a zesty little number..

this blog has been waiting to be posted for just over a week, i've been really busy baking and working and just havent found the time to sit and type it up!

so here we have it, a lovely lemon cake! i've made many lemon cakes in the past but this one has to be my all time favourite. its incredibly lemony!

you will need :

for the sponge
110g unsalted butter
380g caster sugar
320g plain flour
4 tsp baking powder
320ml buttermilk
the zest of 2 lemons
3 eggs

for the frosting
900g icing sugar
zest of 1 and a half lemons
150g unsalted butter
375g full fat cream cheese

and finally for decoration
a handfull of raspberries
the zest of one lemon
a small amount of icing sugar for dusting

start by beating the butter and the sugar today until there are no large lumps.

sift the flour and baking powder into the butter mixture and give it a good mix.

measure out the buttermilk and add the eggs, give it a whisk until combined.

add the zest and give it another quick stir.

with the mixer on a low speed gradually add the liquid, scraping down the sides and turning up the speed until fully combined.

separate into 2 to 3 tins depending on the sizes you have. i went for 2 9inch spring form tins.
throw them in the oven (not literally) at 170ºc or gas mark 3 and bake for 20-30 minutes (this may vary on your oven).

whilst the cakes are cooling you can make the icing. beat the butter and icing sugar on a slow speed until no large lumps remain. next add the lemon zest and the cream cheese and beat on a medium high speed until the frosting is light and fluffy, this can take between 5-10 minutes.

then place the first cake onto a board or your favourite cake stand and cover with your favourite raspberry jam, go right to the edges so that every bite has some in.

next put some frosting on top of the jam and smooth it over with a palette knife.  

place the second layer on top of this and press it down gently.
spoon some more mixture on the top and spread it out evenly, dont worry to much about the crumbs at this point.

continue to cover the entire cake with a layer of frosting, this will act as a crumb layer so the final cake is crumb free. once thats done pop it in the fridge for 15-20 minutes to allow the frosting to set slightly.

once cooled place a second layer of frosting on the cake and decorate with the palette knife. i made the mistake of placing it directly onto the cake stand so this made decoration a little tricky but you get the idea!

finally top the cake with a handfull of raspberries and a dusting of icing sugar. if you wish you can grate some lemon zest over the raspberries but that is up to you. i decided to change it up a little and used lime zest instead to give it that extra tang, i didn't regre it!

i took this cake to work with me on tuesday last week and it went VERY quickly! next time i think i will have to make 2, one for the family and one for work.

enjoy!