Hi all cake professionals, i'm at my wits end here with lemon cake.
I have tried three different lemon cake (batter) recipes in all and no luck with any of them.
The first was from the famous 1 2 3 4 lemon cake: http://smittenkitchen.com/blog/2007/09/layered-lemon-love/
Love the flavour but the cake is too dense and dry.
The second was from here: http://sweetapolita.com/2013/03/lemon-meringue-delight-cake/
Very soft and fluffy cake but cake layers shrank into an odd shape. I baked a little cupcake with some batter and the texture is nice.
The third was from Dorie Greenspan's Perfect Party Cake: http://userealbutter.com/2008/03/30/perfect-party-cake-recipe/
I lessened the sugar 50 grams, baked it in three 8-inch pans. Cakes did not rise much (common problem I read), did not brown unless I let it bake on, past the skewer comes out clean stage. The cupcake I test baked also did not brown, but the texture is ok.
Can anybody give me any pointers here??
I add lemon juice to whole milk to make buttermilk in all the recipes.
Thank you in advanced!
I haven't tried any of those recipes but I love Toba Garret's lemon (coconut) cake..it's gorgeous. You can omit the coconut.
Can you try using actual buttermilk and see if that makes any difference, rather than making your own?
Hi Cakefat, thank you, I am going to check out the recipe you recommended!
I did not use actual buttermilk partly because the recipes also say to use lemon juice + milk for the buttermilk.
I haven't tried this one however it is very popular with Australian decorators...
http://aww.ninemsn.com.au/food/1079147/lemon-sour-cream-cake
Good Luck x
http://www.startribune.com/lifestyle/taste/recipes/120789079.html?refer=y
That one is a Rose Beranbaum recipe, I love it, the white chocolate really makes it.
I do a lemon chiffon cake, which is always receiving rave reviews. Its probably one of my most requested flavours. Its light and delicious. You can adjust the amount of lemon flavour you want, I pair it with a lemoncurd buttercream filling and its amazing!
Just take your regular white or yellow recipe, and to it add a couple teaspoons of lemon zest, and three tablespoons of lemon extract.
I had a recipe which called for lemon oil and it was absolutely fantastic. It was a DeDe Wilson recipe I think.
I add the zest and a little of the juice to a yellow or pound cake then warm the rest of the juice with a little sugar and spoon it over the cake once it's out the oven :-) mmmmmmmmm
I was going to say the same. My lemon cake is basically my yellow cake with lots of lemon zest and some lemon extract. If you have a white or yellow cake that works for you, you can try substituting the amount of vanilla called for with lemon extract and add the zest of 1-2 lemons depending on how 'lemony' you want it.
AHi frecklescakes! Thank you for sharing that recipe! I am looking for something that is softer because it will be made into a layer cake. That cake does look wonderful as a tea cake though!
My last cake was Lemon, Lime & Coconut and it was lovely!! I just added the zest of a lemon and lime to the mix as well as the juice of both and also added 1tbsp of coconut! For the filling I done vanilla buttercream with lemon curd stirred in a little so it was marbled! went down a treat for my mum's birthday :)
AScrumdiddlycakes, I have so much leftover egg yolks after making loads of swiss meringue that this cake seems so viable to try out. I have never thought of paring white chocolate with lemon!
AHi Pearline, any chance are sharing the recipe? I totally understand if you prefer not to :)
AAnnie, crazy gray & vgcea, I was hoping to get a real lemony cake. I am planning to fill the layers with homemade lemon curd and frost with meringue and go wild with the blowtorch.
Ahttp://cdn001.cakecentral.com/2/21/900x900px-LL-21f2ada7_IMG-20130409-WA0003.jpeg
Here is a photo of the wonky cake layers that shrank from the first recipe. I have no idea what caused it to turn out this way. Anyone?
Scrumdiddlycakes, I have so much leftover egg yolks after making loads of swiss meringue that this cake seems so viable to try out. I have never thought of paring white chocolate with lemon!
Oooh, you should make a french butter cream with them, it goes really well with lemon cake too :)
If you use a combination of zest AND extract or oil, you will most definitely get a very lemony cake, especially if you fill it with lemon curd. That's what I always do and people flip out over it.
I use Sylvia Weinstock's Yellow Cake http://archives.cnn.com/2000/FOOD/news/02/09/sylvia.weinstock/yellow.cake.html and add in lemon juice & lots of lemon zest.
http://cdn001.cakecentral.com/2/21/900x900px-LL-21f2ada7_IMG-20130409-WA0003.jpeg
Here is a photo of the wonky cake layers that shrank from the first recipe. I have no idea what caused it to turn out this way. Anyone?
The cake alternately stuck to the side of the pan and then shrank.
I would say that there is too much lemon juice relative to the baking soda (baking powder alweays contains some baking soda).
You would be better off using lemon extract (which is based on lemon oil) and some grated lemon zest to form the basis of your "lemon" flavour. The cake cannot taste sour like lemonade because that would mean that it can't rise properly. You can sprinkle a very sour mix of lemon juice and syrup (or limoncello) onto the baked layers to boost the lemony taste.
If you look at lemon chiffon cake recipes, they call for some lemon juice as part of the water. They have oil and more egg relative to creamed cakes. You DO NOT grease the sides of the pan for chiffon cake.
If you use a combination of zest AND extract or oil, you will most definitely get a very lemony cake, especially if you fill it with lemon curd. That's what I always do and people flip out over it.
I need to get my hands on some good lemon oil / extract. Going to check them out! Thanks!
I use Sylvia Weinstock's Yellow Cake http://archives.cnn.com/2000/FOOD/news/02/09/sylvia.weinstock/yellow.cake.html and add in lemon juice & lots of lemon zest.
I love cakes that uses sour cream. How much juice and zest do you normally add to it?
The cake alternately stuck to the side of the pan and then shrank.
I would say that there is too much lemon juice relative to the baking soda (baking powder alweays contains some baking soda).
You would be better off using lemon extract (which is based on lemon oil) and some grated lemon zest to form the basis of your "lemon" flavour. The cake cannot taste sour like lemonade because that would mean that it can't rise properly. You can sprinkle a very sour mix of lemon juice and syrup (or limoncello) onto the baked layers to boost the lemony taste.
If you look at lemon chiffon cake recipes, they call for some lemon juice as part of the water. They have oil and more egg relative to creamed cakes. You DO NOT grease the sides of the pan for chiffon cake.
what bums me is that the recipe works for others. so it must be a problem with my (lack of) skill? But thanks for the insights! I'm going to try other recipes :)
Thank you! You are a wealth of information! I actually do like the smittenkitchen recipe. it yields a good height for the cake, good flavour. Perhaps when I have time, I will try hand mixing in the flour and liquid.
Chances are I might have over beaten the egg white for the sweetapolita recipe.
As for Dorie's recipe, I did cream it for 6 to 8 minutes than the 3 minutes it suggested :(
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