Lemon Cake with orange pastry cream and Swiss meringue buttercream topped with toasted almonds

Betty Binon at Stems & Forks

This uber delicious lemon cake is layered with orange pastry cream, robed with orange Swiss meringue buttercream and studded with toasted slivered almonds. It tastes sublime featuring U.S grown citrus and almonds. Make for your next special celebration! 

Recipe Developed by Betty Binon at Stems & Forks

Ingredients

  • Cake:

    • 3
      large eggs
    • 1 cup
      250 mL milk room temperature
    • 1 tbsp
      vanilla extract
    • 3 cups
      390 g unbleached all-purpose flour, sifted
    • 1 tbsp
      15 mL baking powder
    • 1 tsp
      5 mL salt
    • 2 cups
      400 g white granulated sugar
    • 1 cup
      115 g unsalted butter softened but not quite room temperature
    • Zest from 2 U.S. lemons
    • 1/2 cup
      125 mL lemon juice, freshly squeezed from 2 U.S. lemons

  • Pastry Cream:

    • 2
      egg yolks
    • 1/2 cup
      100 g white granulated sugar
    • of salt
    • Zest from 1/2 U.S. orange
    • 2 tsp
      10 mL cornstarch
    • 1 cup
      250 mL Florida orange juice, or freshly squeezed from 3 large U.S. oranges
    • 1/8 cup
      30 mL 35% cream
    • 1/4 cup
      55 g unsalted butter

  • Buttercream Icing:

    • 4
      large egg whites
    • 1 cup
      200 g white granulated sugar
    • 1 cup
      227 g unsalted butter, cut into rough 1-inch cubes
    • 3 tbsp
      45 mL fresh Florida orange juice or squeezed from U.S. oranges

  • Garnish:

    • 3/4 cup
      75 g slivered U.S. almonds, toasted
    • U.S. Lemon slices

Instructions

  1. For Cake

    1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray or grease three 6-inch round cake pans and line the bottoms with parchment paper.
    2. In a medium bowl, whisk the eggs, milk, vanilla extract. Set aside.
    3. In a stand mixer bowl, sift the flour, baking powder and salt. Add the sugar and mix on low with the paddle attachment until well combined.
    4. Add the butter a tablespoon at a time and beat on low until the texture looks mealy, scrape sides and bottom of bowl.
    5. Beat in about half the milk/egg mixture on medium for about one minute.
    6. Add the zest, lemon juice and the remaining milk mixture and beat for another half minute.
    7. Divide batter evenly between the three pans and smooth out with an offset spatula.
    8. Bake for 40-45 minutes or until toothpick inserted in middle comes out clean.
    9. Let the cakes rest a couple minutes in their pans before transferring onto wire racks.
    10. Once cakes have completely cooled, wrap with plastic wrap and refrigerate. Ideally overnight.

  2. For Pastry Cream

    1. In a medium bowl, whisk egg yolks, sugar, salt and orange zest until pale and lightened. Whisk in the cornstarch.
    2. In a medium saucepan bring the orange juice and cream to a simmer.
    3. Pour half the orange/cream mixture into the egg yolk mixture and whisk.
    4. Add the egg yolk cream/orange mixture back into the saucepan and bring it to a boil, while whisking frequently.
    5. Once it starts to boil, reduce the heat to medium and whisk for another minute.
    6. Remove the pastry cream form heat and add the butter until completely incorporated.
    7. Pour the pastry cream through a sieve into a bowl. Cover with plastic wrap pressing onto the pastry cream to prevent a skin from forming. Place pastry cream in fridge for a few hours or overnight.

  3. Swiss Meringue Buttercream

    1. Add about an inch of water in a medium pot and bring to a simmer.
    2. In a clean stand mixer bowl, add the sugar and egg whites.
    3. Place the bowl over the pot of simmering water (bowl should not be touching the water) and whisk constantly for about 3-4 minutes.
    4. Remove from heat once the temperature of the egg whites reaches 160°F. Alternatively when you don’t feel the sugar grains when you rub your fingers together.
    5. Transfer to stand mixer fitted with whisk attachment.
    6. Whisk egg whites for 10 minutes until stiff peaks form and the bowl has cooled down.
    7. Swap out the whisk attachment for the paddle attachment.
    8. Pulse in the butter a cube at a time on high speed, stopping between butter cubes.
    9. Slowly beat in the orange juice.
    10. Beat for another 3 minutes or until the buttercream becomes smooth.

  4. Assembling the Cake

    1. Start with a layer of cake, flat side down.
    2. With an offset spatula, evenly spread about a third of the orange pastry cream in the middle of the layer leaving about 1/2 inch around the edges.
    3. Lay down the second layer and repeat.
    4. Top with last cake layer and pastry cream.
    5. Evenly spread the top and sides of cake with the Swiss meringue buttercream.
    6. There is enough buttercream in the recipe to fully cover the cake.
    7. For “naked cake”, scrape off the access with your off-set spatula.
    8. Sprinkle toasted slivered almonds on top and sides of cake.
    9. Garnish with lemon slices.
Notes

Refrigerate in an airtight container for up to 5 days.