This Past Sunday,May 7th was the second week of our Sunday Baking Project.  The selection this week was Lemon Chiffon Cake.  It was supposed to be a nice contrast to the ‘Decadent Chocolate Cream Pie’ of last week.  Indeed, it was a nice flavor contrast to the Pie but it was decadent in its own right.  The Cake was light and flavorful and the curd between the layers was very nice and Lemony, but it wasn’t mouth puckering as lemon can sometimes be.  I think maybe, it could have been just a tad more tart – in other words- a little less sugar.  Will try it that way sometime.  The Italian Buttercream Frosting was indeed the decadent portion of this cake as it was quite Buttery and I loved it!

The Recipe chosen was ‘Lemon-Love Chiffon Layer Cake from the Fearless Baker Cookbook by Erin Jeanne McDowell’.  If I didn’t mention this last week, the purpose of the club is to try new recipes which none of us has ever made – not specific to the item but specific to the published recipe.  In other words, I am sure that most of us have made Lemon Cake before, but not this specific recipe.  There were some things that were done differently than the traditional methods – therefore it makes it a new recipe for all of us.

 

Before going through the procedure for making the cake please take a look at the photos which will show how the final project is interpreted through different eyes.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thank You Terrie for allowing me to use your photo for the feature image and I have to apologize to Eileen Delcore Bennet and CM Wolkon but I was unable to upload your photos.

 

 

 

 

MAKING THE CAKE:   This recipe actually took several steps to make and gave us the opportunity to hone different skills.

 

Before even beginning to prepare the Cake, Curd and Frosting, it is best to  Juice and Zest all the Lemons and Lemon Product that you will need.  The best Lemons to use for Lemon Desserts are Meyer Lemons if they are available.  Right now in Spring, they are readily available, at least in the So. Calif. Farmer’s Markets.  The difference between Meyer and Eureka is that Meyer are less tart and better for baked products.  Eureka are great for cooking and for drinks like lemonade.

You can Zest the Lemons with a fine grater but it is best to have an actual zesting implement.

 

 

In this photo the Meyer Lemons are the ones with the orange hue and the Eureka are the ones front and more yellow.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The first Preparation was for the Lemon Curd which I chose to make the day before.  It needed to cool for at least 2 hours so making it a day ahead gives you plenty of time to let it chill. The instructions for this Curd are a little off the norm in that all the ingredients are mixed together and then cooked to the desired thickness.  Normally, the Egg Yolks are beaten first, then tempered and then cooked to the proper thickness.  Using the traditional method gives you a shorter cooking time but definitely more utensils to clean.  Even though the clean-up takes a little longer I do prefer the traditional method.   In the photo below, the Curd is covered with plastic  wrap which you want to cover the curd with to prevent a crust from forming.  The plastic wrap should actually be touching the curd.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The second Step was to make the Cake.  Making the Cake,  in itself was multi-faceted.  It involved:

1. Separating the Yolks from the Whites.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2.  Sifting together the Dry Ingredients

 

3.  Whisking together the Wet Ingredients (other than Eggs)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

4.  Beating the Yolks for the Cake Batter – once the Yolks were beaten to almost the desired thickness,              the Liquid ingredients were added and beating resumed for one more minutes.  Next the Dry                    Ingredients were added in four separate increments.

 

 

 

5.  Beating the Whites to add to the almost finished Batter.

 

 

 

6.  Next the Whites were folded into the Batter and then the Batter was divided between two greased and floured Pans.  I recommend lining the greased pans with parchment paper to allow for easier cake removal.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

7.  The Cakes were baked and cooled and then brushed with the Lemon Syrup.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

8.  Making the Lemon Syrup involved only combining the Lemon Juice with the Sugar and bringing to a boil so that the Sugar is completely dissolved.  This takes only minutes.

 

9.  Once split in half there are 4 separate layers.  Each one should be brushed with the Lemon Syrup before assembly.

 

 

The Fourth Step was to make the Frosting – this involved Beating Egg Whites Again and making a Sugar Syrup and bringing it to the Soft Ball Stage (240 degrees F.)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So All in All, there were a lot of skills involved.  Of course it is easier for an accomplished baker to do these things but it is also a good recipe for a novice to learn these skills.  All in all, the Cake was delicious in every part of it.  I do love Lemon and especially Lemon Curd but do also love the Italian Meringue that covered the cake.