Wednesday, November 17, 2010

Lemon-poppy seed cake with vanilla-cream cheese frosting and 4 years of blogging

Lemon-poppy seed cake with vanilla-cream cheese frosting / Bolo de limão siciliano e sementes de papoula com cobertura de baunilha e cream cheese

Thank you all for the birthday wishes! You guys are the best! ♥

I turned 32 a couple of days ago, and this blog turns 4 today – for this double celebration I baked a lemon cake (and please let’s pretend you are surprised with the flavor choice). :D

Lemon-poppy seed cake with vanilla-cream cheese frosting / Bolo de limão siciliano e sementes de papoula com cobertura de baunilha e cream cheese

Lemon-poppy seed cake with vanilla-cream cheese frosting
slightly adapted from Sky High: Irresistible Triple-Layer Cakes

Cake:
3 cups (420g) cake flour*
2 cups (400g) caster sugar
4 ½ teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons poppy seeds
1 cup (2 sticks/226g) unsalted butter, room temperature, coarsely chopped
grated zest and juice of 1 large lemon
1 ¼ cups (300ml) buttermilk
5 egg whites
1/3 cup (80ml) water

Vanilla cream cheese frosting:
2 vanilla beans
5 cups (700g) confectioners’ sugar, sifted
224g (8oz) cream cheese, room temperature
1 cup (226g/2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F. Butter three 20cm (8in) round cake pans. Line the bottom of each with a round of parchment paper and butter the paper.
Combine the flour, 1 ¾ cups (350g) of the sugar, baking powder, salt and poppy seeds in the large bowl of an electric mixer. Beat on low speed to blend the ingredients and break up any lumps, about 30 seconds. Add the butter, lemon zest and 1 cup of the buttermilk to the flour mixture. Beat on low – be careful, the flour may fly everywhere – until completely mixed. Raise the speed to medium and beat for 1-2 minutes to lighten and aerate the batter.
In a medium bowl, combine the egg whites with the remaining ¼ cup buttermilk; whisk to blend thoroughly. Add this mixture to the batter in 2-3 additions, scraping down the sides of the bowl and beating only enough to incorporate. Divide the batter among the prepared pans.
Bake for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let the cakes cool in the pans for 10 minutes.
While the cakes are cooling, make the lemon syrup: in a small nonreactive saucepan, combine the remaining ¼ cup (50g) of sugar, the lemon juice and the water. Bring to the boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar.
Turn out the cake layers onto wire racks and generously brush them hot lemon syrup over the warm cakes to moisten evenly. Let cool completely.

Make the frosting: split the vanilla beans lengthwise and scrape the seeds into the sugar with the back of a knife. In the large bowl of an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese and butter on medium speed until light and fluffy. Gradually add the sugar, 1 cup at a time, beating well after each addition and scraping down the sides of the bowl. Continue to beat until very fluffy, 3-4 minutes. Add the vanilla extract and beat well.

Assembling the cake: place one cake layer, top side down, on a cake plate and spread about a fifth of the frosting over the cake to cover evenly. Repeat with the second cake layer + another fifth of the frosting, then place the third layer on top. Frost the top and sides of the cake with the remaining frosting. Garnish with whatever strikes your fancy.

* homemade cake flour: 1 cup (140g) all purpose flour minus 2 tablespoons + 2 tablespoons corn starch

Serves 12-16 – I made the exact cake recipe above but only 2/3 of the frosting and it was enough to fill and frost the entire cake

39 comments:

schlachtplatte said...

Wow, four years of blogging! My blogg is not even one year old yet, and its fourth birthday seems about as far ayway as my fourth birthday...Congratulations and let#s hope for many more years!

Mercè said...

Patricia, happy belated birthday and congratulations for this 4-year blog!! My gosh! I hope you can delight us with many more recipes to come!
xoxo

Amanda said...

Happy blogging anniversary! This cake is me to a tee - love lemon and love cream cheese frosting so this recipe is definitely going into my 'to try' file. Thanks for sharing the recipe x

Anonymous said...

Double celebrations are always the best -- twice the dessert! Who doesn't look a richly frosted, towering layer cake anyway?!

Cheers to four more years,

*Heather*

lena said...

happy belated birthday and i'm sure you have many many more years of blogging in here! cheers!

米雪儿 said...

congratulations ! 4 yrs of blogging. Me only almost 2,still as "baby"..:) nice to know u here.

Patty said...

Happy birthday and anniversary!

What a glorious cake - I adore poppy seeds. :)

Anonymous said...

Happy Blogiversary! Also, that cake makes me want to weep. Beautiful.

Shabs.. said...

happy belated birthday wishes and a very happy blog anniversary!love the cake and so the pictures...I wouldn't mind living next door and having ur goodies every other day...LOL..

Emily said...

Oh my goodness... I must, must bake this cake. It looks amazing.

Happy birthday! And happy blogiversary!

Xiaolu @ 6 Bittersweets said...

Aw happy blogiversary! I cannot resist poppy seed. What a pretty cake.

Abby said...

Happy Birthday! Happy Anniversary! And what a beautiful cake as always. Love visiting your blog!

Peter G | Souvlaki For The Soul said...

Happy Birthday Patricia and happy bloggy b'day too! I'm sure that beautiful lemon cake was gone in a flash!

Megan @ Foodalution said...

Happy Happy Birthday to you both! The blog is such a hit....I have so much fun at your site... your photos always make me smile! xoxo Megan

Michael Beyer said...

Looks fantastic!

Joanne said...

I absolutely adore the lemon poppy seed combo. There's something about it that's so very addictive and keeps you coming back for more. Gorgeous cake. Happy birthday and bloggiversary!

Ingrid_3Bs said...

Happy birthday to you & your lovely blog!
~ingrid

diva said...

Happy birthday to you and your wonderful blog! :) this cake is so up my street because of the poppy seeds and cloud-like vanilla frosting! gorgeous!

Katie said...

Wow happy birthday and happy 4th blog-birthday! I've made this cake myself and its delicious. Great way to celebrate. Have another great year

Toasted Pecan said...

Happy (be-lated) birthday! This cake is FANTASTIC looking. Seems so fluffy and fresh, I want a slice!! :)
Love photos, Thanks or sharing, Hope to try this one out very soon!

Emma @CakeMistress said...

Happy Birthday and happy bloggiversary! What a beautiful cake to celebrate.
I look forward to reading more of your lovely recipes.

Magda said...

My birthday was last week and my blog's "birthday" is coming up next week. Great similarities :)
Happy blog-anniversary Patricia! I wish you many many years of baking and cooking inspiration! You are always spoiling us with your wonderful creations and we want more!

pam said...

Happy birthday to you and your blog!!

Rachel said...

Happy birthdays! It's so nice that they fall close to each other.
Your cake looks so light and fluffy, like a lemony cloud!

Winne said...

Congratulations on 4 wonderful years! what a fabulous milestone and thank you for all you hard work and for inspiring us!!

Jeanne Kaligis said...

Dear Patricia,

Happy belated birthday and happy blogging anniversary too.

I'm glad that I've found your blog and always amaze by your creative and continous baking activities. One thing I really like about is that you always put convertion measurement of the recipes which really really helpful for me since we in Indonesia used to have the grams instead of cups or ounce for measuring.

Once again congratulations and I hope you can share with us many more recipes in years to come!

God bless you
Jeanne

Tati said...

Paty, this cake looks delicious and perfect to celebrate both your birthday and your blog 4th anniversary!!!!
Many many years of wonderful recipes and great pictures that inspire all of us.

Patricia Scarpin said...

Schlachplatte, thank you! 4 years is really a lot. :D

Mercè, my dear, thank you!
xoxo

Amanda, thank you!I do hope you try the cake - it's great!
xx

Heather, layer cakes are a synonym of celebrations!
Thank you, sweetie!
xoxo

Lena, thank you! xx

Michelle, thank you! xx

Patty, my dear, thank you! I'm a sucker for poppy seeds, too. :D

Darby, thank you! xx

Shabs, thank you very much! I would love to have you as my neighbor - we could bake together!
xoxo

Emily, thank you, my darling! xoxo

Xiaolu, I love poppy seeds, too - thank you, gorgeous! xx

Abby, thank you, my dear! You are one of my favorite bloggers, did you know that? Such a long time around - thank you for being part of these 4 years! xoxoxoxox

Peter, thank you! It was - and everyone was pleased! :D

Megan, thank you very much! You are just far too kind! xoxo

Michael, thank you!

Joanne, thank you! xx

Ingrid, thank you! xx

Diva, thank you!That frosting is addictive, I'll tell you! :D

Katie, thank you! xoxo

Ca La Cate, thank you! I wish I could share it with you!

Emma, thank you! I'm glad to know you're enjoying the recipes!
xx

Magda, happy birthday to you, too! What a lovely coincidence! :D
Thank you so much for you kind words - the spoiled one here is me, with all the love from you guys! xx

Pam, thank you! xoxo

Rachel, thank you! 4 days apart, only - such a coincidence. :D

Winne, thank YOU! xx

Jeanne, you are just too sweet! Thank you for such kind words - I'm glad to know the measurements are being useful to you!
xoxo

Tati, thank you! Um beijo!

Artemis Tsipi said...

Happy Birthday to you,
happy birthday to you,
happy birthday, dear Patricia,
and to your Technicolor Kitchen, too!

I wish your lemon cake brings you all the sweetness in your life and blog life!

Unknown said...

The cake looks delicious, as always. Happy blogiversary!

Deeba PAB said...

4 years of beautiful blogging. Congratulations! This is a beautiful way to celebrate!

Patricia Scarpin said...

Artemis, you are just too sweet!
Thank you for the song (I loved this version!) and for your comment!
xoxo

Jenni, thank you!
xx

Deeba, you are too kind, my dear! Thank you!
xx

Heidi - Apples Under My Bed said...

Congratulations!! What an absolutely delicious, perfect way to celebrate :) Beautiful pictures.
Heidi xo

Lulu"s Sweet Secrets said...

Adoro seu blog! Suas fotos e receitas são maravilhosas!

Há algum tempo minha irmã me falou sobre seu blog e desde então acompanho sempre. Foi o primeiro blog de culinária que passei a seguir. Aprendi muito e hj conheço tanta coisa legal graças ao seu belo trabalho!
Parabéns Patricia!

Beijinhos,
Luciana

Sara said...

That cake looks and sounds delicious - I love, love, love lemon!

Patricia Scarpin said...

Heidi, thank you, sweetie!
You are always so sweet!
xx

Luciana, obrigada pela visita! Que bom que está gostando, fico super feliz!
Beijão!

Sara, thank you! I love lemon, too! ;)

Anonymous said...

The cake turned out dry. Very disappointed....

Sydney said...

The cake was moist, tasty and disappeared quickly! Will try making the recipe in cupcakes soon

Patricia Scarpin said...

Dear Sydney, this is great news! Thanks for letting me know.

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