Our Family Favourite Lemon Spring Easter Cake Recipes

RASPBERRY & LEMON SPRING / EASTER CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 180C/350°F Grease & flour two 20cm / 8" cake tins.
• Beat the sugar, butter & almond extract until pale & fluffy. Gradually the egg, then fold in the ground almonds, flour, lemon zest & juice.
• Spoon into the tins, smooth the top & bakes for 30 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean when inserted into the centre of the cake.
• Make a drizzle by mixing the icing sugar& lemon juice together. When the cake comes out of the oven, turn out onto a cooling rack set over a plate. Prick the cakes all over with a skewer & drizzle the syrup over. Set aside to cool/.
• Whip the cream & fold in the lemon curd. Set one cake on a plate, level the top if necessary & spoon the filling over the top. Sprinkle with the raspeberries & set the other cake on the top. Set aside.
• To make the icing, mix the lemon juice & icing sugar to make a spoonable thick paste. Use a few drops of colouring to get a nice pastel yellow colour & spoon evenly all over the top of the cake & round the sides. Run a pallet knife round the sides to neaten them up & make sure the icing is evenly distributed.
• Top with your choice of decorations - chocolate mini eggs, fresh fruit, flowers etc.

DANISH EASTER CAKE (PAASKE KAGE)

Steps:

• Stir the yeast into the luke warm milk.
• Add sugar, egg, margarine in small bits.
• Add 3/4 of the flour.
• Work the dough with a wooden spoon, until it has combined.
• Then work the rest of the flour into the dough with the hands, but not more than just combined.
• Don't over work it.
• Let the dough rise with a small amount of flour dusting on top, cover with a clean dish-towel about 30 minutes in a normal kitchen temperature.
• Fill: Combine the butter, sugar, cinnamon, raisins, and candied fruit.
• Roll the dough out on the table to oblong.
• Use a light hand in the soft dough.
• Spread the fill onto the dough, but not quite to the edges.
• Fold over the ends so the fill doesn't run out.
• Fold over the short part, so you now have 3 layers.
• Set the cake to rise again with a thin dish-towel to cover for another 30 minutes.
• Then brush carefully with cold coffee, or an whisked together egg, and sprinkle with sugar (not the fine kind) and 1/4 cup slivered blanched almonds.
• Bake in the middle part of oven at 400 degrees F about 30 minutes.
• Note: The cake will rise quite a bit and becomes surprisingly large.
• You can actually easily make two cakes instead of one if you wish.
• You can freeze the one, then thaw and reheat in the oven when needed.

RASPBERRY-LEMON EASTER CAKE

Steps:

• For the cakes:
• Position a rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F. Lightly brush 2 (9-inch) round cake pans with shortening or butter. Line bottoms with buttered parchment paper and dust with flour.
• Sift the flour, baking powder, soda, and salt into a medium bowl; whisk to combine evenly. Stir the sour cream, lemon juice and vanilla together in a liquid measuring cup, and set aside.
• Beat the butter in a standing mixer with the paddle attachment on high until light and creamy, about 2 minutes. Stop and scrape butter off the sides of the bowl. Continue beating while gradually adding the sugar-- it should take a couple minutes to add all the sugar. Continue beating until very light and fluffy, about 3 to 4 minutes more. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and beat in the lemon zest. Add the eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition.
• At low speed, add the flour mixture in 3 parts, alternating with the sour cream in 2 parts, beginning and ending with the flour. Scrape the sides of the bowl and mix for 15 seconds longer.
• Divide the batter evenly between the prepared pans and smooth the top with a knife. (Lightly tap the pan on the counter so the batter settles evenly.)
• Bake the cakes until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 35 to 40 minutes. Cool in the pan on a rack for 20 minutes; then turn cakes out onto the rack to cool completely.
• For the Icing:
• Bring a few inches of water to a boil in a saucepan that can hold a mixer's bowl above the water. Whisk the sugar, the egg whites, lemon juice, cream of tartar, and salt in the bowl by hand. Set the bowl above the boiling water and continue whisking until the mixture is hot to the touch and the sugar dissolves, about 1 to 2 minutes. Transfer the bowl to a standing mixer fitted with the whisk attachment and beat the whites at medium-high speed until they almost holds a stiff peak and are cool, about 10 minutes. Beat in the butter, a little at a time, until the icing is smooth and spreadable. (If the icing separates, just keep beating and it will come back together.)
• To assemble the cake:
• Slice each cake in half horizontally with a serrated knife, to make 4 even layers, taking care that they are as flat and straight as possible.
• Set a large flat plate on a large inverted bowl or bottom of a salad spinner (of course, if you have a cake stand, use that), dabbing a little frosting on the bottom of the plate to secure it. Place a cake layer top side up on the plate. Using an offset spatula spread about half of the jam in a thin layer over the first cake layer, leaving about 1/4-inch border along the outside. Lay the second cake layer on top, stacking it as straight as possible. Using an offset spatula spread about 1 cup of the icing on the top layer. Place a third cake layer on top.
• Spread remaining red raspberry jam over the cake layer and place the final layer on top, pressing down lightly to secure all 4 layers together. Spread about 3/4 of the remaining icing around the sides with a knife or offset spatula, then ice the top of the cake. Use an offset spatula to smooth icing as much as possible. Press plain or iced cookies around the sides, taking care to leave space to cut the cake. Garnish with additional candied almonds and sprinkle the top of the cake with pastel colored sanding sugars. Serve immediately or set aside at room temperature for up to 2 hours before serving. If refrigerating the cake, bring to room temperature 30 minutes before serving.
• Whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl.
• Beat the butter and both sugars in another medium bowl with an electric mixer on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 30 seconds. Add the eggs and vanilla mixing until fully incorporated. Slowly add the flour mixture, and continue beating just until the dough comes together, stopping and scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.
• Divide dough in half, pat into disks, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm, at least 2 hours.
• Generously flour a clean work surface. (For a nice, even layer of flour, lightly sift flour over the work surface.) Gently roll chilled dough about 1/4-inch thick. Cut into desired shape using a cookie cutter, working quickly enough so dough remains chilled. If dough gets too soft, refrigerate on a lined baking sheet until firm again, about 30 minutes.
• Transfer cut cookies to un-greased baking sheets, leaving about 1-inch between cookies. Refrigerate the formed cookies for at least 30 minutes. Lightly dust off excess flour with a dry pastry brush. (Excess dough can be pressed into a disk, chilled and rerolled.)
• Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Bake the cookies, until the bottoms are golden, about 12 to 15 minutes depending on shape. Cool on the baking sheets until firm enough to transfer to a rack to cool. Decorate as desired and serve. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week.