Triple Lemon Vanilla Bean Layer Cake with a Lucious Lemon Buttercream

Firstly apologies for my delay in blogging, its been a while and I keep starting new posts and not publishing for one reason or another.... so here goes one.  I promise to catch up asap!

I have an abundance yet again of lemons from my Mum's tree, a massive bowl is overflowing on our dining table, leaves and all.   Last night I did an order of 2 dozen macarons using them, and it inspired me to bake something further today because the Lemon buttercream was soooo delish!  And before you ask... yes I had my handy helper under foot too.

So fasten your seatbelts and hold onto your hats, this one is super fast and uber tasty...

Triple Lemon Vanilla Bean Layer Cake

225g Butter - room temp, cubed
1 cup Castor Sugar
1 1/2 tsp Vanilla Bean Paste
1 Lemon Rind
1 Lemon Juice
1/2 tsp Lemon Extract
6 Eggs
1 cup Milk (i used Lite Organic with a squeeze of a 1tsp of lemon juice in it)
3 cups Plain Flour (All-Purpose) - remove 3 tablespoons of flour
3 Tbsp Corn Flour (or corn starch)
2 tsp Baking Powder

Lucious Lemon Buttercream

125g Butter - room temp
3 ounces Cream Cheese
1 Whole Lemon - Zest & Juice
1/2 tsp Vanilla Essence
2 cups Pure Icing Sugar - sifted
2 cups Icing Sugar Mixture - sifted

Preheat your oven to 160 degrees.  Grease and flour two 8 inch cake pans.

Place your butter and castor sugar in the mixer and cream them together, then add the vanilla, lemon rind, juice and extract and mix in well, it may appear curdled but keep going.  Add in your eggs one at a time, mixing well between each addition.

Prepare, measure and have ready to go, your milk and also your dry ingredients sifted together (flour, corn flour/cornstarch and baking powder.  Alternatively add the milk and dry ingredients in 3 consecutive additions. Lightly mix at the end.

Pour your mixture into 2 equal sandwich pans.  Place in the oven on the middle oven shelf.  Bake for 35 minutes and check they are cooked through as every oven is different.

Buttercream - Place all ingredients into mixer and mix until it is pale, light and fluffy.  Frost your cake bottom layer first then top layer, and embellish with your choice of sprinkles or leave plain. Enjoy!

Three Ways to achieve Marshmallow Frosting!

I absolutely LOOOOOVE marshmallow frosting, much much more than buttercream and 1000 times more than cream! Its light, its fluffy, and it goes with sooo much more flavours and best of all I can eat a truckload of it!

I have based the quantities on all of the frostings below for 12 muffin size or 24 regular size cupcakes.  This can be piped straight onto your cupcakes (or cake or whatever else). Shown in the picture above, this is an example of meringue or marshmallow at 'Duck Beak' stage, when your mixture is at the point that it looks like this when you remove the whisk beater and it stays in this form, it is ready to use.

1. Marshmallow Frosting - Boiled

2 Egg Whites
1/2 cup Castor Sugar

1/4 cup Light Corn Syrup (we have debated this but I'd suggest glucose syrup to be similar if need be BUT many health food stores do stock Corn Syrup in Australia these days)

2 Tbsp Water
2 tsp Vanilla Extract
Pinch Salt

Place all ingredients into a heatproof glass (or stainless steel) bowl on top of a saucepan of simmering water.  Using a handheld mixer or a stick blender whisk the ingredients on the double boiler on high until thick and fluffy, this should take 7- 10 minutes.  Remove the bowl from the heat and continue to whisk it on high until the meringue mix has cooled.  You can now add your flavours and colours and mix well. Your now Ready to Pipe!

RESULTS OF BOILED FROSTING

 

2. Marshmallow Frosting - with a Tub of Fluff

1/2 cup (or 125g) Butter - soft

1 1/2 cups Fluff (or Creme Marshmallow)

1 tsp Vanilla
3 cups Icing Sugar

Place Butter, Fluff and Vanilla into your mixer with whisk attachment. Whisk on a medium speed until a cream consistancy.  Then add in 1 cup of icing sugar at a time. You can flavour or colour at this stage.  Whisk on medium high to combine and whip up.  Your now Ready to Pipe!

RESULTS OF FLUFF FROSTING

3. Marshmallow Frosting - Whipped

4 Egg Whites

Pinch of Creme of Tartar

1 1/2 cups Castor Sugar

1/4 cup Water

Place Egg Whites in an electric mixer and whisk on high. Meanwhile place your Sugar and Water into a heatproof bowl of a saucepan of simmering water (not touching or your bowl will crack), and stir over medium heat until the sugar has dissolved. Add you colour at this stage to syrup.  Then stop stirring and allow to boil for 3-5 minutes until you reach 115 degrees (soft ball stage with candy thermometor), during this stage just use a pastry brush and water to wet the insides of the saucepan to prevent sugar crystals forming.  Once the egg whites have started to form soft peaks, add the creme of tartar.  When the syrup reaches 120 degrees then remove from the heat and pour it into the egg whites avoiding hitting the whisk.  Then whisk for a further 15 minutes until your have a thick stiff glossy batch of icing. Now you are Ready to Pipe!

RESULTS OF WHIPPED FROSTING