Lemon Tower 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:

• Heat oven to 375 degrees. Butter and flour three 6-inch-round cake pans, and set aside.
• Combine eggs, sugar, salt, and lemon zest in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Mix on high speed until pale and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Sift flour and cornstarch over egg mixture; fold in with a rubber spatula. Pour batter into pans.
• Bake until cakes spring back to the touch and cakes begin to pull away from sides of pans, 40 to 45 minutes. Remove cakes from oven; transfer to a wire rack to cool.
• Turn out cakes. Using a serrated knife, level the tops; slice each cake horizontally into two even layers. Place one layer on a 6-inch cardboard round. Using a pastry brush, brush 5 layers generously with the candied-lemon syrup. Spread the pastry cream over 5 layers, about 3/4 cup per layer. Stack layers on the cardboard, ending with the one uncoated layer. To stabilize cake, insert a 6-inch wooden skewer through center. Overlap the candied lemon slices and thyme sprigs on top of the cake. Refrigerate until pastry cream has set, at least 1 hour. Serve.

Steps:

• Prepare pie filling as directed.
• Cover surface with waxed paper and chill.
• Spread 1/2 the chilled filling between layers of cake.
• Whip cream; fold in remaining 1/2 of the filling.
• Spread mixture over top and sides of cake and chill for at least 4 hours.

Steps:

• Using a Japanese mandoline, slice the lemon as thinly as possible; set slices aside.
• In a medium saucepan, combine sugar and 2 cups water. Bring liquid to a boil over medium-high heat Add lemon slices; return to a boil. Remove pan from heat. Let cool completely; transfer syrup and slices to an airtight container. Store, refrigerated, up to 1 week.