Lemon Almond Cake

“When life gives you lemons, make delicious things!”

Lemons. A love that runs in me deep. As a child, I would eat lemons whole besides the rind. Something about its sour zesty flavor that makes me smile. Plus they are so bright to look at, being my favorite color. The only thing I love more than lemons are lemon flavored desserts, and this cake is surely one of them.

There is both lemon juice and lemon zest of 2, count them, two lemons to give this cake the citrus flavor. To make this cake moist and soft textured it has some sour cream in the batter. Yes, you read me right, sour cream in the cake. This may sound odd given that sourcream is usually used for savory eating and is typically seen as a topping, but trust me this surely does not disappoint and you won’t taste it in the overall flavor.

To top this cake off is some almond buttercream to coat between layers and serve as an all-around finisher of the cake. It is delicious and bright, perfect if you have any winter blues getting you down.

Enjoy the zest of life, (had to do it), and, as always, keep baking.

Ingredients for cake:

1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature

2 cups of sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 teaspoons lemon juice

6 large eggs

3 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1 ½ cups sour cream

2 large lemon zested

Desired food coloring

Steps:

1. Grease and flour 2 9in round cake pans. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F

2. Beat the butter and sugar with a stand mixer until pale and smooth. Add vanilla extract and lemon juice, then beat in eggs one at a time.

3. In a separate bowl combine flour, baking soda, and salt. Add this mixture to the batter alternating with sour cream. Mix in the lemon zest.

4. Separate batter into two separate bowls and add in different colors of food coloring, and mix well. Then spoon the batter into prepared pans

5. Bake for 20 to 30 minutes, and allow to cool completely before assembly

Ingredients for Buttercream

3 cups of unsalted butter, room temperature

1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract

2 teaspoons of almond extract

7 cups powdered sugar

Desired color food coloring

Steps:

1. Beat butter with a stand mixer until pale and fluffy. Add in extracts and mix until well combines.

2. Add in powdered sugar one cup at a time and beat with each addition.

3. Beat until the frosting is fluffy, about 3 to 5 minutes

Assembly

1. Slice the tops and bottom off the cakes to remove any excess browning. Then slice the layers in half, creating 4 layers.

2. Stack layers with a layer of buttercream in between in the desired order. Then coat the entire cake with a thin layer of buttercream. Allow chilling for 20 minutes

3. Apply decorations to the cake and pipe roses on the mane.

4. Enjoy!