• CAKE
  • 2 3/4 cups sifted cake flour
  • 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
  • 2 cups sugar
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • Zest and juice of 3 lemons (approximately 2 loosely packed tablespoons zest and about 1/3rd cup juice)
  • 1/2 cup lemon curd (from your favorite recipe or store-bought variety)
  • 3 eggs, room temperature
  • 1 cup milk, room temperature
  • FROSTING
  • 1 1/4 cups unsalted butter (3 sticks), room temperature
  • 1.5 lbs. sifted powdered sugar
  • 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • Pinch of salt
  • 1/3rd cup milk, room temperature
  • GANACHE
  • 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
  • 1 cup bittersweet chocolate
Preheat the oven to 350degF.
Grease and flour two 8x2", or two 9x1 1/2" round cake pans

CAKE

In a medium bowl, sift the flour, baking powder and salt together; set aside.

With an electric mixer, beat the butter and sugar in a large mixing bowl until light and fluffy. Add the vanilla, zest, lemon juice and lemon curd, beat in until incorporated. Scrape the bowl. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add dry ingredients to wet gradually. After the last addition, mix the batter until just incorporated. Scrape the bowl and stir gently to mix in. Divide batter evenly between the two pans. Smooth the tops with an offset spatula.

For 8-inch pans* bake approximately 43-45 minutes, 9-inch pans bake for 34-36 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. The tops will be golden brown and the cakes should just start to pull away from the sides of the pan. Remove cakes from the oven and cool on racks for 12 minutes; remove from pans. Cool completely on racks.

FROSTING

In a large mixing bowl add the butter, half the powdered sugar, cocoa, vanilla, salt and half the milk. With an electric mixer, begin mixing SLOWLY at first to prevent a cloud of dry ingredients from pluming out all over, and gradually increase the speed to medium until incorporated. Add the remaining sugar and milk. Mix in slowly at first, increasing speed to medium low; blend until the frosting is smooth and creamy.

Assemble the cake. Place one cake (bottom or flat side down) onto a serving plate; frost the top with a nice fill. Place the second cake (bottom or flat side up) on top. Crumb coat (thin application) the top and sides. Place cake in refrigerator for a few minutes to set the frosting. Leave the crumb coat as is on the top, but frost the sides with a nice finish coat. Return the cake to the refrigerator to set for several minutes.

GANACHE

In a small sauce pan over medium low, heat the heavy cream to a simmer. Take off heat and stir until the chocolate chips have melted completely and mixture is smooth. It should have a pourable consistency. Let cool to lukewarm. Pour the ganache onto the top center of the cake. With an offset spatula, quickly spread the ganache outwards toward the edges of the cake; gently nudge some of the ganache with the spatula over the edge to drip down in multiple areas around the perimeter.

The cake is best served at room temperature. Store in the refrigerator covered in plastic for up to 3 days.

Notes

*If you choose the 8-inch pans you must be sure you have the ones that measure 2 inches up the side, otherwise your batter will overflow during baking. When filling the 8x2" pan with equally divided batter, the fill level will be about three quarters full for each. The batter should not overflow during baking. The benefit of using the 8x2" pan is you get a taller cake. There should not be overflow issues with the common 9x1 1/2" pans other than a shorter baking time as indicated. If the chocolate ganache is too warm, it may slightly melt the frosting when poured on top causing it to sag. Additionally, not all heavy cream is manufactured with consistent fat content. Therefore, if the ganache is too thick to pour once it's blended together, you may want to add an additional tablespoon or two to thin it.