Lemon Sponge Cake

Ingredients

For the Lemon Cake

• 2 1/4 cups flour
• 3/4 Tbsp baking powder
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 3/4 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
• 3/4 Tbsp lemon zest
• 1 1/2 cups white sugar
• 3 large eggs, room temperature
• 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup milk room temperature
• 2 Tablespoons lemon juice

For the Lemon Buttercream

• 1 cup butter
• 1/4 cup shortening
• 5 cups powdered sugar
• 3 Tablespoons heavy cream, as needed
• 1 teaspoon lemon extract

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350F
2. Grease and flower you cake pans. I also like to add a small circle or square of parchment paper to the bottom to help with easy removal. Set aside.
3. In a large bowl (or the bowl to your stand mixer), cream together the butter and lemon zest, until smooth and light-coloured.
4. Add the white sugar and beat until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
5. Add the eggs, preferably one at a time, allowed each egg to be incorporated into the mixture fully before adding another.
6. Add the vanilla and mix until combined.
7. In a medium-sized mixing bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder and salt.
8. Add half of the flour mixture to the butter mixture, fully incorporate, then add the milk, half of the flour, and then the lemon juice.
9. Divide the batter among the prepared cake pans.
10. Bake the cakes for 25 minutes.

How to Make Lemon Buttercream

1. Beat together the vanilla extract, lemon extract, butter and powdered icing sugar for 2 minutes.
2. Add the heavy cream and yellow food dye (if using) and beat to incorporate.
3. Adjust the consistency with additional powdered icing sugar if you need it to be stiffer.
4. Taste and adjust flavor with additional lemon extract, as desired.
5. You can thin out the frosting as needed with more heavy cream, or thicken with additional powdered icing sugar.
6. Scoop 1 cup of the frosting into a piping bag fitted with a large star tip.

To assemble the lemon layer cake

1. Remove the cakes from the cake pans. Trim off any rounded domes and freeze for future cake pop use.
2. Place the first cake layer on your serving tray and top with 1/2 cup of frosting. Use an offset spatula to smooth it all over the top, and then sandwich your second cake layer on top.
3. Place 1 cup of frosting on top and use the offset spatula to smooth it all over the cake, adding additional frosting as needed.
4. Use the piping bag to swirl frosting on the edges. To do this, apply even pressure as you rotate your wrist and move along the edge of the cake.