A Luscious Lemon Bar Sheet Cake with a zesty homemade Lemon Curd, Shortbread Crust on bottom, and a tasty lemon buttercream.
Servings 15Large Square Slices
Equipment
9x13 sheet cake pan
Wilton 1M piping tip
Offset Icing Spatula or Cake Scraper
Lemon Zester/Juicer
Piping Bag or squeeze bottle for curd
food processor
Ingredients
Lemon 9x13 Sheet Cake with Shortbread Crust
3cupsshortbread cookie powder (11-15oz pulsed into a powder and then 3 cups measured out)
5Tablespoonsunsalted butter melted
1pinch salt
zest of 1fresh lemon (about 1 Tablespoon)
3/4cupbuttermilkroom temperature
2/3cup sour creamroom temperature
3whole eggsroom temperature
1eggwhiteroom temperature
1Tablespoon vanilla
1teaspoon lemon extractoptional
1/3cup vegetable oil
1/4cup all purpose flour
115.25ozBox Lemon Cake Mix (Duncan Hines is preferred)
Lemon Curd
3egg yolks
1whole egg
3/4cupgranulated sugar
1/2cup lemon juice
zest of2 lemons(about 2 Tablespoons worth)
4Tablespoonsunsalted butter
Lemon Buttercream
1 1/2 cupunsalted butterleft out of fridge for 15 minutes or so1 teaspoon lemon extract
1 Tablespoonvanilla
1pinch salt
1teaspoonlemon extractI used PK Lemon Drop Elixir
1/4cupheavy cream
6-7 cupspowdered sugar
1dropyellow gel coloring
Shortbread Crumble
1 cupshortbread cookiescrumbled to sprinkle on top
Instructions
Lemon Cake with Shortbread Crust
Prep a 9x13 sheet pan with a swipe of shortening and dust of flour to prevent sticking. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Set aside.
For the crust, pulse about 15oz cookies into a powder, then measure out 3 cups into a bowl. Add in melted butter and salt, and stir until all the butter has been incorporated into the cookie powder for a fine crust.
Press the crust into the prepared 9x13 sheet pan and flatten evenly with the bottom of a glass or flat measuring cup. Set aside. There's no pre-bake needed.
For the cake, hand-whisk together all the ingredients except for the cake mix. Sift in the cake mix, and gently stir until incorporated. Pour directly onto the shortbread crust and bake for 28-30 minutes. Let cool in the pan completely before adding on the decoration. Make the curd while the cake is baking.
For the 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.
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 the lemon yellow gel coloring. 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.
Assembly
Add 1 1/2 cups of buttercream to a piping bag fitted with a 1M piping tip, set aside.
Spread on the rest of the buttercream in a flat layer on top of the 9x13 cake. Use an offset icing spatula or cake scraper to make a flat, even layer.
Pipe on long lines of buttercream shells in a straight pattern.
Fill between the pattern with the lemon curd (you'll have a little extra, depending on how much curd you use).
Sprinkle on the crumbled shortbread on top. Enjoy!