lemon-blueberry-cake (4 of 8)

This cake is perfect for 4th of July! Definitely a crowd pleaser for BBQs for its light texture after a heavy meal. The fluffy lemon buttercream is topped with fresh sweet blueberries. Inside is a lemon sponge cake (or genoise in French) with lemon curd filling and more of the buttercream. Seriously, your friends and family will finish a slice in seconds.

Lemon Sponge Cake with Lemon Curd

Ingredients, for the cake

5 tbsp of unsalted butter
1 and 1/3 cups of all purpose flower
1 tbsp of cornstarch
6 large eggs
A pinch of salt
1 cup + 1 tbsp of sugar
3 tbsp of lemon juice
1 tbsp of lemon zest

Lemon curd, for the filling

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line two round cake pans with parchment paper. Do not grease the sides of the pans. Melt the butter in a small pan on the stove and set aside in a small bowl. Sift the flour and cornstarch, place in a bowl and set aside.

Next create a bain marie. A bain marie is a French term for a water bath. Take a saucepan and add a couple of inches of water. The rest a stainless mixing bowl on top of the pan, that’s it! Bring the water to a simmer and add the eggs, sugar and salt to the mixing bowl. While the ingredients gently cook, whisk continuously by hand. Once the mixture is hot to the touch, after about 7 minutes, remove from stove.

Using a handheld mixer or your stand mixer, whisk the egg mixture until pale and tripled in size. With a rubber spatula, gently fold in the flour + cornstarch mixture. Don’t over mix, just until well blended.

Add a small amount of cake batter to the melted butter and blend. Pour this back into the main mixing bowl and mix until blended. Add in the lemon juice and zest. Pour batter into prepared pans and bake for 35-40 minutes. Cakes are done when the tops are spring-y and an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Allow to cool completely.

Once the cakes are completely cool, carefully remove from the pans. You may need to run a small knife around the edges to release the cake. After, stack one layer on your cake board or plate face down. Smooth a thin layer of lemon curd, store bought or homemade, onto the cake.

Light & Fluffy Italian Meringue Buttercream

Ingredients

1 cup of granulated sugar
3 tbsp of water
About 3 large egg whites
1 tsp cream of tartar
1 1/2 cups of unsalted, softened butter
1 tbsp of vanilla extract
3 tbsp of lemon juice
1 cup of heavy whipping cream

Pour egg whites and cream of tartar in a stand mixer bowl and whisk until stiff. You can use fresh egg whites or store purchased from a carton.

Place sugar and water in a small saucepan on medium heat. Without stirring, cook the syrup until boiling and reaches 248 degrees, approximately 5 to 10 minutes. When ready, the syrup will still be clear and have large popping bubbles.

Immediately pour the hot syrup into the egg whites. Turn the mixer on high and whisk until the mixture cools. You can place your hand at the base of the bowl to check temperature, but be careful. It’s ready when you can comfortably hold your hand on the bowl. The meringue will be glossy and have very stiff peaks.

Cut up the softened butter into cubes and add one by one to the meringue. Mix on medium-high until all of the butter is added. It’s okay if it curdles a little, just keep mixing. Once creamy and smooth, add the vanilla and then lemon juice.

Now if you like a thicker frosting go ahead and stop here. This is still lighter than a typical American buttercream made with powdered sugar.

To make the frosting even lighter, perfect for fresh berries, add whipped cream. Whisk the heavy cream until stiff and gently mix into the buttercream. This will create a very light and fluffy buttercream frosting for the cake!

To assemble, add a little buttercream to the first layer and stack the second on top. Then plop the remaining buttercream on top of the cake. Smooth with an angled spatula until the entire cake is covered in frosting. Use a cake stand or turntable to rotate the cake as you smooth out the frosting.

Rinse and dry fresh blueberries. Sprinkle the berries on top of the frosting and you’re done! You guests will love the light texture all the heavy food. Substitute plain whip cream for the buttercream for an even lighter frosting.