Mother's Day: Showing My Appreciation through Baking

Pat and I decided to have our mother's over for a Mother's Day lunch.  We stuck to a simple lunch which included our favorite chicken kabobs (I'll have to post that recipe soon!)  with couscous and green beans.

For dessert, I wanted to make this Lemon Icebox Cake found on Cookie Baker Lynn's blog.  Luckily, I actually read the blog ahead of time and realized that this cake was very involved- except I missed the last step of the recipe.  The last step is to refrigerate for 12 hours!  I almost panicked when I read that last step prior to going to bed.  Pat told me to just make something more simple...

More simple?! I am always up for a baking challenge!

When I woke up this morning, I started separating egg whites and yolks...a total of ten eggs.  The egg yolks are used for the lemon curd and the egg whites are used for the meringue.  With the amount needed, I only wasted two egg whites.  This was by far the worst part of the whole recipe because I hate eggs.

After I separated the eggs I made my angel food cake.  While that was baking, I went to work on the lemon curd.  I had never made lemon curd before, it was time consuming because you need to watch it cooking the whole time.

Once the lemon curd was made, I whipped the cream.   Then I folded the two together to make a lemon cream.  Next, it was time to make the meringue and wash my KitchenAid bowl  (this was one of many washes in this recipe).  The meringue was the trickiest part of the recipe.  While whipping the egg whites, you also need to make a syrup, and a gelatin mixture.

The syrup took a bit longer than the recipe said to reach the desired temperature.  You then add the syrup into the meringue and beat it until the mixer bowl is cooled.









After that step, you fold in the meringue to the lemon cream mixture.



Somewhere in the middle of this chaos, I pulled the cake out of the oven and let it cool.  This whole process took about two hours.  Once I took the cake out, I sliced the cake in half because I didn't think the layers would be thick enough if I cut the cake into thirds.

The lemon curd/cream/meringue was runnier at this point than I anticipated.  After it is frosting, it is time for the freezer.  I decided not to freeze it mostly for time, but also because I figured this would be lemon verision of a family recipe for a Maple Cream cake. I put the cake and the remaining lemon cream in the fridge.  When it was dessert time, the lemon cream had thickened and I added even more to the cake. 

TA-DA!!!! The finished product.  Due to the labor intensive process of this cake I said when I served it "This needs to be fabulous or it is never getting made again."  

People had seconds. The verdict: this Lemon Cream Cake is worth the effort!

Happy Mother's Day!

Here is an easy adaption:

Lemon Dream Cake

The Cake:

1 1/2 cups of sugar, 1 cup flour, 1/4 tsp. salt, 2 cups of egg whites, juice and zest of one lemon, 4 tsp. vanilla (I use Madagascar bourbon pure vanilla extract), 2 tsp. cream of tartar.

Preheat the oven to 350.  Whip the eggs until foamy.  Then mix in the lemon, vanilla, and cream of tartar. Once well combined, mix in the sugar and the flour.  Pour into the angel food cake pan and bake for approximately 35 minutes.  Once it is fully baked, flip the pan on top of a glass while the cake cools.  After it's completely cooled, slip the cake free from the pan.  Then slice the cake in half using a serrated knife.

The Frosting:

One jar of your favorite lemon curd (or one batch of your favorite homemade recipe), 1 1/2 cups of heavy cream, 2 tsp. unflavored gelatin, 1 1/8 cup sugar, 6 egg whites, 3/4 tsp. cream of tartar

Whip the heavy cream.  Then fold in the lemon curd (if homemade, allow to cool completely). Set aside while you make the meringue. 

Follow the recipe on the gelatin for how to soften it (typically microwave for 30 seconds in a little bit of water).  Combine 1 cup of sugar and 6 Tbl. of water.  Heat and stir until it reaches 248 degrees with a candy thermometer. 

While the syrup is reaching the temperature, beat the egg whites until foamy.  Add the cream of tartar and 1/8 cup of sugar.  Once the syrup is hot enough, gradually pour it into the egg white mixture. Beat until the mixture is cooled.

Then fold the meringue into the lemon cream filling.  Place a large portion of the lemon frosting in between the two layers of angel food cake. Spread the remaining frosting around and on top of the cake.

Enjoy immediately or refrigerate!