Best Lemon Curd For White Cake Recipes

SOUTHERN LEMON WHITE CAKE WITH LEMON CURD

Steps:

• 1. Preheat oven to 350'F. Grease and line with parchment 2 9-inch round cake pans. Be sure to grease parchment as well once it is laid in pans.
• 2. For curd: In a small saucepan combine egg yolks, sugar, lemon zest, and lemon juice. Heat over medium heat for 5-7 minutes, be sure to stir mixture almost continuously. Once the mixture becomes thick enough that it sticks to your spoon almost like a syrup remove from heat and stir in one tablespoon of butter at a time until all 4 tablespoons are completely dissolved. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 2 hours at least. You can store it for 2 days at the most. Side note: If you lay the plastic wrap directly against the lemon curd while it sets you won't get that weird skin curds and pudding always get while they set typically. It'll make it easier to mix and spread on your cake later.
• 3. For cake: In a large mixing bowl, sift cake flour, salt, and baking powder together; set aside.
• 4. In another large mixing bowl, cream together butter, 2 cups of sugar and lemon zest until completely creamy.
• 5. In a measuring cup pour 1 cup of cream. Mix it with vanilla extract and lemon juice; set aside.
• 6. In another large mixing bowl, whisk egg whites vigorously. Gradually add 1/2 cup of sugar as you whisk. Bring egg whites up to soft peaks. Be sure to not overwhip or whites will separate.
• 7. Add flour to creamed butter mixture in thirds, adding cream mixture to batter in between adding your flour. In all, you will interchange adding three batches of flour and two batches of the cream. Completely incorporate, but do not over mix.
• 8. Gradually fold egg whites into batter until completely incorporated.
• 9. Pour out into greased lined cake pans and bake for 30-35 minutes, or until just golden on top.
• 10. Cool cakes on wire wrack for 1 hour and turn out of pans to completely cool.
• 11. For buttercream frosting: In a mixing bowl, cream butter until fluffy. Gradually add confectioner's sugar until completely incorporated. Add vanilla and lemon juice and whip until smooth. Set aside.
• 12. Once cakes are completely cooled, level any doming off with a serrated knife or cake leveler. Place one cake on a cake board and spread lemon curd on top of it.
• 13. Stack second cake on the first, and frost as desired with buttercream.

LEMON LAYER CAKE WITH LEMON CURD

Steps:

• Beat sugar and butter for curd in a bowl with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs and yolks slowly until well combined. Beat for 1 minute more; stir in lemon juice. The mixture will look curdled; do not panic.
• Pour mixture into a saucepan and cook over low heat until it becomes smooth, about 5 minutes. Increase heat to medium and cook, stirring constantly without letting it boil, until it thickens enough to leave a path on the back of a spoon when you drag a finger through it and reaches 170 degrees F (77 degrees C), about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in lemon zest.
• Let cool to room temperature, 20 to 30 minutes. Press plastic wrap on the surface to prevent a skin from forming and chill in the refrigerator.
• While filling cools, place a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Butter and flour two 8- or 9-inch round cake pans.
• Sift cake flour, baking powder, and salt together in a medium bowl. Pulse 1/4 cup sugar and lemon zest together in a food processor until well combined.
• Beat butter and lemon sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 1 1/2 minutes. Add remaining sugar and beat until smooth, about 1 1/2 minutes. Beat in 1/4 of the milk until just blended. Add flour mixture alternately with remaining milk on low speed in 3 batches, scraping the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed; beat until just blended.
• Beat egg whites in another bowl on medium speed just until foamy. Add cream of tartar. Increase speed to medium-high and beat until stiff peaks form. Add 1/4 of the egg whites to the cake batter and gently fold in. Continue to gently fold in egg whites, being careful not to deflate the mixture. Divide batter between the prepared pans.
• Bake in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted into the center of each cake layer comes out clean, 35 to 40 minutes. Flip right side-up and let cool on a wire rack, 30 minutes to 1 hour.
• Cut cooled layers in half and layer with curd.
• Beat butter and lemon zest for frosting in a medium bowl until light and fluffy. Add confectioners' sugar and beat. Add lemon juice and beat for 1 minute. Frost the assembled cake as desired.

LEMON CURD FOR WHITE CAKE

Steps:

• Prepare an ice bath fitted with a medium bowl; set aside. Whisk together yolks, zest, juice, and sugar in a small saucepan. Set over medium heat, and stir constantly with a wooden spoon. Cook until mixture is thick enough to coat the back of the wooden spoon, 5 to 7 minutes.
• Remove pan from heat. Add butter, 1 piece at a time, stirring until incorporated. Pass through a fine mesh sieve into prepared medium bowl. Stirring frequently, let stand until cool.
• Place a sheet of plastic wrap directly on surface of curd to prevent skin from forming; wrap tightly. Refrigerate until firm and chilled, at least 1 hour.

LEMON CURD

Steps:

• Using a carrot peeler, remove the zest of 3 lemons, being careful to avoid the white pith. Put the zest in a food processor fitted with the steel blade. Add the sugar and pulse until the zest is very finely minced into the sugar.
• Cream the butter and beat in the sugar and lemon mixture. Add the eggs, 1 at a time, and then add the lemon juice and salt. Mix until combined.
• Pour the mixture into a 2 quart saucepan and cook over low heat until thickened (about 10 minutes), stirring constantly. The lemon curd will thicken at about 170 degrees F, or just below simmer. Remove from the heat and cool or refrigerate.

FOUR-LAYER CAKE WITH LEMON CURD

Steps:

• For lemon curd:
• Combine all ingredients in heavy medium nonaluminum saucepan. Whisk over medium heat until mixture thickens and candy thermometer registers 170°F, about 8 minutes (do not boil). Pour into bowl and cool.
• For cake:
• Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 375°F. Butter and flour four 9-inch-diameter cake pans with 1 1/2-inch-high sides. Sift flour, cream of tartar, baking soda and salt into medium bowl. Beat sugar and butter in large bowl until fluffy. Add egg whites in 4 additions, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla. Beat dry ingredients into butter mixture alternately with milk, beginning and ending with dry ingredients.
• Divide batter among prepared pans. Bake cakes until golden and tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Transfer pans to racks and cool 5 minutes. Turn cakes out onto racks; cool completely. Layers will be thin. (Lemon curd and cakes can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and chill curd. Wrap cake layers separately and store at room temperature.)
• Place 1 cake layer on platter. Spread 6 tablespoons lemon curd over. Top with second cake layer. Spread 6 tablespoons curd over. Top with third layer. Spread 6 tablespoons curd over. Top with remaining layer. (Can be made 6 hours ahead. Cover cake and remaining curd separately; chill. Bring cake to room temperature before continuing.) Whisk remaining curd in saucepan over low heat until heated through and slightly thinner. Pour atop cake, spreading evenly and allowing some to run down sides. Garnish with mint.