Birthday Lemon Cake with Fresh Lemon Curd

My sister-in-law is one of the nicest people I know. She has the kindest heart, laughs easily, and is a trusted friend. She just recently had a birthday, and we finally got around to celebrating it this weekend. I knew that lemon cake was her favorite, so I set out to find a recipe so blissfully delicious that it would befit the birthday celebration of one of my favorite people.

I read through probably 20 recipes before deciding on this particular cake. The reviews online were very positive. I admit it’s not the quickest recipe- especially if you decide to layer the cake since that needs a good long while to set up in the refrigerator, however, I stand by this and would make it again! The original recipe comes from Fine Cooking. I omitted their lemon frosting, simply because I’m HORRIBLE at frosting cakes and I knew my sister-in-law would probably rather have a cake dripping in tart and tasty lemon curd anyway. I made the lemon curd first, so that it would have ample time to cool.

Lemon Curd:
1/2 cup unsalted butter
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
3 Tbs. lightly packed finely grated lemon zest
Pinch salt
6 large egg yolks


Melt the butter in a heavy saucepan over medium heat. Remove the pan from the heat and whisk in the sugar, lemon juice, zest, and salt. Whisk in the yolks until smooth. Return the pan to medium-low heat and cook, whisking constantly, until the mixture thickens, 6 minutes or so. Check the thickness by dipping a wooden spoon into the curd. Run your finger through the curd left on the spoon- if it leaves a path, it’s ready. Do not let the mixture boil. Immediately pour the curd through a fine sieve into a bowl, using a rubber spatula to force as much through as possible. Let cool at room temperature, stirring occasionally. Place plastic wrap directly on the curd to prevent a skin from forming. Refrigerate until ready to use.

For the cake:

2-1/3 cups cake flour; more for the pans
2-3/4 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. table salt
1-3/4 cups granulated sugar
2 Tbs. lightly packed finely grated lemon zest
3/4 cup unsalted butter, completely softened at room temperature; more for the pans
1 cup whole milk, at room temperature
5 large egg whites, at room temperature
1/4 tsp. cream of tartar
Position a rack in the middle of the oven; heat the oven to 350°F. Generously butter and flour two 8 x 2-inch round cake pans (I used three graduated Pyrex bowls.) Sift the cake flour, baking powder, and salt together into a medium bowl. Pulse 1/4 cup of the sugar with the zest in a food processor until well combined.
In a large bowl, beat the butter and lemon sugar with an electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy (about 1-1/2 minutes). Add the remaining 1-1/2 cups sugar and beat until smooth (about 1-1/2 minutes). Beat in a quarter of the milk just until blended. On low speed, add the flour mixture alternately with the milk in three batches, scraping the bowl with a rubber spatula; beat just until blended.

In another large bowl, beat the egg whites with an electric mixer (with clean beaters) on medium speed just until foamy. Add the cream of tartar, increase the speed to medium high, and beat just until the whites form stiff peaks when the beaters are lifted. Add a quarter of the whites to the batter and gently fold them in with a whisk or a rubber spatula; continue to gently fold in the whites, a quarter at a time, being careful not to over-beat the air out of the mixture.

Divide the batter evenly between the prepared pans. Smooth the tops with the spatula. Bake until an inserted toothpick comes out clean (35 to 40 minutes). Let the cakes cool in their pans on a rack for 10 minutes. Run a table knife around the inside of the pans and carefully invert each cake out onto the rack. Flip them right side up and let cool completely.

Put the largest of the cake layers on a serving plate. With an offset spatula or a table knife, spread generously with chilled lemon curd. Place the next cake layer atop the bottom one, and slather it with lemon curd, and repeat with the third layer. Take three long wooden skewers, and insert them straight down through all three layers to keep the cake steady. Use a knife, and spread the remaining lemon curd all over the exterior of the cake.

I garnished the cake with some fresh-cut freesias from my garden. Since the cake was beginning to resemble a beehive, I added some little sugared bee decorations my mom had given me, and a few more flowers.

The cake smelled glorious, and tasted incredible. It was so light that it almost resembled a lemony angel food cake. One party guest described it as a “ball of heaven” in his mouth.

There were only crumbs remaining at the end of the night. All plates were licked clean. This was lemon birthday cake success! Happy belated birthday to my beautiful sister-in-law, and happy lemon cake-baking to all of you!

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