Candied Lemon Party Cake

Remember the candied lemon slices ala Tuesday? Oh yeah. They may have disappeared from the shelf in the fridge already. I even managed to adapt a beautiful cake that I could stuff full of the candied lemons. It was a great combination, and I hope you'll like it too.

The sweet and tart lemon bits between the layers keep the flavor bright, in addition to the dairy free "butter" cream I put together (no small feat, that's for sure). My favorite part of this cake is that the boy's friend D came over and quickly noticed it on the counter. (That doesn't take long, somehow). He already had a piece when I noticed it, and before he left for the afternoon, he'd had a few more slices. He also managed to take a muffin for ransom, and for payment of doing a chore for me. It's a small price for me to pay. It was great to have him love the cake (the boy had a little taste, but he might have had his last sweet tooth extracted a few years ago :), and that I got to share the love with the neighborhood.

This is a perfect cake for a party, for a date, or for a Wednesday. You decide. It's a nice, bright flavor for the dullest of days, and will get the grown men from a few miles around to show up at your door asking for pieces of cake. While you might not be interested in all the unannounced visitors, I think it is perfect for many occasions, and is really not that hard to put together, despite the two page recipe.

Last Year: Beans in Breakfast
Two Years Ago: Lime Avocado Mousse

Candied Lemon Party Cake
Recipe adapted from Baking: From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan
[Printer Friendly]
3/4 cup tapioca starch
1/2 cup sorghum flour
1/2 cup millet flour
1/2 cup buckwheat flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon xanthan gum
1 1/4 cups hemp milk
2 eggs
1 1/2 cup sugar
2 teaspoons grated lemon zest
4 tablespoons Spectrum Organic shortening
4 tablespoons coconut oil
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract


Non-Dairy "Butter"cream
1/2 cup sugar
2 egg whites
3 ounces shortening (butter flavored Crisco would be great here, if you're into that)
3 ounces Spectrum Organic shortening
1/8 cup fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon lemon zest

1/2 pint of candied lemon slices

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees, and grease two (2) 9 inch round cake pans with shortening.
Sift together the flours, baking powder, xanthan gum, and salt.
Put the sugar and lemon zest in the mixer bowl and rub them together with your fingers until the sugar is moist and fragrant. Add the shortening and, working with the paddle attachment of your stand mixer, beat at medium speed for a full 3 minutes, until the shortening and sugar are very light. Beat in the extract, then add one third of the flour mixture, still beating on medium speed. Beat in half of the milk-egg mixutre, then beat in half of the remaining dry ingredients until incorporated. Add the rest of the milk and eggs, beating until the batter is homogenous, then add the last of the dry ingredients. Finally, give the batter a good 2-minute beating to ensure that it is thoroughly mixed and well aerated. Divide the batter between the two pans and smooth the tops with a rubber spatula.
Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until the cakes are well risen and springy to the touch - a thin knife inserted in the center should come out clean. Transfer the cakes to cooling racks and cool for about 5 minutes, then run a knife around the sides of the cakes, and unmold them.

Put the sugar and egg whites in a heatproof bowl, fit the bowl over a pan of simmering water and whisk constantly, keeping the mixture over the heat, until it feels hot to the touch, about 3 minutes. The sugar should be dissolved, and the mixture will look like shiny marshmallow cream. Remove the bowl from the heat.
Working with the whisk attachment or with a hand mixer, beat the meringue on medium speed until it is cool, about 5 minutes. Switch to the paddle attachment if you have one, and add the shortening a little at a time, beating until smooth. Once all the shortening is in, beat the buttercream on medium-high speed until it is thic and very smooth, 6 to 10 minutes. During this time, the buttercream may curdle or separate - just keep beating and it will come together again. On medium speed, gradually beat in the lemon juice, waiting until each addition is absorbed before adding more, and then the vanilla and zest. You should have a shiny, smooth, velvety, pristine white buttercream.

To assemble. Prepare a stable platter or base for your cake. Slice one of the layers in half horizontally, and then spread the top with a light amount of the frosting. Using the candied lemon slices, cut them into smaller pieces, and place them on top of the buttercream, like topping a pizza. Add the next layer, topping it in the same way. Slice and top the other full layer in the same manner, so that there are four layers to the cake. Once you have placed the top layer on the cake, cover the entire cake with the remaining frosting. And let's face it, you can probably get your frosting to look better than mine. Then, pat dry a few of the lemon slices and arrange them on the top of the cake.