LEMON CURD CAKE

I feel like I have abandoned my precios blog... I haven't. I just have piled up pictures of cakes and food's I've made and take a picture to post them, yet the hours of the day fly away like butterflies if you come near.
And so comes the end of a day, the end of the week, the end of the month. The good news is, it's not yet the end of the month, and second good new is I have like 50 minutes before I leave for work which means I have some catching up to do.
So, last week I had a half day off, and though I had some homework piling up with my cake pictures I decided to grab my apron and do a cake. Me and my mom had already bought all the ingrdients for a lemon curd cake from...yes... the Martha book. I think I have decided I am going to try and do all the cakes in the cake chapter. Just the cakes!!
Well ,the cake was a bit labor intensive, though nothing compared to the Austrain Sacher Torte I made for school, which I will write on later!
Here are the instructions for the lovely Lemon Curd Cake

Ingredients:
1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1.5 cups all-pourpose flour
1.5 cups cake flour
1tbs baking powder
.5tsp salt
1 cups sour cream
Grated zest of two lemons
2tbs lemon juice
2 cups sugar
4 large eggs
2 batches lemon curd
1 batch Lemons Swiss Meringue Buttercream

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350, Butter 2 9x2 round cake pans, line with parchment paper, butter parchment paper.
In a bowl sift together, flours, baking powder, sant, set aside.
In a separate bowl combine sour cream and lemon juice/zest
In an electeic mixer combine butter adn sugar for about 5 minutes, scrape, add eggs one at time and beat for 1 minute after each.
Then on low speed ad four mixture alternating with cream. Start and end with flour.
Divide batter into pans, bake for about 30 -35 minutes until tester comes out clean. Let cool on pans, then transfer to cooling racks top sides up.
Using serrated knife, trip tops to even cakes, slice each layer in half, making two layers. Place one on bottom of cake plate, and spread 1/2 cup Lemon Curd over top. Repeat process with remaining layers, do not put curd on top layer.
Crumb coat with meringue and let chill for about 30 minutes.
Using offset spatula spreat entire cake with buttercream. Refrigerate 30 minutes before decorating with lemon curd. Using paper cornet filled with curd, pipe dots to decorate cake. Then pipe vertical lines of differet sizes on sides of cake. It can last refrigerated for up to 3 days.

LEMON CURD
Ingredients:
8 yolks
zest of 2 lemons
1/2 cup fresh lemons juice
1 cups sugar
6 oz unsalted butter,, cut into pieces.

Directions:
Combine yolks, lemon zest, juice, and sugar in heavy bottomed pan, whisk. Cook over medium heat, stirring constabtly with spoon until thick enought to coate a spoon.
Remove from heat. Add salt and butter, one piece at a time, stirring until smoooth. Strain, cover with plastic wrap, refrigerate at least one hour.

LEMON SWISS BUTTER CREAM
Ingredients:
4 egg whites
1.25 cups sugar
1.5 cups butter room temperature
3/4 cup lemon curd

Directions:
In the heatproof bowl of an electric an electric mixer set over saucepan of simmering water, combine egg whites and sugar. Cook whisking constantly, until sugar dissolves.
Attach bowl to mixer, fitter with whisk. Beat eggs on high unti stiff peaks form, Continue beating until fluffly and cool.

Change to paddle, add butter pieces at time, beat well after each addition. With spatula mix in 3/4 cups lemon curd.

Pineapple- mango Joy

Okay, so I fell for it. I bought a Martha Stewart Cookbook what will the chef gods say? I was walking around Michaels the other day (something dangerous for me) with a 40% off coupon and suddenly I saw the book isle. Yes, it was tiny and there were only maybe a dozen cookbooks. All seemed too related to the food network somehow and so I strayed away!! However, nestled neatly to the right was Mrs. Stewart with the Baking Cookbook and it kind of called to me?
You can guess what happed next, I bought it yes I bought it and it only cost me $22 dollars I still had left over to buy some chocolate truffles. When I got home I stuffed it in my growing book collection and forgot about it for almost a week.
Then only of those miracle nights when I have some time I took it out. To be honest I was kind of wary to follow the exact instruction, but decided to go for it, after all I had bought it for a reason, right?
I made the very simple Pineapple – Mango Turnover.

1 ¼ sticks of butter, room temperature
1 medium ripe pineapple, peeled and cut into slices
1 medium ripe mango, peeled
½ cup packed light brown sugar
1 ½ cup all purpose flour
½ tsp salt
¼ tsp baking soda
¼ tsp baking powder
1 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla
¼ sour cream

Procedures:

1. Preheat the oven to 350F. Butter an 8 x 2 inch cake pan, line it with parchment paper, and butter parchment. Using a 3 inch cookie cutter, cut out rounds from center of four of the pineapple slices. Chop enough of the remaining pieces to yield 1 cup. Place chopped fruit in a fine sieve set over a bowl to drain.
2. Cut the mango lengthwise into ¼ inch thick slices. Using the 1 ½ inch cookie cutter, cut out four rounds from the mango slices, set aside. Finely chop enough of the remaining mango to yield ½ cup, add the pineapple sieve.
3. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat 2 tbsp butter with the brown sugar until light and fluffy, 2 – 3 minutes. Using a small offset spatula evenly spread butter mixture in the bottom of the prepared pan. Place a reserved mango round in the center of each ring.
4. Sift together flour, salt, bp and bs, set aside. Place a reserved pineapple ring in each corner or the pan. Place a mango center. In the bowl beat remaining butter with sugar on medium until light and fluffy 2 – 3 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition; scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed. Beat in vanilla, add flour mixture in two parts alternating with sour cream, beginning and ending with flour.
5. Transfer chopped pineapple- mango mixture to cake pan; discard juice. Using a small spatula spread fruit in an even layer on top of cut out fruit. Then spread batter evenly over fruit.
6. Bake, rotating halfway until cake is golden brown and cake tester comes out clean about 40 – 50 minutes. Transfer to wire rack to cool, invert into plate, peel off the paper. Serve cake warm.

The cake was rich and moist, and I think one of the best I have made in a couple of times. All my family loved it!!