Citrus Cake & Settlers

I've been dying to make a cake recently and I've always loved a cake I saw based off of a fabric she liked.

So I went for it. The citrus started leaking juice and running down with the icing, ha, but overall still really cute and the citrus flavors combined make for a super delicious cake, the lemon curd I filled it with really sealed this one for me. It's a keeper. Plus it tastes like sunshine- who wouldn't love that!

Lemon Curd:

3 egg yolks

zest of 1/2 lemon

1/4 cup lemon juice

6 tbs sugar

4 tbs butter; cold

1     combine yolks, zest, lemon juice and sugar in a small pan and whisk together

2     turn stove on medium heat and stir the mixture constantly with a wooden spoon

3     cook until the mixture can coat the back of the spoon 6-8 minutes

4     remove pan from heat and stir 1tbs at a time of the butter

5     put in a small bowl and cover with plastic wrap, make sure the plastic wrap is

       laying directy on the curd so it won't make a skin.

6     place in refrigerator for at least one hour, can make this a few days in advance

citrus cake:

1 cup butter; room temp

2 1/2 cups flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

1 tps lemon zest

1 tsp orange zest

1/2 tsp lime zest

1 1/2 cups sugar

2 eggs + 3 egg yolks

2 tablespoons orange juice

1 cup buttermilk



preheat oven 350 degrees F

1     grease pans for cakes, I made 4-6" cakes or you can make 2-8"

2     in a small bowl whisk together flour, powder, soda, salt and citrus zests

3     in another large bowl beat together sugar and butter

4     beat in the eggs/yolks one at a time

5     beat in orange juice

6     then alternate, starting with flour mixture, pouring the flour and buttermilk

       in while the mixer is on low

7     divide batter into pans, smooth their tops and bake for about 20-30 minutes

       for mini cakes and 30-35 for 8" cakes- check with a toothpick

assembly:

let cakes cool completely

1   cut up slices of fruit you'd like to adorn the cake
2    bring 1/2 cup sugar and 1/2 cup water to a simmer in a saucepan
3   add in the citrus slices and simmer them for 25 minutes
4   remove from pan carefully and place on wax paper to cool completley

then make this frosting  but throw in a little lime zest

cut the cakes to have flat tops
place a heap of the lemon curd on top of one layer, smooth it out
place the other cake on top
frost cake with the citrus buttercream
top with sugared citrus slices

:)

my little visitor was not being helpful!



Our friends joined us for dinner to devour almost a whole mini cake- while we played with lego candies and settlers. They were both destroying us in the game, like not even close, so Joshua and I decieded to make animals with our extra pieces (because we had a ton) The giraffe was our favorite. We also made a moose, and something between a duck and pegasus.