Lemon Layer Cake with Mascarpone Cream Frosting
A rich and luscious lemon layer cake with a velvety mascarpone cream frosting. Great for dinner party desserts or birthday parties.
Ingredients
- 310 g (2 +½ cups) plain flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 300 g (1 + ½ cups) castor sugar
- Zest of 1 large lemon
- 113 g (½ cup) butter softened
- 60 mls (¼ cup) flavourless vegetable oil
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3 medium eggs
- 1 medium egg yolk
- Juice of 1 lemon
- 250 mls (1 cup) buttermilk
Mascarpone Cream and Lemon Frosting
- 400 ml (1 + ½ cups) full fat (or at least 40%) cream
- 60 g (½ cup) icing sugar, sifted
- 250 g (8 oz) mascarpone
- ½ cup lemon curd optional, but highly recommended! :)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 175C (345F) and line 2 x 8 inch (20cm) cake tins or 1 tall 7 inch cake with baking paper (line bottom and sides of tin).
- In a medium sized bowl, sift flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Whisk to combine and set aside. In a small bowl, add the sugar and rub the lemon zest in with your finger tips until fragrant (- this helps release the oils of the zest into the sugar, enhancing the lemon flavour). Set aside.
- In a larger bowl, beat butter (with a hand held mixer or stand mixer with paddle attachment) until creamy. Gradually add the lemon-sugar and continue beating until it is light in colour and fluffy in texture. With the mixer still on, slowly add the oil and continue beating until combined.
- Add eggs and vanilla extract to the butter mixture and mix until just combined. Add half the flour mixture and using a spoon, fold about 5 times. Now add the lemon juice and ½ of the buttermilk and fold again. Add the rest of the flour along with the remaining half of the buttermilk and gently fold until combined.
- Spoon the cake batter into the prepared cake tins and bake for 20-25 minutes (for 8 inch) or 1 hour for a tall 7 inch cake tin, or until a skewer comes out clean (or with a few loose crumbs). Leave to cool in cake tins for 5 minutes before inverting on a cooling rack.
- Once completely cool, level the cakes/cut the cake into layers with a serrated knife. Place one cake on a cake board and using a off-set spatula, spread ½ cup of marscarpone lemon curd frosting on the cake, making sure the frosting is flat and even. Place the other cake on top and apply a crumb coat of frosting. Allow the crumb coat to set in the fridge for 10 minutes before applying the rest of the frosting. Decorate with lemon wedges/slices and/or pipe extra frosting on top if desired!
To make Mascarpone Cream and Lemon Curd Frosting
- In a clean bowl, beat cream and icing sugar until stiff peaks form. Add mascarpone to lemon curd (if using) in a medium bowl; whisk until blended. Fold whipped cream into mascarpone mixture.