Summer Berry Lemon Layer Cake Food

LEMON LAYER CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°. Line bottoms of 2 greased 9-in. round baking pans with parchment; grease parchment., Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy, 5-7 minutes. Add eggs and egg yolks, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in lemon zest and juice. In a small bowl, mix sour cream and milk. In another bowl, whisk together flour, salt, baking powder and baking soda; add to creamed mixture alternately with sour cream mixture., Transfer to prepared pans. Bake until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, 24-28 minutes. Cool in pans 10 minutes before removing to wire racks; remove parchment. Cool slightly., For syrup, in a small saucepan, combine sugar and lemon juice. Bring to a boil; cook until liquid is reduced by half. Cool completely., For frosting, beat cream cheese and butter until smooth; beat in confectioners' sugar, lemon juice and salt until blended., Using a long serrated knife, cut each cake horizontally in half. Brush layers with warm syrup; cool completely., Place 1 cake layer on a serving plate; spread with 1 cup frosting. Repeat layers twice. Top with remaining cake layer. Frost top and sides with remaining frosting. If desired, top with lemon slices or edible flowers. Refrigerate leftovers.

SUMMER BERRY STACK

Steps:

• Whisk 3/4 cup sugar, egg yolks, and 1 tablespoon lemon zest together in a saucepan over medium heat. Cook until sugar dissolves and mixture is light in color, about 3 minutes. Stir in 2/3 cup lemon juice and 3 tablespoons butter. Cook, whisking constantly, until lemon curd coats the back of a spoon, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat; cover and let cool.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Coat two 9x13-inch baking pans with cooking spray and dust each with 1 teaspoon flour.
• Place 1 cup butter in a microwave-safe bowl; heat in the microwave until melted, 2 to 3 minutes. Mix together with graham cracker crumbs and 1/2 cup sugar. Press the crust into the bottom of 1 prepared pan.
• Bake in the preheated oven until slightly browned, about 10 minutes. Leave oven on.
• Beat cake mix, water, 3 eggs, vegetable oil, and 2 tablespoons lemon juice together in a bowl using an electric mixer until smooth. Mix in sour cream; fold in blueberries, blackberries, and raspberries. Pour 1/2 the batter on top of the crust; pour the rest into the second prepared pan.
• Bake the batter-filled pan in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 15 to 20 minutes. Let cool.
• Beat cream cheese in a bowl with an electric mixer until fluffy. Beat in condensed milk until smooth and fluffy. Add lime juice and zest; mix well. Fold in whipped topping.
• Scatter dollops of lemon curd over every few inches of the crusted cake. Spread half the cream cheese mixture over the lemon curd. Flip the second cake onto a cake rack; gently place on top of the cheese layer. Smooth the remaining cream cheese mixture on top.
• Melt chocolate chips in a microwave-safe bowl in 15-second intervals, stirring after each melting, 1 to 3 minutes. Drizzle on top of the cake. Cover cake; refrigerate until chocolate and cheese layer are set, about 3 hours.

SUMMER BERRY LEMON LAYER CAKE

Steps:

• Making the Cake:.
• Preheat oven to 350°F Butter and flour two 9 inch cake pans. In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
• In a large bowl, beat together butter and sugar with an electric mixer or by hand until light and fluffy, approx 3 minutes or so. Beat in the vanilla and vinegar. Beat in eggs, one at a time, followed by half of the flour mixture. Add the milk and beat in the remaining flour mixture. Beat in the lemon juice and lemon zest.
• Pour the batter into prepared cake pans.
• Bake until lightly golden and a chopstick inserted into middle of the cake comes out clean, about 15-20 minutes. Let cake cool on a wire rack.
• Meanwhile, make the frosting (for frosting 1). In a large bowl, beat together butter, 6 cups of confectioner's sugar, half 'n' half, lemon juice, and lemon zest with a whisk until incorporated. Continue to beat for 3 minutes, or until frosting begins to get fluffy. At this point, taste the frosting. If desired, add remaining two cups of confectioner's sugar in 1/2 cup increments, tasting for preferred sweetness. Continue to beat frosting until thick and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Set to cool.
• For Frosting 2; In a mixer bowl, whisk the egg whites, cider vinegar, sugar and vanilla until well combined (not until stiff, that will be later). Incorporate the water.
• Fill a saucepan with water about (2-3 cups). The saucepan should be large enough for the mixer bowl to "rest in it" but without touching the bottom of the saucepan.
• When the water is shimmering place the bowl in the sauce pan and whisk the mixture. Be sure to watch that th mixture does not boil. Whisk until all the sugar is dissovled and remove from the saucepan.
• Place the bowl in the kitchen mixer with the whisk attachment on. Whisk the meringue frosting until stiff peaks forms and has a glossy look. This can take up to 12-15 minutes or more. Refrigerate until needed.
• To make the jam; In a food processor (or in my case, ninja blender), puree the raspberries and 4 oz strawberries. In a small saucepan add the berry puree, water, and sugar. Stir with a wooden spoon until it begins to warm slightly (it will bubble slightly at the sides) and whisk in cornstarch. Cook until the jam thickens and pour into a bowl to cool. Refrigerate until needed.
• To assemble the cake: Place first layer of cake on a stand or plate. cover evenly with jam and top with sliced strawberries (top with even amount of frosting if using). Place second layer of cake on top of first. Frost the top (with one of the frostings) and sides evenly with remaining frosting. Decorate the top of the frosted cake with blackberries and strawberries. Refrigerate and store for up to a week.

LEMON RICOTTA CAKE

Steps:

• For lemon curd, in a small bowl, combine eggs and egg yolks. In a heavy saucepan, cook and stir the sugar, lemon juice and butter over medium heat until smooth. Stir a small amount of hot mixture into eggs; return all to the pan, stirring constantly. Bring to a gentle boil; cook and stir until thickened, about 2 minutes. Cool slightly. Cover and chill until thickened, about 1-1/2 hours or overnight., Preheat oven to 350°. In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy, 5-7 minutes. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Combine the ricotta cheese, buttermilk, lemon zest, vanilla and lemon juice. Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt; add to the creamed mixture alternately with the buttermilk mixture, beating well after each addition., Pour into 2 greased and floured 9-in. round baking pans. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 30-35 minutes. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks to cool completely., Using a citrus zester, remove zest from lemons in long narrow strips; toss with sugar. Let stand for 30 minutes. (Save fruit for another use.) Meanwhile, in a large bowl, cream butter until light and fluffy. Add the confectioners' sugar, milk, grated lemon zest, vanilla and salt; beat until smooth., Cut each cake in half horizontally. Place 1 cake layer on a serving plate. Pipe a circle of frosting around edge of cake. Spread a third of the lemon curd inside frosting. Repeat layers twice. Top with remaining cake layer. Frost top and sides. If desired, pipe a decorative border of frosting using a star tip, and decorate sides of cake with colored sugar. Garnish with lemon zest strips. Store in the refrigerator.

SUMMER BERRY CAKE WITH ROSE GERANIUM CREAM

Steps:

• Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Butter and line the bases of three 23cm cake tins. Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, then add the almond extract and lemon zest. Use a fork to whisk the yogurt with the eggs. With the mixer on a low speed, add the flour, ground almonds and 1/2 tsp salt to the butter and sugar, alternating with the yogurt and eggs.
• Divide the batter between the tins and bake for 35-40 mins or until a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean. Cool in the tins for 5 mins, then turn out onto a wire rack, remove the parchment and leave to cool.
• Beat the mascarpone to loosen it. Whip the cream until it holds its shape. Combine the cream, mascarpone and lemon juice, then carefully add the icing sugar and flower water to taste.
• Assemble the cake just before serving. Toss the berries with the caster sugar. Spread the flattest cake with half the cream, then add half the fruit. Top with a second cake, spread with the rest of the cream and top with the rest of the fruit. Finish with the last cake, sift over icing sugar, then decorate with rose geranium petals and rose geranium leaves (as long as they're small).

EASY LEMON LAYER CAKE

Steps:

• Heat the oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4 and line the base of two 20cm sandwich tins with baking parchment. Beat the butter and sugar together for 3 mins using an electric whisk until smooth and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well between each addition and scraping down the sides of the bowl. Fold in the flour and baking powder until well incorporated, then fold in the yogurt, vanilla and lemon zest. Divide between the tins and bake for 30-35 mins until golden and a skewer inserted into the middles comes out clean.
• Meanwhile, make the drizzle. Tip the sugar, lemon juice and 100ml water into a small pan set over a medium heat and stir until dissolved. Add the lemon zest, bring to the boil and simmer for 2-3 mins until the zest has softened and the liquid is syrupy. Remove the zest to a sheet of baking parchment using a slotted spoon, and remove the syrup from the heat.
• Leave the sponges to cool for 10 mins in the tins, then pour over the warm drizzle. Leave to cool completely.
• For the icing, beat the butter and icing sugar together using an electric whisk for 4-5 mins until smooth, scraping down the sides of the bowl as you go. Add the vanilla and soft cheese and beat for 4 mins more until thick and creamy. Don't worry if it doesn't look thick at first - it will loosen, then thicken again as you beat it.
• Remove the cooled sponges from the tins. Spoon the icing into a piping bag fitted with a star nozzle. Put one sponge on a cake stand or serving plate, and pipe just under half the icing around the edge using a circular motion for a wavy effect. Pipe a little more icing over the empty middle (this doesn't need to be neat) and smooth with the back of a spoon. Chill for 45 mins-1 hr until set. Top with the second sponge, then pipe eight blobs of icing around the edge at regular intervals, leaving a gap between each. Spoon the candied lemon zest into each gap, then serve.