Mary Custis Lee Cake

I've finally returned to baking from The American Cake.  I've actually baked this particular cake twice, once last spring and again in November for a work potluck.  In the book, it's called a Robert E. Lee Cake, but that seems a bit of misnomer since he neither created the cake or baked it.  So I rename in honor of the woman who did all the work (assuming she didn't just take credit for the work of one of her enslaved persons).

This cake consists of a light lemon cake layered with lemon curd and covered with a citrus buttercream.  The lemon cake is one of the best I've ever made.  The buttercream is very tasty; the use of both orange and lemon juices really sets it off.  Where I've had trouble both times is the lemon curd. 

The first time I made this cake, I followed the recipe as written.  The curd was very sticky, and I felt overcooked.  It was difficult to work with as it tore the cake when you tried to spread it.  The second time, I used my own lemon curd recipe, which while quite delicious on toast, is a little too loose for a filling.  As the day went on, the lemon curd oozed out between the layers and mixed with the buttercream causing an almost melted appearance.


It was, however, still quite yummy.  While I'm somewhat tempted to try a third time with a lemon curd that's somewhere in the middle, or maybe mixing the curd with a little bit of whipped cream, for now I'm going to put it aside and sample a few other recipes from this book. 


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