Lemon Rosemary Layer Cake Recipes

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°. Line bottoms of 2 greased 9-in. round baking pans with parchment; grease parchment., Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy, 5-7 minutes. Add eggs and egg yolks, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in lemon zest and juice. In a small bowl, mix sour cream and milk. In another bowl, whisk together flour, salt, baking powder and baking soda; add to creamed mixture alternately with sour cream mixture., Transfer to prepared pans. Bake until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, 24-28 minutes. Cool in pans 10 minutes before removing to wire racks; remove parchment. Cool slightly., For syrup, in a small saucepan, combine sugar and lemon juice. Bring to a boil; cook until liquid is reduced by half. Cool completely., For frosting, beat cream cheese and butter until smooth; beat in confectioners' sugar, lemon juice and salt until blended., Using a long serrated knife, cut each cake horizontally in half. Brush layers with warm syrup; cool completely., Place 1 cake layer on a serving plate; spread with 1 cup frosting. Repeat layers twice. Top with remaining cake layer. Frost top and sides with remaining frosting. If desired, top with lemon slices or edible flowers. Refrigerate leftovers.

Steps:

• In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
• Add eggs and yolk, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Combine the flour, baking powder, salt and baking soda; add to the creamed mixture alternately with sour cream, beating well after each addition.
• Beat in the lemon juice, peel and rosemary.
• Transfer to three greased and floured 9-in. round baking pans.
• Bake at 350° for 25-30 minutes or until edges begin to brown.
• Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks to cool completely.
• FROSTING:.
• In a large bowl, beat cream cheese until fluffy.
• Add the confectioners' sugar, lemon peel and juice; beat until smooth.
• Spread frosting between layers and over top and sides of cake. Refrigerate leftovers.

Steps:

• Make the cake: Preheat the oven to 300˚ F. Coat two 8-inch round cake pans with cooking spray. Combine the sugar, 2 1/3 cups flour, the baking powder, salt and 2 egg yolks in a large bowl; beat with a mixer on medium-high speed until well mixed. Stream in 1 cup olive oil and mix about 30 seconds. Beat in the 3 whole eggs, one at a time. Stream in the milk and vanilla and mix until combined.
• In a separate bowl, combine the chopped rosemary, remaining 2 teaspoons olive oil and 3 teaspoons flour. Fold the rosemary mixture into the batter.
• Pour the batter into the cake pans. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the centers comes out clean, 20 to 30 minutes. Transfer to a rack and let cool completely in the pans.
• Make the lemon curd: In a small saucepan, combine 1/4 cup sugar, the egg yolk, lemon zest and juice, cornstarch and 1 tablespoon butter. Stir continuously with a rubber spatula until the mixture boils and thickens, about 1 minute. Transfer the lemon curd to a bowl and place a piece of plastic wrap directly on the surface to prevent a skin from forming. Refrigerate to cool.
• Make the buttercream: Set up a stand mixer with the whisk attachment. In a medium saucepan, heat the egg whites and remaining 1 cup sugar over medium heat until the mixture reaches 160˚ F and the sugar is dissolved. (You should not be able to feel any sugar granules and the mixture should be very warm, not hot, to the touch.)
• Pour the egg white mixture into the mixer bowl and whisk on medium-high speed until the meringue is three times its volume, holds firm peaks and has cooled to about 95˚ F, about 4 minutes. Beat in the remaining 4 sticks butter slowly, piece by piece, until smooth and blended. Beat in the salt and vanilla.
• Remove the lemon curd from the refrigerator and fold it into the buttercream until well combined.
• Assemble the cake: Transfer 1 cake layer to a cake plate. Spread some of the buttercream on top using an offset spatula. Top with the other cake layer. Cover the top and sides of the cake with a thin layer of buttercream (this is the crumb coat); refrigerate 15 to 20 minutes. Cover with the remaining buttercream.

Steps:

• Heat the oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4 and line the base of two 20cm sandwich tins with baking parchment. Beat the butter and sugar together for 3 mins using an electric whisk until smooth and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well between each addition and scraping down the sides of the bowl. Fold in the flour and baking powder until well incorporated, then fold in the yogurt, vanilla and lemon zest. Divide between the tins and bake for 30-35 mins until golden and a skewer inserted into the middles comes out clean.
• Meanwhile, make the drizzle. Tip the sugar, lemon juice and 100ml water into a small pan set over a medium heat and stir until dissolved. Add the lemon zest, bring to the boil and simmer for 2-3 mins until the zest has softened and the liquid is syrupy. Remove the zest to a sheet of baking parchment using a slotted spoon, and remove the syrup from the heat.
• Leave the sponges to cool for 10 mins in the tins, then pour over the warm drizzle. Leave to cool completely.
• For the icing, beat the butter and icing sugar together using an electric whisk for 4-5 mins until smooth, scraping down the sides of the bowl as you go. Add the vanilla and soft cheese and beat for 4 mins more until thick and creamy. Don't worry if it doesn't look thick at first - it will loosen, then thicken again as you beat it.
• Remove the cooled sponges from the tins. Spoon the icing into a piping bag fitted with a star nozzle. Put one sponge on a cake stand or serving plate, and pipe just under half the icing around the edge using a circular motion for a wavy effect. Pipe a little more icing over the empty middle (this doesn't need to be neat) and smooth with the back of a spoon. Chill for 45 mins-1 hr until set. Top with the second sponge, then pipe eight blobs of icing around the edge at regular intervals, leaving a gap between each. Spoon the candied lemon zest into each gap, then serve.