Sea Level and High Humidity Summer Lemon Cake | Erica Robbin
Lemony, light, moist, and the perfect cake recipe for sea level and 100 percent humidity.
I made this particular cake for my sister’s birthday and decorated it with rose petals from the roses she surprised me that grew in her garden.
This has got to be one of my most favorite cakes. I had to experiment a lot to create a cake that holds up to high humidity and works well at low elevations and this one is it! The cake has a nice structure, a light, moist texture, and tastes of lemony delight!
The lemon curd recipe is from Martha Stewart’s Wedding Cakes book. It’s great for cakes, scones, trifles, and it’s so good you could eat it all by itself with just a spoon. Her book is a must have for any baker’s cookbook collection. It contains many cake and icing combination ideas, inspirational cake decor with gorgeous photos, and easy to read how to instructions including piping and troubleshooting techniques for professional baking and is also well-suited for beginners to learn as well.
Check out my review of the book, Martha Stewart’s Wedding Cakes by Martha Stewart, Wendy Kromer.
Credit: ericarobbin.com
Ingredients
- SEA LEVEL AND HIGH HUMIDITY SUMMER LEMON CAKE:
- 2 sticks (113 grams/4 oz) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 6 eggs, separated
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 2 cups cake flour, sifted
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1 tablespoon lemon zest
- 16 oz (1 pt/473 ml) heavy whipping cream
- 3-6 tablespoon granulated sugar (to taste)
- Pinch of cream of tartar
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
LEMON CURD: See Martha Stewart’s recipe Homemade Lemon Curd (it’s just slightly different than the one in her book).
HOMEMADE WHIPPED CREAM:
Directions
- SEA LEVEL AND HIGH HUMIDITY SUMMER LEMON CAKE:
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (163 C).
- Cream together butter and sugar.
- Mix in vanilla.
- Lightly beat the 3 egg yolks and slowly mix into butter sugar mixture until well incorporated.
- In a separate bowl combine the flour and baking powder, then add the lemon zest.
- Add the following into the batter, mixing well in between: Alternate between adding flour mixture (1/3 at a time) and buttermilk (1/2 at a time), starting and ending with the flour mixture.
- In a separate bowl whip the 3 egg whites and salt until stiff peaks.
- Mix 1/3 of egg whites and desired food coloring into batter, then fold in remaining 2/3.
- Bake cakes in greased or parchment lined baking pans (I used 8-inch, round) until lightly golden and cake springs back when touched.
- Cool cakes on rack for 10 minutes.
- Before inverting out of pan, release edges with a knife.
- Ensure layers are completely cool before assembling.
- Whip all ingredients together until light and fluffy.
- Fill cake layers with lemon curd.
- For whipped cream piping, I used a #2D Wilton star tip.
LEMON CURD: See Martha Stewart’s recipe (it’s just slightly different than the one in her book): Homemade Lemon Curd
HOMEMADE WHIPPED CREAM:
SEA LEVEL AND HIGH HUMIDITY SUMMER LEMON CAKE ASSEMBLY:
*Please note that this recipe will be best for high humidity and low elevations.
