Lemon Lime Checkerboard Cake Food

LEMON-LIME MAGIC CAKE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350°F. Spray bottom only of 13x9-inch pan with cooking spray.
• In large bowl, beat Cake Layer ingredients with electric mixer on medium speed 2 minutes, scraping bowl occasionally. Pour in pan.
• In another large bowl, mix Lemon-Lime Layer ingredients with whisk until smooth. Evenly pour over top of cake batter in pan; mixture will sink to bottom as you pour over cake batter.
• Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 30 minutes. Refrigerate at least 4 hours to chill. Spread whipped topping over chilled cake. Sprinkle with additional lemon and lime peel if desired. Using a serving spatula and a knife to carefully help slide pieces off, cut into 6 rows by 3 rows. Store covered in refrigerator.

LEMON-LIME CHECKERBOARD CAKE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350°F. Grease two 9x5-inch loaf pans with shortening; lightly flour.
• In large bowl, beat cake mix, 4 oz cream cheese, the water, 1/4 cup lemon juice and the eggs with electric mixer on medium speed 2 minutes, scraping bowl occasionally. Pour half the batter (2 cups) in another medium bowl.
• To one half of the batter, add lime zest and green gel food color. Mix until combined. Add lemon zest and yellow gel food color to remaining half of batter. Mix until combined. Pour green batter into one loaf pan and yellow batter into other loaf pan.
• Bake 22 to 27 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center of each cake comes out clean. Cool in pans on cooling rack 10 minutes; run metal spatula around edges of each loaf to loosen. Remove from pans to cooling rack. Cool completely, about 1 hour.
• Using serrated knife, cut rounded tops off each cake, so they're level. Trim 1/4 inch off all 4 sides (leave bottoms uncut). On serving platter, set one cake on top of the other, top sides up, and line them up as much as possible. Make one cut down middle of cakes, lengthwise, making 4 long strips. Switch position of two of the strips to alternate colors in two layers, making sure top sides remain up.
• Gently remove both strips from top layer. To help bottom strips stick together, spread 2 tablespoons lemon curd between the two bottom layer strips, and gently press together. Then spread 1/4 cup lemon curd on top of the bottom layer. Spread remaining 2 tablespoons lemon curd between the two strips of the top layer, and gently press them together. Place on top of bottom layer so the strips create a checkerboard pattern, if looking at them from either short end.
• In medium bowl, beat 4 oz cream cheese and the butter with electric mixer on medium speed 1 to 2 minutes, scraping bowl occasionally, until smooth and creamy. Add powdered sugar and 1 teaspoon lemon juice; mix on low speed 30 seconds. Increase speed to medium; beat 1 to 2 minutes or until smooth and fluffy.
• Spread icing over cake, using spatula to completely coat top and sides. Garnish with grated lemon and lime zests. Refrigerate 2 hours before serving.

LIME CHECKERBOARDS

Steps:

• Whisk the flour and salt in a bowl. Beat the butter, cream cheese and sugar in a large bowl with a mixer on medium speed until fluffy, 3 minutes. Beat in the egg, lime zest and extract. Reduce the mixer speed to low; beat in the flour mixture. Transfer half of the dough to a separate bowl; tint with food coloring.
• Dust the dough with flour; roll out each color separately on floured parchment into a 1/4-inch-thick rectangle. Freeze until firm, 15 minutes.
• Trim each piece into a 4 1/2-by-7 1/2-inch rectangle, reserving the scraps. Cut each rectangle lengthwise into nine 1/2-inch-wide strips. Lay 3 strips side-by-side on a baking sheet (white, green, white). Set 3 more strips on top, alternating colors (green, white, green). Top with three more strips (white, green, white). Build another log starting with green-white-green. Chill the logs.
• Gather the scraps, keeping the colors separate. Roll out each on floured parchment into a 5-by-8-inch rectangle, 1/4 inch thick. Wrap the green rectangle around the log with the white corners and wrap the white rectangle around the log with the green corners; trim the excess. Wrap the logs in plastic; chill 2 hours.
• Position racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven; preheat to 350 degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment. Slice the logs into 1/3-inch-thick cookies; arrange 1 1/2 inches apart on the baking sheets. Bake, switching the pans halfway through, until set, 12 to 14 minutes. Let cool 5 minutes; transfer to racks to cool completely.

LEMON AND LIME BATTENBERG

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350°F180°C/160°C fan/gas 4, grease the cake tin and line it with baking parchment, allowing the parchment to overhang at the edges. Divide the tin cavity in half by pulling up the center of the parchment and folding a tall pleat to separate the halves. Make sure the pleat is as close to the center as possible.
• Cream the butter and sugar together in a bowl for 4-5 minutes, using a stand mixer or an electric hand-held whisk, until pale and fluffy. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, adding 1-2 tablespoons of the flour if the mixture curdles.
• In a separate bowl, combine the flour and ground almonds. Gradually add the dry mixture to the wet mixture until a thick batter forms, then scoop half the mixture into a separate bowl.
• Add the lemon juice, lemon zest and a little yellow food coloring to one half of the batter, and do the same to the other half with the lime juice, lime zest and green food coloring, mixing until fully combined.
• Spread the lemon mixture into one half of the tin and the lime mixture into the other half, with the parchment dividing them, and bake for 20-25 minutes or until risen and golden. Allow the cakes to cool for 5 minutes in the tin, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
• Use a serrated knife to trim the edges off the cooled sponges. Carefully cut the sides that have colored in the oven, as they can look off-putting if used in the Battenberg. Measure the height of the baked sponge with a ruler and slice the cake into strips the same width as the height, forming a square cross section. Mine are usually 2x2cm (3/4x3/4 inches). This will create perfect squares that stack properly on top of one another.
• Gently warm the lime marmalade in a small saucepan to loosen it and make it easier to spread, then pass it through a sieve. Stick one lemon strip of cake and one lime strip together using some of the lime marmalade, then stack the alternate color on top of the bottom layer to create the checkerboard effect with the four strips.
• Lightly dust the worktop with confectioners' sugar, then roll out the marzipan into a large rectangle, trimming the edges so the rectangle is approximately 18x20cm (7x8-inches). Brush the top and sides of the assembled cake with the remaining marmalade, then place top-side down on to the marzipan along the short edge. Brush the face-up side of the cake with more marmalade before tightly rolling it up in the marzipan until it is covered. Press in the final section of marzipan or trim if it looks too long.
• Trim the ends of the cake using a serrated knife and transfer the Battenberg to a plate or cake stand. The cake will keep for up to 1 week in an airtight container.