With a passion for providing baked goods that are wholesome and organic in nature, lifelong baker April Anderson knows a thing or two about making great cakes. From butter cakes to pound cakes, and cheesecakes to cupcakes and other pastries and sweet treats, Good Cakes and Bakes has been cooking up decadent treats in the Detroit metro area since 2013. If you’re starting to develop your cooking skills over the coming weeks, try making Good Cakes and Bakes’s Lemon Velvet Cake – a refreshing treat perfect for the spring and summer months. Or any time of year, really.
LEMON VELVET CAKE
- 2 1/2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
- 3 cups sifted cake flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 tbs baking powder
- 2 teaspoon salt
- 3 cups sugar
- 1 1/3 cup canola oil
- 2/3 cup butter at room temperature
- 1 tsp good butter vanilla extract
- 4 tsp pure lemon extract
- 6 large eggs
- 3 cups buttermilk
Spray three 10-inch round cake pans. Sift together both flours, baking soda, baking powder and salt, and set aside.
In the bowl of an electric mixer beat together the sugar, canola oil, butter, butter vanilla and lemon extract. Beat well at high speed with whisk attachment until light and fluffy (6-8 minutes, put timer on). Beat the eggs in one at a time. Slowly add in the dry ingredients alternately with the buttermilk.
Add dry ingredients in 4 divisions and liquid ingredients in 3 divisions. It is very important to begin and end the additions with the dry ingredients. Do not over mix the batter. As soon as it has no lumps in the batter, place 5 or 6 scoops into the prepared three 10-inch cake pans.
Put the cake pans on a tray before placing in oven. Bake at 325 °F for 35 – 40 minutes (20 minutes and turn tray) or until a wooden toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
FOR THE FROSTING
- 8 cups sifted powdered sugar
- 1 cup unsalted butter
- 2 packages cream cheese
- 1 tsp pure lemon extract, zest of two small or one large lemon grated and finely chopped
- 1/4 cup milk (approximately)
TO PREPARE THE FROSTING
Mix together the powdered sugar, lemon zest and butter until it becomes sort of crumbly. Add the lemon extract and a little of the milk. Add the cream cheese in chunks. Beat until smooth and fluffy, adding only enough milk to bring the frosting to a creamy spreadable consistency. Fill and frost the cake. Garnish with candied lemon zest if desired.
