CakeSpy Note: This is a guest post from Cake Gumshoe Sarah Spiller, a Seattle University student and dorm baking expert, who you may remember as being an entrant in the Pi(e) Day Pie Slam! Here's a roundup of her latest baking adventure:
While I certainly appreciate the bevy of fluorescent candy brought on by the resurrection of Jesus each spring, I felt that a Peeps and jellybean candy tray was not quite decadent enough to end our Easter feaster (as my sister calls it). I craved a baking challenge and butter and sugar in their most pure form: cake. A layer cake with buttercream frosting is a classic dessert that never fails to please. I knew I wanted some springy flavors like lemon or berries so when I stumbled upon (literally) this triple lemon blueberry cake, I knew I had found my Easter soulmate. A triple-decker stunner of a cake, this baby is three layers of lemon blueberry cake, filled with lemon curd and topped with lemon buttercream frosting. Yup--that’s lemon in every component, so if you can’t take the tang, get out of the kitchen.
But back to the most terrifying part of that lovely cake… lemon curd. A beautiful, creamy substance that involves the mysterious marriage of eggs and sugar as a result of medium heat and constant stirring. My history with curd, custard, and pastry cream has not been so hot. Once it comes time for the eggs and sugar to combine, I always end up with a lumpy, half burnt mess. So to avoid inevitable disaster, I tend to shy away from those deliciously difficult recipes. But I knew I wanted this cake, and so the curd had to be conquered. Fortunately the lemon curd recipe came from the trustworthy Martha Stewart, so I knew I was in good hands. As I stood carefully, constantly stirring my sugar, egg yolks, lemon juice, and zest, I was elated as I watched the sugar actually melt! And the ingredients all combine and become thick enough to coat the back of a spoon! To my great joy, the lemon curd looked just like the picture on Martha’s website and spread beautifully between the lemon blueberry layers.
The rest of the cake came together quite easily, just make sure to be really gentle when folding in the blueberries or you will end up with a very blue cake. The frosting was also quite lemony so if you aren’t as crazy about lemon as I am, you might want to decrease the amount of lemon juice. My family was thrilled with the appearance and taste of this cake, and I’m sure yours will too.