Double Lemon Cake with Fluffy Boiled Icing

This cake is perfect for lemon-lovers: a light, subtle lemon cake paired with a very tart lemon filling. The light and fluffy boiled icing (a.k.a. Seven-Minute Icing) adds just the right amount of sweetness without weighing down the cake's flavors. If you want to kick it up for even more lemon flavor, I have added some options below the recipe.

3 cups Cake Flour

2 1/2 teaspoons Baking Powder

1 teaspoon salt

2/3 Cup unsalted butter, softened

1 3/4 Cups Sugar

2 whole Eggs + 1 yolk

1 1/2 teaspoons Pure Lemon Extract

1 Tablespoon Lemon zest

1 1/4 Cups Milk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and line with parchment paper: three 6" or 8" pans (or you can use two 9" pans for a two-layer cake). If using 6" pans, your layers will be thick and you will have a little batter leftover. I usually make a few cupcakes for my kids when this happens.

Cake:

In a large bowl mix together the flour, baking powder, and salt until thoroughly blended. Set aside.

In an electric mixer bowl, combine the butter and sugar. Beat on medium speed until light and fluffy, about three minutes. Add eggs and yolk one at a time, beating for a few seconds after each addition. Add the extract and zest. Now add the flour and milk in alternating batches, starting and ending with the flour. Mix well after each addition. Scrape the bowl down and then beat on med-low for about one minute until fluffy (Do not overbeat).

Bake for 30-40 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. (Baking time will depend on the size of your pans).

Filling:

This filling is the same as the filling for my Lemon Meringue Pie recipe, only a smaller portion. If you prefer, you can use a good-quality jar of pre-made Lemon Curd, found in the jam section of most stores.

3/4 Cups Sugar

2 Tbsp Cornstarch

1 Tbsp Flour

dash of salt

3/4 Cup Hot Water

1 Slightly beaten egg yolk

1 Tablesppon Butter

2 teaspoons Lemon zest

2 Tablespoons Lemon juice

Mix Sugar, Flour, Cornstarch, and water in a medium saucepan over medium heat.

Cook until boiling, then reduce heat and cook two minutes, stirring constantly, until thickened. Remove from heat. Mix a small amount (about 1 tsp) of the hot mixture into the egg yolks and stir. Add a little more and stir again (this is to temper the egg yolks so they don't cook and curdle). Then add the yolk mixture back into the pan and cook two more minutes, again stirring constantly, until even thicker. Remove from heat. Stir in butter and lemon zest, then slowly pour in the juice. Cool to room temp before using the filling.

Fluffy Boiled Icing:

Prepare one recipe Seven-Minute Icing

Options for increasing the lemon flavor: Bump up the lemon extract to 2 teaspoons (don't do more than that, though). You can also brush a simple syrup made from 1/4 Cup lemon juice and 1-2 Tablespoons confectioner's sugar over the cake layers before filling and stacking them.

Maple Cream Pie

Maple and cream pie don't often go together, but after developing this recipe, I don't know why - they were made for each other! Using real maple syrup assures that you will not have an artificially strong maple flavor. This pie is fluffy, creamy, and lighter than average. Unlike most cream pies, the whipped cream is folded into the filling instead of sitting on top. If you want a more traditional cream pie, simply top the pie with the whipped cream instead of folding it in.

Crust:
One Recipe Flaky Pie Crust (you will use only one crust - you can freeze the other one for later use).

Roll the crust out and fill the pie pan with the bottom crust, patting it in firmly and crimping the edges. Prick the crust in a few places with a fork, then line the crust with parchment (or foil) and weigh it with dried rice, dried beans, or pie weights.  Prebake the crust at 425 degrees for about 10-15 minutes. Lift the parchment out, removing the rice, beans or weights and saving them for later use. Put the pie back into the oven for five more minutes to brown, then let the crust cool completely before filling it.

Filling:
1 2/3 Cups Whole Milk
1/3 Cup Pure Maple Syrup (Grade B if possible)
2 Tbsp Maple Sugar (use brown sugar if you don't have maple sugar)
1/2 Cup All-purpose flour
dash of salt
3 egg yolks
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 Tbsp butter

Whipped Cream:
3/4 Cup Heavy Cream
1 Tbsp real maple syrup

On the top of a double boiler, (or in a heat-proof bowl over a saucepan) combine the Milk, Syrup, Sugar, Flour and salt. Stir the mixture in the bowl while the water boils beneath it, cooking for about 10-12 minutes until the mixture thickens. *Thickening time depends on how cold your milk is to start with. It can take anywhere from 9-14 minutes to get it nice and thick like a pudding. In the first 5-7 minutes it doesn't thicken much at all, but when it starts it goes fast. So watch the filling carefully and when it starts to thicken, stir it constantly. Once it has thickened, remove it from the heat.

In a separate small bowl, beat the egg yolks lightly. Add just a tiny amount of the hot filling mixture into the egg yolks and stir it in. (This is to temper the eggs so they do not cook and curdle.) Add a little more of the hot mixture, stirring again. When you have added about three spoonfuls, you can transfer the egg mixture into the bigger bowl of filling. Put it back on the double boiler and cook another two minutes over medium heat until thickened again. Take off the heat and add in the butter and vanilla. Stir well and let the mixture cool. (I like to put some plastic wrap directly on top of the filling so it won't get a pudding skin on the surface, but leave a bit uncovered at the sides for steam to escape, or condensation will build up and make it runny.

Stir it often until it gets to room temp, then refrigerate.

In a separate bowl, whip the cream and syrup together with a wire whisk until it creates stiff peaks. (it helps to have the cream, bowl and whisk all chilled for this process). When the filling is chilled, gently fold in the whipped cream until they are well-mixed. Pour into the pie shell and refrigerate until ready to serve.

Cut with a sharp hot knife and drizzle a bit of real maple syrup on top before serving.

Naughty Whoopie Pies

I didn't grow up eating Whoopie Pies like many of my New England neighbors did. I grew up in California and never heard of a whoopie pie until I moved to the East Coast. But had I known how easy they are to make, I would have started baking them years ago!

The origin of the Whoopie Pie is hotly contested. New Englanders believe it was invented in Maine (a handful of accounts even suggest Boston). Pennsylvania residents believe it was invented by Amish women in the Pennsylvania Dutch Country. The controversy cannot be resolved because written records of Whoopie Pie Recipes do not go back as far as the treat itself has been around. Either way, they were invented sometime around the mid-1920s according to most accounts.

Whoopie Pie is not a pie at all. It is two pieces of cake (originally chocolate) baked on a flat tray like a cookie, then sandwiched together with filling inside. That filling is either a marshmallowy filling or a heavier frosting like buttercream, depending on what region you get your whoopie from. I personally like to use a Seven Minute Icing and I think this was probably the original filling. I'm no food historian, but my own pet theory is that these treats were originally just a way to use up leftover cake batter and leftover frosting. And since boiled icings like the classic Seven-Minute Icing were very popular in the 1920s, that could easily have been what they used. It has a marshmallowy taste, which could be where the whole marshmallow filling idea came from.

But whatever the origins, they are really good and so easy to make! You DO NOT need a special Whoopie Pie Pan to make these. They are supposed to be made on a cookie sheet.

Cake:
2 cups Flour
2/3 Cup Cocoa Powder (I like SACO brand, which is a blend of natural and dutch process)
1 1/4 teaspoons Baking Soda
1 teaspoon Salt
1 Cup Buttermilk (shake well before measuring it out)
1 1/2 teaspoons Vanilla extract
1/2 Cup Butter, softened
1 Cup packed Brown Sugar
1 Egg

For Filling:
Seven-Minute Icing

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray 2-3 cookie sheets with non-stick spray.

Mix together the Flour, Cocoa powder, Baking Soda, and Salt until well-combined. In a separate Bowl, mix together the buttermilk with the vanilla.

Put the butter and sugar in a mixing bowl and beat for a few minutes at medium speed until light and fluffy. Add the egg and beat again until the egg is mixed in. Then, on low speed, add the flour mixture alternating with the buttermilk, adding them in batches (start and end with the flour). Scrape down the bowl and then mix again on low until everything is well-blended.

Use a standard-sized Ice Cream scoop to scoop out the batter onto your greased cookie sheets, a couple of inches apart. (Use a mini-scoop or a standard teaspoon to do mini whoopie pies). Bake for 10-13 minutes (less for minis) until tops are rounded and firm to the touch, springing back when you touch them with your finger. I like to switch the cookie sheets in the oven halfway through baking time, so they bake evenly.

Cool on a wire rack before filling with the Seven-Minute Icing (above) or a buttercream if you prefer.

Granny Mahoney's Irish Bread

Thank goodness my Mother-in-Law doesn't read my blog. I'm not entirely sure she'd be pleased that I am putting her old family recipe online! Anyway, I never met Granny Mahoney in person, but the old gal had some seriously good recipes. You can find her Mince Pie in my recipe section as well.

"Irish Bread" can mean many things. After doing a little research and speaking to several Irish friends over the years, I have come to the conclusion that there are many variations of what we Americans call "Irish Bread." It can have raisins or it can be plain Soda Bread (I am told that we Americans mistakenly call all Irish Bread "Soda Bread," when in fact real soda bread does not have raisins, and the raisin kind is either called Raisin Bread or just called Irish Bread). It can have caraway seeds or not (and some people are VERY opinionated about this ingredient!) Some breads are slightly sweet, while others not so much. A food historian claims that (historically) traditional Irish bread was not sweet at all and had nothing in it. There is also Irish Brown Bread, which is a kind of soda bread made with wheat flour.

Irish Breads vary based on which part of Ireland the recipe comes from and who tweaked it along the way. Every Irish person will tell you that his or her mother/grandmother made it a certain way, and THAT is therefore the real way to make it!

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Grease and flour a 12" cast iron skillet.

4 Cups Flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 Tablespoon salt (yes, a Tablespoon)
3/4 Cup Sugar
1 teaspoon caraway seeds (you can leave these out if you don't like them)
 2 Tablespoon Shortening or Margarine
1 1/2 Cup Raisins (half dark, half golden)
2 Cups Buttermilk

Soak the raisins in hot water while you get the other ingredients ready.

Put the dry ingredients into a large bowl and mix well. Cut in the shortening. Drain the raisins and pat dry with a paper towel, then add them in. Pour in the buttermilk. Stir well. Turn out onto a generously floured board and knead well, adding more flour as you go. This dough will be very sticky at the start. You want to knead it "Til it's as smooth as a baby's bottom" as my Mother-in-Law says.

Put it into a greased and floured Cast Iron Skillet (12" is ideal) and bake approximately 1 hour until golden on top and set in the middle. Cut a cross in the top if desired (there is a heated debate in my husband's family about whether or not there should be a cross in the bread).

NOTE: If you do not have a Cast Iron skillet, beg, borrow or steal one for this - it really does make a difference! Otherwise you can use a round cake pan (10" or 12") but the crust will not quite be the same.

 

Cool the bread until just warm before cutting.

Getting Even - Leveling cake layers

Getting your cake layers even may seem like such a basic thing, but it is something that has to be learned. Why should you bother to make all the layers nice and even? After all, we all remember the homey look of old-fashioned cakes with a domed top. Well, that looks fine for one or two layers with simple frosting. But when you are stacking three or more layers on top of each other, having a slightly domed top on each one will make the cake less stable. It will also look less appealing, and could create problems if you plan to do some intricate decorating. Having even layers is also one of the visual things that takes a cake from "homey" to professional.

 

There are several different methods for levelling off the layers once they are baked, but it is better to try to get even layers as you bake, so you don't have to cut away a domed top in the first place.

 

Prevention is key:

Essential supplies: Professional quality pans, Parchment paper, Bake Even Strips, and Non-stick spray.

Line pans with parchment paper - it is the only surefire

way to not have your cake stick to the pan.

Spray the parchment paper as well as the pan.

PANS:

Use professional pans. Professional pans will be made of sturdy aluminum in most cases. They will have very straight (not angled) sides. You should NOT be able to "nest" your pans within each other. Note: I personally do not like dark coated non-stick pans for baking (they can cause over-browning and are not truly non-stick). My favorite brand is Magic Line, which you can buy online or at most professional cake supply stores. And don't worry - Professional pans need not be expensive. You can buy two 9" Magic Line pans for under $20. There are other great brands out there, just make sure they are sturdy not flimsy, and have very straight sides.

This pan is lightweight (but sturdy) aluminum, with very straight sides.

Notice that it does not have a dark non-stick coating.

The sides to these 6" pans are straight, so they cannot nest inside each other when stacked. This is a good way to test pans in the store before buying.

 

Getting nice straight sides on a cake is not easy to do with the regular cake pans you buy at a department store (or even some cookware stores). You may not have noticed it, but most of them have sides that angle slightly outward. To get really straight sides you need professional pans.

Oven temp:

Get an oven thermometer and take your oven's temperature to make sure it is not over or under-heating. Adjust the temperature accordingly.

Weigh the batter:

I like to use a kitchen scale to weigh the batter so you have an even amount in each pan. This avoids having one layer that is thicker than the other.

Bake Even Strips:

I love these things. You soak them in water and then affix them to the outside of the cake before baking (see pic below). They come in large and small sizes.

Flower Nail Method:

Putting a flower nail upside down in the center of the pan will help the cake bake evenly because the metal core heats up and bakes the batter around it. This is recommended for larger layers (12" or larger). I prefer to use bake even strips instead of the flower nail, but with a large layer I do both. Be sure to spray the flower nail with non-stick spray (in addition to the pan itself). When you flip the cake out of the pan, turn it upside down onto a cooling rack, letting the nail go through the grates of the rack. When it is upside down, slowly pull the nail out of the cake by the flat end, and let the cake cool. There will be a very small hole that can easily be covered with frosting.

If you DO have to cut a domed top, or if you want to torte the cake (cut the layers horizontally to create more layers for filling) here are some suggestions:

Use a sharp serrated knife, such as a long bread knife. I also recommend placing the cake on a cake turntable. It is not necessary, but I find that it makes the cutting easier.

First, measure the cake layer before cutting:

1) Take a ruler and measure where the domed area starts (at the lowest point) and mark it with a toothpick. Measure all the way around the layer, marking the same height with toothpicks as you go. Then cut just above or below the toothpicks. OR you can use Christa's Easier Method:

2) Christa's Easy Method: Skip the toothpicks. I set my cake on a turntable and measure where it needs to be trimmed. Then I take my knife, and, keeping the ruler at the cake with the other hand, I start cutting at the same mark all the way around. When I have cut a little bit into the cake, I set aside the ruler and follow my cut mark, working the knife into the center as I turn the cake on the turntable.

 

NOTE: As you get better, you will be able to just eyeball it for many of your simpler cakes. A basic, pretty layer cake does not need to be measured precisely - I usually eyeball my cakes unless they are going to be stacked and need to be very level.
 

Baking 101: Getting Even Cake Layers

Getting your cake layers even may seem like such a basic thing, but it is something that has to be learned and there are a few different methods to do it. Why should you bother to make all the layers nice and even? After all, we all remember the homey look of old-fashioned cakes with a domed top. Well, that looks fine for one or two layers with simple frosting. But when you are stacking three or more layers on top of each other, having a slightly domed top on each one will make the cake less stable. It will also look less appealing, and could create problems if you plan to do some intricate decorating. Lastly, having even layers is one of the visual things that takes a cake from "homey" to professional.

Prevention is key: Try to get even layers as you bake, so you don't have to cut away a domed top in the first place. My layers frequently come out without any dome at all, which makes things much easier!

Essential supplies: Quality pans, Parchment, Bake Even Strips, and Non-stick spray.

Line pans with parchment paper - it is the only surefire

way to not have your cake stick to the pan.

Spray the parchment paper as well as the pan.

PANS:

Use professional pans. Professional pans will be made of aluminum in most cases; sturdy but not overly heavy. (I personally do not like dark coated non-stick pans for baking.) These pans heat evenly and have very straight (not angled) sides. My favorite brand is Magic Line cake pans, which you can buy online or at most professional cake supply stores. You can also buy Wilton pans at any craft store or online. But beware with Wilton - they also put out a line of pans which are geared toward amateur bakers and do not have nice straight sides. So take a good look at what you are buying. And don't worry - Professional pans are actually not expensive. You can buy a set of two 9" pans for under $20.

This Magic Line pan is lightweight aluminum, with very straight sides. Notice that it does not have a dark non-stick coating.

The sides to these 6" pans are straight, so they cannot nest inside each other when stacked. This is a good way to test pans in the store before buying.

Getting nice straight sides on a cake is not easy to do with the regular cake pans you buy at a department store (or even some cookware stores). You may not have noticed it, but most of them have sides that angle slightly outward. To get really straight sides you need professional pans.

Oven temp:

Get an oven thermometer and take your oven's temperature to make sure it is not over or under heating. Adjust the temperature accordingly, and take the temperature every time you bake.

Weigh the batter:

If you have a kitchen scale, weigh the batter so you have an even amount in each pan. This avoids having one layer that is thicker than the other.

Bake Even Strips:

I love these things. You soak them in water and then affix them to the outside of the cake before baking (see pic below). They come in large and small sizes.

Flower Nail Method:

Putting a flower nail upside down in the center of the pan will help the cake bake evenly because the metal core heats up and bakes the batter around it. This is recommended for larger layers (12" or larger). You can try it for smaller layers, but I prefer to use bake even strips instead. With a large layer, I do both the bake even strips and the flower nail. Be sure to spray the flower nail with non-stick spray (in addition to the pan itself). When you flip the cake out of the pan, turn it upside down onto a cooling rack, letting the nail go through the grates of the rack. When it is upside down, slowly pull the nail out of the cake by the flat end, and let the cake cool. There will be a very small hole that can easily be covered with frosting.

If you DO have to cut a domed top, or if you want to torte the cake (cut the layers horizontally to create more layers for filling):

Use a sharp serrated knife, such as a long bread knife. I recommend using a cake turntable, it is not necessary but will make the cutting easier.

You can measure the cake layer three different ways before cutting:

1) Take a ruler and measure where the domed area starts (at the lowest point) and mark it with a toothpick. Measure all the way around the layer, marking the same height with toothpicks as you go. Then cut just above or below the toothpicks.

2) Christa's Easy Method - Use a ruler without the toothpicks - this is the method I use most. I set my cake on a turntable and measure where it needs to be trimmed. Then I take my knife and, keeping the ruler at the cake with the other hand, I start cutting at the same mark all the way around. When I have cut a little bit into the cake, I set aside the ruler and follow my cut mark, working the knife into the center as I turn the cake on the turntable.

3)   If you have some cake boards on hand, put the cake boards into your pan (however many you will need to boost the cake layer up so that the dome is over the edge of the pan). Set the cake on top of them, boosting the cake layer up inside the pan so you can use the pan edges as a guide to cut.

As you get better, you will be able to just eyeball it for most cakes. Generally it will only be when you are doing elaborate decorations or tiering a cake that you need to be absolutely precise!

Bon-Bons and Cake Truffles: Ways to use up leftover cake scraps

If you are a cake decorator, you will often have scraps leftover from sculpted cakes. It seems like such a shame just to throw those scraps out! Here are three things you can do with cake scraps:

Cake Bon-Bons - Put your scraps in a food processor and press pulse until they are all reduced to small crumbs. Pour the crumbs into a bowl. Have a liquid of your choice ready, such as cream flavored with a little vanilla extract, almond extract, or a touch of liqueur. Another liquid that some cake decorators like to use is liquid flavored coffee creamer (i.e. Irish Cream or French Vanilla). Whichever liquid you choose, add it to the crumbs just a spoonful at a time. How much liquid you need will depend on the volume of crumbs you are using. You are done when you can gather the crumbs together and roll them into a good tight ball. Roll balls of about ping-pong ball size, and lay them on a plate or cookie sheet. Refrigerate until set, at least one hour. When they are chilled, cover them with milk icing: Mix 2 cups confectioner's sugar with one tablespoon milk. Stir well, adjusting the sugar or milk until you reach a thick but pourable consistency. You can add a touch of vanilla or some coloring to the icing if you wish. Pour spoonfuls of icing over the bon-bons slowly, covering each one. Add sprinkles, if desired, right away before the icing hardens. Store in the fridge until ready to eat.

Cake Truffles - Same process as for bon-bons, but cover with melted chocolate instead of milk icing. (Just melt some chocolate chips in the top of a double boiler for a few minutes until smooth. Keep the melted chocolate hot over the double boiler as you are taking spoonfuls out to cover the balls, otherwise you may need to reheat it). You can then roll them in nuts while wet or roll them in cocoa powder after the chocolate dries.

Toba Garrett's "Spackle Paste" - Toba Garrett, renowned cake decorator and author of The Well-Decorated Cake, has this recipe for "Spackle" Paste: Mix 3-4 Cups of leftover cake crumbs with 1/2 to 3/4 Cup Buttercream to make a thick paste. This is something you can spread over cakes just like spackle paste on your walls - it fills in gaps and holes, making a nice even surface to work with. After covering it with spackle paste, you would then frost the cake as usual. You can also use this paste as a filling between layers. the crumbs give it a nutty flavor, so it is a "faux-nut" filling.

Homemade Boston Cream Pie

Mmmm...this is one of my husband's favorites. If you aren't from New England, you may not know Boston Cream Pie, but it is actually a cake. Two layers of yellow cake with a custard filling inside and rich chocolate ganache oozing over the top of it. The recipe varies a lot from place to place, but legend has it that it was invented at the Parker House Hotel in Boston, circa 1855.

Cake:
One recipe Sour Cream Yellow cake baked in a 9" round pan. Bake and cool.

Vanilla Cream filling: (this recipe is adapted from the King Arthur Baking Book)
3 Cups Whole Milk
1/2 Cup Sugar
pinch of salt
2 tsp vanilla extract or 1/3 vanilla bean, split lengthwise
1/4 cup cornstarch
1 Tablespoon all purpose flour
4 large egg yolks
4 tablespoons butter

In a medium saucepan, combine 2 1/2 cups of the milk, sugar, salt, and vanilla bean (if using extract instead, add it last). Bring mixture to a boil over medium heat.

Meanwhile, whisk the cornstarch, flour, egg yolks and remaining milk together in a small bowl.

Whisk a small amount of the hot milk mixture to the egg mixture to temper the eggs, then add a little more (you do this a little at a time so that you don't curdle the egg yolks). After you have added two or three small spoonfuls of the hot mixture, pour the egg mixture into the saucepan with the milk mixure, and bring it back to a boil, stirring constantly. Boil for thirty seconds. It will thicken a lot. Remove from heat. Stir in the butter and vanilla. Top it with some plastic wrap and refrigerate until cooled.

The King Arthur Baking book says to pour the mixture through a fine sieve at this point to get any lumps out, but I didn't find it necessary. Perhaps if you were making pastry cream for napoleons or something very delicate, you would want to do it. The King Arthur book also says to fold in 1 cup of whipped heavy cream (whipped to soft peaks) after the custard is chilled to achieve a lighter cream. I find that the thicker cream is great by itself and it is what I see most often for Boston Cream pie, so I don't add in the whipped cream at the end, I just use the vanilla custard itself.

Chocolate Ganache:
3/4 Cup Heavy Cream
1 Cup chopped Semi-Sweet chocolate bits (you can use chocolate chips)
1 Tablespoon corn syrup
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

In a saucepan, bring the cream and corn syrup just to a boil, being careful not to let it scorch. Remove from heat and stir in the chocolate bits until they are melted and smooth. Stir in the vanilla. Let this glaze cool, stirring occasionally, until it is just warm or room temp.

Assembling the Cake:
Cut the yellow cake in half horizontally. Spoon the custard filling onto the bottom half of the cake until it is almost at the edge. Put the top cake layer on and press down gently until the custard comes to the edge. if it oozes out, scrape the excess off with a knife. Spoon the chocolate ganache over the cake, a little at a time, pushing it to the edges and just over so some of it drips down the sides. Refrigerate until ready to serve.