Bite me: Food Critiques, Recipes and Musings.: TATA'S LEMON BLUEBERRY WEDDING CAKE

Lemon Blueberry Wedding Cake

This cake is quite labor-some but you can break it down over a few days or substitute the time consuming candied lemons for raw lemon slices. However I recommend making the candied lemon slices. They are edible and add a nice tart/sweet layer to the cake as well as a classy decoration.

So this is the way I approach this cake. On the first day I make the cake, bake it, and wrap it in plastic wrap once it is cooled. I then freeze the wrapped cake layers overnight. I also make the candied lemons on the first day to allow them to dry overnight (or you can eliminate this step by using raw lemon slices to decorate). The second day I make the cream cheese frosting. Then I pull out the frozen cake layers. I assemble the cake filling it with cream cheese frosting in between the layers. Then I stick the whole cake in the fridge. While it is chilling I make the Lemon Butter cream frosting. Then I pull out the chilled cake frost it with the Lemon Butter Cream and immediately decorate it with the candied lemons and fresh blueberries.

So first make the cake:

Ingredients For Lemon Blueberry Cake:

3 3/4 cups all purpose flour
1 ¼ Cup sugar
3 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 3/4 cup buttermilk**
½ cup canola oil
3 eggs
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
zest of two large lemons- chopped finely
1 ½ heaping cup fresh blueberries

**I make my own butter milk by putting 1 TBS of fresh lemon juice at the bottom of a 1 cup measuring cup. Then filling the measuring cup with whole milk. Let it sit for 5 minutes and you will have thick homemade buttermilk!

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 360° F. Grease and flour three 7 inch cake pans.

2. Sift dry ingredients into a bowl.

3. In another bowl or a measuring cup, whisk together the buttermilk, oil, eggs, vanilla, and lemon zest.

4. Prepare your blueberries by putting them in a bowl and taking 1 TBS of your flour mixture and stirring until your blueberries are dusted and have a flour coating. This will prevent them from bleeding. Then fold** buttermilk mixture into flour mixture. **Fold in means stirring as least as possible just enough to combine the two.

Gently fold in blueberries. Batter should be a bit lumpy so don’t over-mix.

5. Divide batter evenly between three 7 inch pans.

6. Bake about 20 minutes.

Next make the Candied Lemons:

Candied Lemons

INGREDIENTS FOR CANDIED LEMONS:

2 lemons (unwaxed, fresh and firm)
2 cups water
1 cup sugar
A large bowl of water with ice cubes in it

DIRECTIONS FOR CANDIED LEMONS:

1. Slice the lemons into thin, neat slices. Discard the end bits, and remove the seeds.

2. Blanch the lemons in boiling water for one minute.

3. Drain and put in an ice bath for 1 minute.

4. Combine 2 cups sugar and 1 cup water in a large frying pan. Stir over medium heat until sugar is dissolved. Bring to a simmer and add the lemon slices in a single layer.

4. Let the lemons simmer but not boil for one hour until the slices are soft and the skin just turning translucent, but they should not fall apart!

5. Remove the slices with a slotted spoon and place on a cookie drying rack and leave to cool. It is best to let these dry 24 hours before using them.

6. Use as your cake topping/decoration. These will keep for about three days.

Next make the Cream Cheese Frosting:

INGREDIENTS FOR CREAM CHEESE FROSTING:

8 oz cream cheese (at room temperature)

4 oz soft butter

1 teaspoon vanilla

4-6 cups powdered sugar

Directions: Combine all ingredients. Beat on med/high until creamy. The frosting needs to be soft enough to spread. So add 1 teaspoon at a time of milk/cream until you have your desired consistency. Or add more powdered sugar if your frosting is too thin.

Next make the Lemon Butter Cream Frosting:

INGREDIENTS FOR LEMON BUTTER CREAM FROSTING:
**Lemon butter cream should contain lemons!! Not extract! You will taste the difference!

1 Cup Soft Butter**

**If you want to use ALL butter that is fine. Just substitute equal amounts of butter for the shortening.

1 Cup Shortening

4 to 5 TBS Fresh squeezed lemon juice (the pulp is fine)

8 Cups powdered sugar

1 TBS Heavy whipping cream

Directions: Whip butter and shortening for 2 minutes on high. Add lemon zest and juice--Mix until combined. Add powdered sugar 1 cup at a time. Add heavy cream. Beat on med/high until creamy. The frosting needs to be soft enough to spread. So add 1 teaspoon at a time of lemon juice until you have your desired consistency.

To Assemble:

Take you three frozen cake layers and unwrap them. Place one, flat side down, on a flat decorating plate. Top with cream cheese frosting. Add the next layer of cake. Repeat.

Do not put cream cheese frosting on the top. Next fill in any gaps with cream cheese frosting and add frosting to the edges to create what is called a "crumb layer." It should look like the picture below. Don't worry if it looks messy! Chill for an hour.

Next take your Lemon Butter Cream Frosting and frost the entire cake. Making sure your edges are flat and the frosting is spread evenly. Once your cake is frosted decorate it immediately. I use a piping bag and pipe little dabs on the edges of the top of the cake and then I press a fresh blueberry into each one. I then pipe around the edge of the bottom of the cake just to have something for the candied lemons to cling to.

Here are some decorating ideas:

The Classy Classic

The Sparkly Lemon

The Works

The Naked Lemon

Or come up with your own design and make sure to share it on my blog!

REVIEWS OF THIS CAKE:

Eliza Age 10: "Perfect! Don't change a thing!"

Ray Age 2: "Yummy Tata! I love cake!!"--And looking at his picture (above) any kid that dives head first into their cake is madly in love with the cake!