Use up all the lemons! Triple Lemon Layer Cake
- Westchester Loves
- Jun 29, 2022
- 7 min read
Updated: Jun 29, 2022
Use up all the lemons with this delicious and fresh triple lemon layer cake. Six layers and bright lemon flavor three ways with lemon curd, lemon bavarian cream, and lemon buttercream! Perfect for a birthday or special occasion
This recipe deserves a spot in the virtual cookbook because it was such a hit on my MIL's birthday that it returned as cupcakes when Mother's day rolled around. This recipe is also like an anchor for a bunch of different recipes because each part is just that good! The cake has six layers of delicious lemon flavor in three different ways. There's tangy lemon curd, a luscious lemon bavarian cream, and my favorite part- the most indulgent lemon buttercream with just a bit of lemon curd mixed in. If it's for a special occasion, you might as well top off your triple lemon layer cake masterpiece with some lemon macarons, but those do take quite a bit more effort.
The recipes for this cake are linked below with my notes.
The Best Triple Lemon Layer Cake Recipe
The original recipe comes from Life Love and Sugar. After making it following the recipe, I had some changes. If you want to figure it out and make your changes, you can click the links and read on for yourself if you prefer to see, it written up as I executed the recipe, click here to jump to the recipe!
Here are my changes to the original recipe linked above;
Substitute the lemon curd in the above recipe for the one found on Sally's Baking Addiction. This recipe uses more butter, lemon, and sugar. I thought it made a thicker curd with a more robust and richer flavor. Straining is not necessary, but a step I always like to take.
Make the buttercream from the original recipe, but throw in as much lemon curd as your heart tells you to for an added lemon punch. The buttercream in the recipe is pretty basic- if not on the sweeter side. The tangy lemon curd helps cut through some of that sweetness.
If you're looking for the "wow factor," assemble the cake as instructed in the original recipe. If you're looking for a more balanced individual serving (where each bite has the correct ratio of bavarian cream, buttercream, and lemon curd to cake), go for cupcakes that you hollow out and fill with the cream and then the curd before frosting.
Top with Macarons if you're feeling extra fancy. For those, you'll have to read about them yourself in my favorite cookbook (linked below) because they're just too complicated. They don't explicitly mention lemon macarons, but I made the vanilla shells and dyed them yellow. Then I piped a ring of buttercream filled with some lemon curd to one shell before sandwiching it closed with another.
Triple Lemon Layer Cake
Ingredients
For the cake;
3 cups (390g) all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp baking soda
2 3/4 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 1/2 cup2 (336g) unsalted butter, room temperature
2 cups (414g) sugar
4 egg whites (keep the yolks for the curd or Bavarian cream)
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups (300ml) milk
1/4 cup lemon juice
2 Tbsp lemon zest
For the Bavarian lemon Cream; (can be made a day ahead)
1 1/2 tsp powdered gelatin
4 1/2 Tbsp (68ml) lemon juice
3 egg yolks
1 3/4 cup (420ml) heavy whipping cream, divided
3 Tbsp (26g) sugar
3/4 tsp vanilla extract
1 Tbsp lemon zest
1/2 cup (58g) powdered sugar
For the lemon curd; (can be made up to a week ahead)
4 egg yolks
2/3 cup (134g) granulated sugar
1 Tbsp lemon zest
1/3 cup (80ml) !fresh! lemon juice
1/8 tsp salt
6 Tbsp (86g) unsalted butter, room temperature
For the lemon buttercream; (can be made a day ahead, but be sure to remove from the refrigerator about 30 minutes before decorating so it has time to soften.)
2 cups (460g) unsalted butter, room temperature
8 cups (960g) powdered sugar; use more or less depending on the texture you want
generous pinch of salt
2-4 Tbsp lemon curd; use more or less to taste
Yellow food coloring, I prefer gel
Lemon juice if you want to thin out your frosting more
Directions
For the cake;
Preheat the oven to 350°F (176°C). Line three 8-inch cake pans with parchment paper in the bottom and grease the sides. Or line a muffin pan with cupcake liners (preferred).
Combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt in a medium sized bowl. Set aside.
Cream the butter and sugar in a large mixer bowl on medium speed for about 2-3 minutes, until light and fluffy.
Add the egg whites and vanilla extract and mix until well combined. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, as needed, to make sure everything is combined.
Add about one-third of the flour mixture to the batter and beat on medium speed until incorporated.
Add about half of the milk and the lemon juice and zest and beat on medium speed until incorporated.
Continue alternating adding dry and wet ingredients, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed, and beating until incorporated after each addition. End with the dry ingredients.
Divide the batter evenly between the cake pans/cupcake liners.
Bake the cakes for 25-30 minutes (8' rounds) or 15-25 minutes (cupcakes), or until a toothpick inserted into the middle of the cakes comes out clean. *while you're waiting you can prepare some of your fillings*
Cool for 1-2 minutes, then remove to a cooling rack to cool completely.
For the lemon Bavarian Cream;
In a small bowl, sprinkle the gelatin in a single layer onto the lemon juice and set aside.
In a medium bowl, whisk the egg yolks together and set aside.
Add 3/4 cup of the the heavy whipping cream, sugar, vanilla extract, lemon zest to a large saucepan and heat over medium heat until warm.
Remove the cream mixture from heat and slowly pour the hot cream into the eggs while you whisk to temper them.
Add the egg and cream mixture back into the saucepan and return to the heat. Continue cooking over medium heat until the mixture is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, or reaches about 160°F. It should happen fairly quickly.
Add the gelatin mixture to the hot cream and stir until smooth.
Pour the custard through a strainer into another bowl and set that bowl inside another bowl over ice. Allow to cool to room temperature.
While the custard cools, add the remaining cup of heavy whipping cream and powdered sugar to a large mixer bowl and whisk on high speed until stiff peaks form.
When the custard is ready, gently fold the whipped cream into the custard. Be sure it’s at least room temperature, so the whipped cream doesn’t wilt/melt.
Refrigerate until ready to use.
For the lemon curd;
Fill the bottom pot of your double boiler (this could be a Pyrex bowl set ontop of a medium sized pot) with 1-2 inches of water. Place on high heat. Once the water begins to boil, reduce to low heat to keep the water at a simmer.
Place egg yolks, granulated sugar, lemon zest, lemon juice, and salt into the top pot of your double boiler. Using a silicone whisk, whisk until completely blended, then continue to whisk as the curd cooks. Constant whisking prevents the egg yolks from curdling. Whisk and cook until the mixture becomes thick, resembling the texture of hollandaise sauce, about 10 minutes. If curd isn’t thickening, turn up the heat and constantly whisk.
Remove pan from heat. Cut the butter into 6 separate pieces, then whisk into the curd. The butter will melt from the heat of the curd. Pour curd through a strainer and into a jar or bowl and place a piece of plastic wrap directly on top so it is touching the top of the curd. (This prevents a skin from forming on top.) The curd will continue to thicken as it cools. Once cool, the plastic wrap can be removed.
For the lemon buttercream;
Add the butter to a large mixer bowl and beat until smooth.
Slowly add about half of the powdered sugar, mixing until well combined and smooth.
Add the salt and lemon curd and mix until well combined and smooth.
Slowly add the remaining powdered sugar and mix until well combined and smooth.
Add additional lemon juice, if needed, to thin out the frosting, and coloring if desired. You can reserve half the butter cream and only color half if you want the color contrast on your final product.
Cake assembly;
If there’s a dome, trim the tops of the cakes so they are flat. Cut each cake in half, so that you end up with 6 layers of cake.
Get the lemon curd and bavarian cream from the fridge and stir them until smooth. The bavarian cream may need a little hand whisking to work out any lumps.
Place a small bit of frosting on the center of your serving plate and center the first layer of cake on top. Pipe a small dam of frosting around the outer edge.
Fill the dam with 1/3 of the bavarian cream.
Place the second layer of cake on top of the cream. The cake layers are very tender, so I recommend using a benchscraper
Add another dam of frosting around the edge of the cake. Fill the dam with about half of the lemon curd.
Repeat with another layer of cake, dam of frosting and 1/3 of the bavarian cream.
Repeat with another layer of cake, dam of frosting and 1/2 of the lemon curd.
Repeat with the another layer of cake, dam of frosting and remaining 1/3 of the bavarian cream.
Add the final layer of cake on top, then frost the outside of the cake with a crumb coat and refrigerate for at least 2-3 hours for the cake to firm up.
Frost the outside of the cake and decorate as you wish.
Refrigerate the cake until ready to serve. The cake is best when stored in an air tight container (which is hard to find for such a large cake) and eaten within 3-4 days.
Cupcake assembly (preferred method);
Using a 1" round cutter like the one found here create an approximatel 1" x 1" hole in the center of the cupcake. You can save the cake you remove for another purpose (like snacking) or save them to top after you fill for added height when you pipe frosting.
Fill the core about half way with the Lemon Bavarian cream and then top it off with the lemon curd.
Pipe (8B, openstar is my favorite for this one) or frost buttercream on the tops of your cupcakes and enjoy!
When there's a special occasion, there really is no better way to show it than with this amazing SIX layer TRIPLE lemon cake. I mean, look at that cross section!
