Lemon Bar Cake

You may use a different kind of shortbread cookie if you can’t find these specific ones, but make sure you have 11oz exactly so that the rest of the ingredients work out well for the crust. Pulse the cookies into a fine powder, stir them up with the melted butter, split the crumble between three 6″ pans, two 8″ pans, or 24 cupcakes. This crust presses down beautifully; better than any of my other crusts. It is hard to not sneak a few bites of it before pressing it down into the cake pans, that’s for sure!

Lemon Curd heaven

I’ve shared this recipe before in my Cake Confidence cookbook with my Lemon Meringue Cake (which is oh-so-heavenly!). The lemon curd pairs beautifully with this cake, and highlights one of my favorite part of the classic lemon bar: that gooey zesty filling. Lemon curd may sound a touch intimidating if you’ve never made it before, but I promise you it’s worth it to make it up the day before you assemble (so it can fully set).

Start with egg yolks and one egg white and whisk them together in a pan with sugar, lemon juice, lemon zest. I love using fresh lemons for the lemon juice – you’re needing lemon zest anyway, might as well use the actual lemon ;). The key to a dreamy lemon curd that isn’t scrambled eggs is to stay and whisk while the curd is heading up. When it thickens up, add in the butter a tablespoon at a time off the heat. It should thicken up beautifully. This is the time where you get to decide if you want the little pieces of zest in there or not. I usually strain it, but it still works out fine if you don’t. Like I said before, make this the day before while your cakes are baking (baking day is always separate than assembly day).

the cake base you will never want to forget

Classic lemon cake shouldn’t be hard. It should taste dynamite, but not have to slave away carefully measuring out flour and everything to make it happen. This is why I’ve perfected the doctored cake mix version of the classic yellow cake. Yes, it uses a cake mix, but before you run away, let me tell you that adding in the ingredients I do will make this YOUR FAVORITE LEMON CAKE of all time. You will forever use it as a base to any lemon cake combo you want to tackle in the kitchen. Use that lemon cake mix (any brand will do, I just prefer the taste of Duncan Hines) as your pre-measured dry ingredients, then add in your money ingredients: buttermilk, sour cream, eggs, oil, vanilla, and for that extra lemon flavor add in a whole lemon’s worth of lemon juice and zest. THEN add in a touch of lemon extract if you’re a die-hard lemon lover like we are!

Add your cake batter right onto your crust. No pre-baking required. Just split the batter three ways between your 6″ pans and you’re all set! It will bake flat, smell SO GOOD, and you will wonder if anyone will notice if you sneak a little morsel of it before wrapping it up to freeze overnight (not necessary to freeze them, but they do stack and assemble much easier if you do so). Chilled cakes are easier to frost than room temperature ones.

xo, Mandy

Buttercream BlISS

For my lemon cake, I wanted to have a touch of contrast in color with the rest of the cake. There’s a lot of yellow already going on. The cake is yellow, the curd is yellow, I didn’t want my entire cake to be a neon yellow. so the outside was begging for a soft white to compliment the rest of the cake. I did tint the bottom of the cake with a touch of yellow for the smear, but that’s really it. I know that powdered sugar dusted on top of lemon bars is a classic move, but there is already 6-7 cups of it in the buttercream. I wasn’t going to dust it on top of my cake, thank you very much. 😉 The lemon flavor in the buttercream is from the lemon extract, and I added in a touch of almond extract, too, for fun. They complimented each other beautifully. The buttercream technique is demonstrated in my video below. Just frost half of the outside white, and the bottom half with a touch of yellow

And that’s it! Make sure you pipe a dam around the outside of the cake when you’re adding your curd to your filling area (you’ll see it in the video!). I can’t wait for you guys to try this recipe. I hope you’re all staying safe, staying sane, and finding little ways to brighten up your kitchens during this crazy time in our lives.

Get the Recipe: Lemon Bar Cake

The classic Lemon Bar dessert turned into a beautiful cake! Shortbread crust baked right into every cake layer, zesty lemon curd made from scratch (it's super easy and you'll want to spread it on everything in sight!), my classic lemon cake (cannot be beat!), and lemon buttercream. Every bite was heavenly, and we seriously could not get enough of this cake.

Servings: 12 servings

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Ingredients

 

Shortbread Crust

• 20 Sandies shortbread cookies , (11oz if using a different shortbread cookie variety)
• 5 Tablespoons unsalted butter

Lemon Cake

• zest 1 lemon , about 1 packed Tablespoon
• juice 1 lemon , about 1/4 cup
• 3/4 cup buttermilk , room temperature
• 2/3 cup sour cream , room temperature
• 1 Tablespoon vanilla
• 3 whole eggs , room temperature
• 1 egg white , room temperature
• 1 teaspoon lemon extract , (optional)
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 box Lemon Cake Mix , (any brand will do, but I prefer Duncan Hines)

Lemon Curd Filling

• 3 egg yolks
• 1 whole egg
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup lemon juice
• 2 zest lemons (zest the whole lemons!)
• 4 Tablespoons unsalted butter

Lemon Buttercream

• 1 1/2 cup unsalted butter, left out of fridge for 15 minutes or so
• 1 teaspoon lemon extract
• 1 Tablespoon pure vanilla , you may use clear extract, but it will taste sweeter
• 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
• 1 pinch salt
• 1/4 cup heavy whipping cream
• 6-7 cups sifted powdered sugar

Garnish

• 8-10 Sandies Cookies for garnish

Equipment

• three 6" cake pans, two 8" cake pans, 24 cupcakes
• kitchen aid mixer
• food processor
• straight icing spatula
• angled icing spatula
• piping bags
• Wilton 1M piping tip
• lemon zester

Instructions

 

SHORTBREAD CRUST

• In a food processor, pulse 20 Sandies, or 11oz of shortbread cookies until a powder forms.
• Melt butter in microwave for about 30 seconds. Add to shortbread crumbles and pulse until a crust forms.
• Divide crust between three 6" pans, 2 8" pans, or 24 cupcakes, and use the bottom of a flat measuring cup or drinking glass to make flat and even around the whole bottom. Set aside and make cake batter.

LEMON CAKE

• Preheat the oven to 325 Convection bake or 350 Traditional bake.
• Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Prep 3x 6 inch cake rounds with a swipe of shortening and dust of flour. Set aside.
• In a large bowl (you do not need your stand mixer for this step), whisk together the lemon zest, lemon juice, lemon extract if using, buttermilk, sour cream, vanilla, eggs, and oil. Whisk until just combined. Sift in cake mix and flour. Split cake batter between the three cake rounds with the crust already pressed in.
• Bake for 26-28 minutes until center is baked through (don't over-bake!). If making cupcakes, only bake for 12-15 minutes, or until cupcakes are springy in the middle. Remove from oven, let cool in pan for 5 minutes, then flip out onto a cooling rack until room temperature. Wrap and freeze overnight or freeze for at least a couple hours for easy assembly.

LEMON CURD

• In a medium saucepan over medium heat, stir together the yolks, sugar, juice, and zest. Whisk together as the mixture begins to thicken, about 6 minutes. Curd should be thickening, and will be thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.
• Remove curd from the heat, and stir in the butter cubes. Stir to combine until the butter has melted. Strain the curd, and discard the zest.
• Cover the curd with a light layer of plastic wrap placed directly on top of the surface of the curd, and then store in the fridge until cooled. You’ll want it cold before adding it to your cake as filling.

LEMON BUTTERCREAM

• In a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, whip up butter for about a minute until light and fluffy. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.
• Add in salt, lemon extract, vanilla, almond extract, and heavy cream until combined. Slowly add in powdered sugar, about a half cup at a time. Add in more heavy cream if needed for a thinner consistency. Whip on high for a minute to create a soft buttercream, then back down to low for 30 seconds to beat out any air bubbles. Reserve about 1-2 cups of buttercream and tint a soft yellow.

ASSEMBLY

• On a cake turntable, tape a 6” cardboard round on top of a 8" cardboard round (if making a 6" cake). Add on a small amount of buttercream, spread it around to act like "glue" for holding the cake onto the board.
• Place on first cake round, add on about a half cup of buttercream, spread it flat with an offset cake spatula. Pipe a dam around the outer rim, then spoon on about ¼ cup of lemon curd. Add on next layer, and repeat with remaining two layers.
• Carefully crumb coat the cake, place in the fridge to set for about 10 minutes, then spread on the yellow layer on the bottom and the white buttercream on the top and top half of the cake. As shown in the video, use the straight icing spatula at a slight diagonal to swoop up the sides to create the buttercream design.
• Mix the remaining buttercream in a 1M piping tip and pipe on swirls with Sandies cookies between each swirl. Cake slices best when cold. Enjoy!

Course: Dessert

Author: Mandy Merriman

As always, I’d love to see your cake creations! Tag @bakingwithblondie on Instagram so I can see! Happy Baking!

xo,

Mandy