water (do not allow bottom of bowl to touch water). Whisk constantly until thickened and instant-read thermometer inserted into mixture registers 160°F, about 10 minutes. Remove bowl from over water. Add butter; whisk until melted. Transfer 1 cup curd to small bowl for spreading on cake layers. Reserve remaining curd for filling. Press plastic wrap directly onto surface of both curds. Chill overnight. (Can be made 3 days ahead. Keep chilled.)
• For cake:
• Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 375°F. Line bottom of two 9-inch-diameter cake pans with 1 1/2-inch-high sides with parchment paper (do not grease pans or parchment). Using electric mixer, beat egg yolks and 7 tablespoons sugar in large bowl until mixture is very thick and slowly dissolving ribbons form when beaters are lifted, about 4 minutes. Using clean dry beaters, beat whites in another large bowl until soft peaks form. Add remaining 7 tablespoons sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, beating until stiff and glossy. Fold half of whites into yolk mixture, then sift half of flour and 1/4 teaspoon salt over and gently fold in until incorporated. Fold in remaining whites, then sift remaining flour over and fold in just until combined, being careful not to deflate batter.
• Divide batter between pans; smooth tops. Bake until tester inserted into center of cakes comes out clean, about 15 minutes. Cool in pans on racks.
• Run knife around edge of pans to loosen cakes. Invert cakes onto 9-inch-diameter cardboard rounds, tapping on work surface if necessary to release cakes. Cut each cake horizontally in half (layers will be thin). Peel off parchment.
• For syrup:
• Place sugar in small metal bowl. Add 1/2 cup boiling water; stir to dissolve sugar. Stir in lemon juice.
• For filling and frosting:
• Beat whipping cream and sugar in large bowl until peaks form. Add mascarpone to lemon curd in medium bowl; whisk until blended. Fold whipped cream into lemon-mascarpone mixture.
• Place 1 cake layer, flat side up, on platter. Brush with 1/4 of syrup. Spread 1/4 cup lemon curd over, then 1 cup lemon-mascarpone filling. Top with second cake layer; brush with 1/4 of syrup and spread with 1/4 cup lemon curd and 1 cup lemon-mascarpone filling. Repeat with third cake layer, syrup, lemon curd, and filling. Top with fourth cake layer. Brush with remaining syrup, then spread remaining lemon curd over. Spoon 2 cups lemon-mascarpone filling into pastry bag fitted with 1/4-inch star tip (to be used for rosettes). Spread remaining lemon-mascarpone filling as a frosting over sides of cake. Pipe small rosettes of frosting over top of cake, covering completely. Cover cake with cake dome; refrigerate at least 6 hours and up to 1 day.
• *Italian cream cheese available at Italian markets and many supermarkets.

LEMON LAYER CAKE WITH LEMON CURD

Steps:

• Beat sugar and butter for curd in a bowl with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs and yolks slowly until well combined. Beat for 1 minute more; stir in lemon juice. The mixture will look curdled; do not panic.
• Pour mixture into a saucepan and cook over low heat until it becomes smooth, about 5 minutes. Increase heat to medium and cook, stirring constantly without letting it boil, until it thickens enough to leave a path on the back of a spoon when you drag a finger through it and reaches 170 degrees F (77 degrees C), about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in lemon zest.
• Let cool to room temperature, 20 to 30 minutes. Press plastic wrap on the surface to prevent a skin from forming and chill in the refrigerator.
• While filling cools, place a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Butter and flour two 8- or 9-inch round cake pans.
• Sift cake flour, baking powder, and salt together in a medium bowl. Pulse 1/4 cup sugar and lemon zest together in a food processor until well combined.
• Beat butter and lemon sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 1 1/2 minutes. Add remaining sugar and beat until smooth, about 1 1/2 minutes. Beat in 1/4 of the milk until just blended. Add flour mixture alternately with remaining milk on low speed in 3 batches, scraping the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed; beat until just blended.
• Beat egg whites in another bowl on medium speed just until foamy. Add cream of tartar. Increase speed to medium-high and beat until stiff peaks form. Add 1/4 of the egg whites to the cake batter and gently fold in. Continue to gently fold in egg whites, being careful not to deflate the mixture. Divide batter between the prepared pans.
• Bake in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted into the center of each cake layer comes out clean, 35 to 40 minutes. Flip right side-up and let cool on a wire rack, 30 minutes to 1 hour.
• Cut cooled layers in half and layer with curd.
• Beat butter and lemon zest for frosting in a medium bowl until light and fluffy. Add confectioners' sugar and beat. Add lemon juice and beat for 1 minute. Frost the assembled cake as desired.

LEMON CURD LAYER CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°. Spray 2 (9-inch) round cake pans with baking spray with flour; line bottom of pans with parchment paper.
• In a large bowl, beat butter, sugar, and lemon zest with a mixer at medium speed until fluffy, 3 to 4 minutes, stopping to scrape sides of bowl. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla.
• In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add flour mixture to butter mixture alternately with buttermilk, beginning and ending with flour mixture, beating until well combined after each addition. Divide batter between prepared pans, smoothing tops. Tap pans on counter several times to evenly spread batter and release any air bubbles.
• Bake until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean, 35 to 38 minutes. Let cool in pans for 10 minutes. Remove from pans, and gently remove parchment from layers. Let cool completely on a wire rack.
• Level cake layers, if desired. Place one cake layer on a serving plate. Spread lemon curd evenly on cake layer. Top with remaining cake layer; refrigerate for at least 3 hours. Spread frosting on top and sides of cake. Garnish with lemon slices, if desired. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour before serving or for up to 2 days.
• In a large bowl, beat cream cheese and butter with a mixer at medium speed until smooth and creamy, about 1 minute. Add lemon zest and juice, salt, and vanilla, beating until combined. Gradually add confectioners' sugar, beating at low speed until combined after each addition. Increase mixer speed to medium, and beat until fluffy, 1 to 2 minutes. Use immediately.