Everybody loves cake...and our Lemon Cake with the Creamy Lemon Frosting was definitely the dessert everyone enjoyed.
Since January, we have been baking cakes on a regular basis. Jeff's daughter, Kate, has become the "Cake Queen" as she has been making birthday cakes for some of her co-workers. What started as a fun gesture has turned into a "mini" cake business. People will now request flavors for their birthday. We have made our Peanut Butter Cup Cake - chocolate cake, peanut butter frosting and bittersweet chocolate ganache, our Almond Joy Cake with coconut frosting, Visitandine with Strawberries and Sarabeth's Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting.
When Jeff's birthday arrived at the end of April, we weren't sure what we would make. I am a chocoholic, so a jar of bittersweet chocolate ganache would have suited me fine. Jeff loves fruit. Yes, healthy...but not as much fun as chocolate, unless you dip the fruit in it. I had a yellow boxed cake mix and limited time so this is what I did.
Recipe for Lemon Cake -
1 box of yellow cake mix
Prepare according to directions, but add
2 tablespoons of lemon juice to the water to equal the directed amount
Rind of one lemon
...to mix and bake according to instructions.
Once I had the cake made, I was trying to figure out how I would frost it. I didn't want to add a glaze because I felt like we would have a coffee cake VS a birthday cake. I looked at a few different recipes and came up with this
Creamy Lemon Buttercream Frosting - which I dubbed Lemonade Frosting.
1 cup of butter, at room temperature
3-4 cups of confectioner's sugar
Rind of 2 lemons
Juice of 2 lemons - should yield about 1/2 cup.
1/2 teaspoon of vanilla
A pinch of salt
In a mixing bowl, cream butter with beaters, on medium high, until smooth and creamy 1-2 minutes. Add 1 cup of confectioner's sugar. Beat until well blended, add the vanilla, pinch of salt, and 1/4 cup of lemon juice. Beat again until blended. Add another cup of confectioner's sugar and beat until creamy 1-2 minutes. Add lemon rind and another cup of confectioner's sugar. Add lemon juice by the tablespoon to get to the smooth spreadable consistency you like. Taste the frosting and adjust to your taste. We like our lemon frosting a bit buttery VS sugary. We use about 3 1/2 cups of confectioner's sugar. When it tastes like lemonade...you are there!
Frost cooled cake.
We served Jeff's birthday cake with fresh strawberries...
1 pint of sliced strawberries with 1 tablespoon of sugar - Mix together.
Place in refrigerator for about one hour. Spoon over cake slices.
This truly became the new "favorite" cake at our house. The cake had a hint of lemon and the frosting was extra lemony which gave it a perfect balance. Sweet and sour, yet melt in your mouth. The photo you see was taken on the cake plate. This was a tiny corner of the cake which was left on the plate a day later. Feeling bad, I snapped the picture and ate the last piece. DEE-licious!
Friends Food Family | Quick and Easy Recipes | Delicious Lemon Desserts
