Lemon Curd as Cake Filling Thread

[BakerAunt]

Lemon Curd as a Cake Filling

Tonight I baked a lemon cake, using a recipe from Susan Purdy's The Perfect Cake--my go-to book for cake recipes. The cake is for a birthday at work, and the two honorees jointly agreed on Lemon Cake. I have not made one before. I used two 8-inch round pans, and the cakes are now cooling on racks. My plan is to assemble the cake Monday evening, since the party is at 11:30 on Tuesday, and I will not have time to do it that morning. I plan to make a simple lemon buttercream frosting. However, I have a 7 oz. jar of lemon curd that I want to use as a filling. I am thinking of splitting the two layers, and then using the lemon curd between the first and second and the third and fourth, with the frosting layer in the center.

As I said, this is new ground for me. Has anyone tried this before? Do you have any suggestions? Can the Lemon Curd be used in the same way that I would otherwise have used frosting on those two layers. Is it more likely to leak out the sides than frosting?

I plan to refrigerate the cake after I assemble it Monday night, then take it to work.
posted by: bakeraunt on March 09, 2015 at 12:39 am in General discussions

reply by: omaria on March 09, 2015 at 12:51 am
Bakeraunt, I have never done this , buy I think it would work fine. Are you putting the buttercream on the sides also ?I think it will be a yummy cake.!

reply by: luvpyrpom on March 09, 2015 at 1:25 am
Lemon curd as a filling is one of my favorites to use. My suggestion is not to frost the filling all the way to the edge as the weight of the cake and frosting may squish it out. I would pipe a little bit of the buttercream frosting around the outer edges of the cake and then fill the center with the curd. The frosting will act as a barrier to keep the curd from leaking out as you stack the layers. Hope this helps!
Tiara

reply by: Mrs Cindy on March 09, 2015 at 6:31 am
Bakeraunt, as you know, I have Meyer lemons and use lemons in everything I can conger up. Luvprypom's suggestion of piping a frosting dam around the edge of the split layers before adding the lemon curd is an excellent idea. That is what I have done and it works beautifully. You may not need the entire jar of lemon curd. Don't overfill the layer. I think you said it was a 7oz jar, which should give you a little less than 1/2 cup per layer. That should be more than enough for your purposes.
.
OMG! That cake is going to be such a huge hit in your office. You are going to be the cake lady from this time on. Wish I could be there to partake of your masterpiece! My mouth is watering just thinking about it! ?????
.
~Cindy

reply by: Livingwell on March 09, 2015 at 8:37 am
Bakeraunt, I don't have anything to add to the suggestions already made, but want to say your cake sounds scrumptious! The birthday girls are gonna love it!

reply by: Rascals1 on March 09, 2015 at 9:21 am
Bakeraunt, when I use lemon curd as a filling I usually pipe a narrow circle of buttercream around the outside edge of the layer then fill in the middle with the curd. This keeps the curd from seeping out from between them.

reply by: bakeraunt on March 09, 2015 at 1:58 pm
Thanks to all of you for the advice. I will do the buttercream dam around the circumference of the layers with the lemon curd.

I'm already the Birthday Cake Lady at work. It started with the KAF Favorite Fudge Birthday Cake. It is my contribution to office morale. I've probably made the Fudge Birthday Cake at least five times, a carrot cake twice, a Swedish Butter Cake (also from Susan Purdy's book), and last year a "Turtle" cake. I have also baked for the birthday parties in my husband's office, and that included the KAF Chocolate Sourdough Cake. It is great to have people who appreciate cakes. I can try new ones, and I get a lot of help eating them (especially in this case, as my husband is not a fan of lemon).

reply by: Livingwell on March 09, 2015 at 2:23 pm
I'll be interested in hearing how the buttercream dam works to keep the lemon curd contained. I've read that tip for filling a layer cake with buttercream frosting, but wonder how well it really works and if the dam doesn't squish out between the layers. When I put frosting between cake layers, I usually leave about an inch border to keep it contained, but it still sometimes squishes out a bit and leaves a ridge in the frosting on the sides. Does that make sense or did it sound as clear as mud?

reply by: Mrs Cindy on March 09, 2015 at 3:57 pm
No, it made sense to me. Sounds like your frosting isn't stiff enough. Have you tried adding more powdered sugar?
.
~Cindy

reply by: KIDPIZZA on March 09, 2015 at 4:49 pm
LIVINGWELL:
Good afternoon Penelope my dear friend. I read your posting with much interest. And since I have not posted with you my friend in a long while, I thought this is a good time to do so.
When I was in the cake baking class in culinary college, we were taught to apply a "CRUMB COAT" to the circumference of the cake to seal the dam/filling from oozing out. You then can keep the various filling from oozing out. Then after this coat you then apply the other frostings. It works.
.
Anyway I hope this explains how it is done in prof baking circles.
Enjoy the rest of the day Penelope.

~CASS.

reply by: Livingwell on March 09, 2015 at 5:00 pm
MrsCindy, you may be right. I tend to keep my frosting slightly on the softer side so it spreads easier. I'll have to try extra powdered sugar next time I make a layer cake, though goodness knows when *that* will be!

KidPizza, it's so nice to see you here again! I have often read about applying a crumb coat first, but have never tried it for one simple (silly) reason: I don't want to run out of frosting for the cake - LOL! Also, I've read that the crumb coat "seals in" the crumbs so they don't get in the top coat of frosting. I get around that by using a pastry brush to brush off any loose crumbs before frosting the cake. I will have to try it just to see if it works and keeps the filling from oozing out. As always, thank you for your help! "Penelope"

reply by: Mrs Cindy on March 10, 2015 at 6:01 am
Here's a little suggestion, Penelope. Using your 'soft' frosting, apply the crumb coat. A real crumb coat is very sloppy. It is done very thinly, just to seal and coat the entire cake. There will be lots of crumbs in it. You should be able to see cake through the entire crumb coat. Then, while that coat is drying, mix in more powdered sugar, just enough to thicken up the frosting. Now you are ready to apply the final frosting to the cake. You have made more frosting by adding the powdered sugar, you won't run out of frosting.

Now, remember, you are going to pipe in a dam around the outer edge of at least two layers, so you need to allow for the extra frosting in any case. I always make 1-1/2 times the frosting the recipe calls for, just to allow for a crumb coat and/or sealing any mishaps.

But, as usual, KP's suggestion about the crumb coat was right on.

~Cindy
I'm sorry, it's bakeraunt who is making the lemon cake. I had one of those temporary memory fades. Happens more and more lately......
~C

reply by: Livingwell on March 10, 2015 at 7:57 am
Thanks, MrsCindy, I'll try that next time I make a layer cake. Since I don't bake often anymore, I don't know when that will be!

reply by: kathyd on March 10, 2015 at 8:05 am
This cake sounded so good that I just went to Amazon and bought the book for $0.40....I really don't need another cookbook but for that amount....I think I have that much change in the couch cushions! I can't wait to make this one. Bakeraunt what other ones do you like from this book?

reply by: swirth on March 10, 2015 at 8:11 am
KAF has had the most wonderful Cake Decorating 1, 2, and 3 free online classes by Susan Reid for many years. It appears it is no longer available on the KAF site but I can still get it on Google. It shows the crumb coat and so much more...hope it helps as the pics are wonderful:
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https://www.kingarthurflour.com/baking/documents/CakeDecoCh1.pdf
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https://www.kingarthurflour.com/baking/documents/CakeDecoCh2.pdf
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https://www.kingarthurflour.com/baking/documents/CakeDecoCh3.pdf

reply by: Livingwell on March 10, 2015 at 8:46 am
Thanks for the great links, swirth! Boy, I wish the sides of my frosted layer cakes looked as smooth as the white cake featured in the third link; especially where the top meets the sides.

reply by: bakeraunt on March 10, 2015 at 4:48 pm
The Lemon Cake was a great success! Thanks to all of you for your help. I saw Kid Pizza's advice about the crumb coat too late to take advantage of it, since I did not want to run out of frosting, and I did not have time to soften more butter. I had refrigerated the cake layers two hours before I planned to frost them, which made it a lot easier to split them and to then frost them. I did pipe a dam around the edge of the two that would have the lemon curd between the layers, and it worked well. I had just enough frosting to fill the middle layer and to frost the sides and the top. I used the Simple Buttercream frosting from Susan Purdy's book (but omitted the optional raw egg yolk) with the lemon variation. I used 4 Tbs. of half and half and 1 Tbs. of lemon juice, as well as the lemon zest.

I bought my copy of The Perfect Cake in 2003 for $10, probably at T.J. Maxx or Tuesday Morning. When I was trying to master cakes so that I could bake my wedding cake, this book was more helpful to me than The Cake Bible. A friend, who has a friend who bakes and sells cakes, said that she always goes to Susan Purdy for "crucial" cakes. Measurements are given in volume, grams, and ounces. I use my scale and weigh by grams.

Which ones do I recommend? Anna's Swedish Butter Cake is the one I used for my wedding cake. I have also made the chocolate variation on it for a birthday cake. The Lemon Cake was one of her variations on her Basic 1-2-3-4 Cake. The Devil's Food Cake is excellent. The Basic Quick Buttercream frosting is very easy and spreads nicely.

reply by: kathyd on March 10, 2015 at 8:27 pm
Thanks Bakeraunt. Those all sound delicious, but something about that lemon cake with lemon curd has peeked my interest. I'm anxious to get my copy and get baking cakes.
KathyD

reply by: Mrs. Cindy on March 11, 2015 at 5:10 am
Bakeraunt, you are a very bad influence! After reading your post I went straight to Amazon and bought a copy of Susan's book. I would have paid almost anything, but $45 seem a little steep. 41¢ seemed a little low, so I opted for something, $21, in between. A brand new copy. I'm sure I can get it into baking condition in no time with my own markers, flour poufs and butter stains. I can't wait for it to get here.

Your lemon cake sounds like it was a huge hit. Now, all you need to do is start making your own lemon curd. Then you can really go to town on lemon cakes. My mouth is watering just thinking about it!

Speaking of lemon, I have the very last (4) of my Meyer lemons, very, very, thinly sliced, sitting in a bowl with sugar in the fridge. I'm going to make that Shaker Lemon Pie. Maybe today, maybe tomorrow. The lemons have been macerating since Monday. I'm going to simmer them on the stovetop for a bit before making the pie. Maybe soften up the rinds a little more. I'll let everyone know how it goes.

Anyhow, I just wanted you to know you should get advertising royalties from Susan Purdy. You were the reason I bought her book!

~Cindy

reply by: Livingwell on March 11, 2015 at 7:47 am
Bakeraunt and Mrs. Cindy, does the cover of the book feature a beautiful four layer white cake frosted in chocolate? I looked for Susan Purdy cake books online and saw a few with different pictures on them, but that white cake is gorgeous and caught my eye. It's not in our library system or available through Barnes & Noble, so I may have to seriously think about ordering it. "The Cake Bible" is waaay beyond my skill level, so if it's on par with that, it's too difficult for me and I'll have to pass. Because of my dexterity problem, I need things more on a Betty Crocker level; nothing fancy or complicated.

reply by: kathyd on March 11, 2015 at 7:55 am
Livingwell,
That is the book. That cake looks so nice. I want to know how they cut the cake so the slice looks so beautiful. Mine never look that good. I always have chocolate frosting dragged down the sides of the beautiful white cake. I just ordered the book and I'm anxious to get my dirty little hands on it.

Mrs Cindy,
I agree with you she really sold that book. Just got an email that my book has shipped. I might have to make that lemon cake first on the list. I have never made my own curd. About how many lemons will I need? I'll have to go check out the KAF recipe that is done in the microwave. Have you tried that recipe? Wonder if it is worth a try?
Well, off to work! Talk to you later.
KathyD

reply by: KIDPIZZA on March 11, 2015 at 8:01 am
LIVINGWELL:
Good morning my friend I have read your post with much interest. I have already posted the yellow & the white cake recipes for you about 15, months ago.....remember????

Use one of those & fill it with your choice of filling. There are many floating around here these days.

You know many of the members here are ready to help you get a cake assembled. And remember for the first time it doesn't have to look good but, it should taste good.
Think about it. Have a nice day my friend.

~CASS.

reply by: Livingwell on March 11, 2015 at 8:21 am
Kathyd, I think the featured cake is a work of art! And my sliced cakes never look that nice, either - LOL!

Good morning, Cass! Yes, I certainly do remember you helping me make both the yellow and white cakes. Each was a *big* success and I posted pictures of them on my personal page. (Well, himself posted them for me.) I have saved both recipes to my tried and true file as "KidPizza's Yellow Cake" and "KidPizza's White Cake". Like most bakers, though, I love trying new recipes, so am always on the lookout for new baking adventures! Of course, I'll have to live forever to try all of the recipes I want to make, but that sounds like a good goal, doesn't it?! Have a good day at your end, too! "Penelope"

reply by: Mrs Cindy on March 11, 2015 at 11:25 am
The Easy Microwave Lemon Curd recipe that KAF has posted is the basic one I use, with a few technique variations. It's easy and foolproof (great for me, the ever fool!). I will be happy to send you my recipe and all my notes, if you wish. They are quite extensive, mainly because I've made it so many times. Some times were total fails! But, some were pretty good, until I've got the technique down pat. If you want it, let me know.

~Cindy

reply by: Mrs Cindy on March 11, 2015 at 11:35 am
Oh, let me tell you about how they 'cut' that cake so it looks to perfect.

I have a friend who is a professional food stylist and food photographer. That cake on the front cover might, or might not, be real cake. If it is a real cake, it's cleaned up for the shoot. They use all kinds of tricks, even hairspray, to keep every crumb right where they want it. When the shoot is over, everything goes in the garbage because it's inedible! Those pictures are not real life. They use all kinds of chemicals and yucky stuff to make the cake look more cake-like and the chocolate darker and more chocolaty. You really don't want to know.

In real life, we just cut the cake and it ends up looking the way it looks. And that's the way Susan Purdy's cakes look, too. Just like ours!! At the end of the day, it's all mixed up in your mouth/stomach anyway! ???
.
~Cindy

reply by: bakeraunt on March 11, 2015 at 2:15 pm
It's true that food stylists use tricks. In my family we always joked about how on the soap operas and holiday shows the cooks lifted the "perfect turkey" from the oven. Some of ours looked a lot less than perfect!

However, one of tricks to slicing a multi-layer cake is to use a cake knife. I bought one from KAF a couple of years ago--on sale but still quite expensive. it is wider than a regular knife, has serrations, and has a rounded wide tip. It is a Wusthof. With that knife I produce slices as beautiful as the one on the cover of Susan Purdy's book.

Livingwell: You could adapt Kid Pizza's cake recipe. Just add lemon zest to the batter and 1/4 tsp. lemon extract (I used 1/2 tsp. lemon oil--my change to Purdy's recipe.) You would need her book for the frosting. This book is a LOT friendlier than The Cake Bible.

Why I like this book: three choices on how to measure ingredients: volume, grams, ounces. She tells you what kind of pans to use--and will also give you alternatives for different pans. She gives you a volume measurement on how much batter the recipe makes (great when you know the capacity of a pan and need a recipe to fit it.) There is also a handy chart about what size pan holds what amount of batter. She includes variations on recipes, and that gives us ideas on what we might vary.

reply by: JennC13 on March 11, 2015 at 3:03 pm
ok - y'all talked me into it! Just bought a used copy on Amazon - I love cake 🙂

reply by: Livingwell on March 11, 2015 at 3:56 pm
I have been obsessing about this book ever since bakeraunt mentioned it! One look at that gorgeous white four layer cake smothered in chocolate frosting and I could think of nothing else! After hemming and hawing all morning, I just ordered a used copy that I will get FREE with himself's rewards points! Oh, I lie, there weren't quite enough points to cover all of the shipping and handling, so I'll owe $1.95; good as free. For those of you that already ordered, please double check to make sure you are getting the book with the layer cake on the front. I had a *terrible* time getting the site to add the correct book to my shopping cart. It kept wanting to add the older edition, "A Piece of Cake". I'm so excited!

reply by: Mike Nolan on March 11, 2015 at 5:23 pm
I like Susan Purdy's pie book, so I ordered a used copy of this book, too.

reply by: frick on March 11, 2015 at 6:43 pm
Mike, which of her pie books do you have? Pie in the Sky or As Easy as Pie?

I am getting the bake book also, and yes, it's the newer edition. I can see how a person would end up with the old one. Thanks for the heads up.

reply by: kathyd on March 11, 2015 at 7:25 pm
Mrs. Cindy
If your instructions for lemon curd are already typed up I would love them but if not don't worry I'll try that recipe and see how it turns out. I just wasn't sure if it a good curd as I've never made one.
Thank you!
KathyD

reply by: Livingwell on March 11, 2015 at 9:00 pm
Mrs. Cindy, say it ain't so! All that cake and goody porn on the covers of baking books aren't even the real thing?!?! How in the world do they expect us to duplicate such beautifully cut and presented goodies? I bought the Wusthof knife bakeraunt mentioned and I do have to say my cake slices look much better, but not front cover quality yet. I need more practice with it, but first I'd have to make more cakes, which I haven't been doing for a few years now.

Back to the fake food on the cookbook covers. That is just like when I found out that the models on the covers of magazines are photoshopped, airbrushed, and who knows what else to make them look absolutely perfect. That's when I decided to stop trying to look like them and just be the best me. If *they* don't even look like them, why should I try to look like them?

reply by: kathyd on April 05, 2015 at 10:56 am
I got my cake book a couple of weeks ago. Yesterday I made the lemon cake. Filled it with lemon curd and made the lemon buttercream. I hope they don't like lemon...it smells divine. It will be one of the desserts for dinner today.
Thanx for sharing this book and cake!
KathyD
PS: I might try another one tonight as today is my boss's birthday.

reply by: Livingwell on April 05, 2015 at 12:00 pm
It's been almost a month (March 11) since I ordered "The Perfect Cake" and still haven't received it. Himself contacted the seller yesterday and she said she sent it out right away and has no idea why it hasn't been delivered yet. It was sent through the postal service, which now automatically includes a tracking number and $50.00 insurance, so I am a bit aggravated that she didn't track the delivery with the number and see if it was actually delivered, and to the right address, or got lost along the way. That's something I do obsessively when I send a package, as well as sending the recipient the tracking number, too. Himself said if it doesn't show up this coming week, he'll try to find another fine or like-new copy for me. I'm so disappointed. ~sigh~

reply by: kathyd on April 05, 2015 at 12:07 pm
Mine arrived in about 5 days. I only paid $.40 for it but $3.99 for shipping.

reply by: Livingwell on April 05, 2015 at 12:16 pm
I'll see what happens this coming week. Being ever the optimist, I'm still hoping it will show up.

reply by: bakeraunt on April 06, 2015 at 2:24 pm
I used Susan Purdy's Simple Buttercream recipe (without the egg yolk) to frost the lamb cake for Easter. (I had previously used it with the lemon variation for a birthday cake.) It will now be my go-to recipe. I don't know if it was the proportions or her instructions on how to mix it, but it was a wonderful frosting to work with, and the taste is perfect.

reply by: Mike Nolan on April 06, 2015 at 10:27 pm
I have 'easy as pie'.

reply by: Mrs Cindy on April 07, 2015 at 6:01 am
Is that the 'Basic Quick Buttercream'? I couldn't find one called Simple Buttercream. Do you know what function the egg yolk provides? What would happen to the frosting if you left it in?
.
~Cindy

reply by: bakeraunt on April 07, 2015 at 10:51 am
Yes, it is the basic quick buttercream. Apparently, most buttercreams use egg yolk, but I am wary of uncooked egg. Perhaps one of the more experienced people can explain the use of the egg. I note that her classic French Buttercream uses four egg yolks, but they get "cooked."

reply by: Mrs Cindy on April 08, 2015 at 11:49 am
I noticed that about the French buttercream. Maybe KidPizza will know why. I might just send him an email and ask. It intrigues me.
.
~Cindy
p.s. Emailed KidPizza. He said the raw egg yolk was for emulsion purposes. However, as far as I'm concerned, if you don't absolutely HAVE to have it, I'm going to leave it out. No sense in flirting with danger!!
~C

reply by: bakeraunt on April 08, 2015 at 1:17 pm
I have made it twice--both times without the egg yolk, and it is fine. I think the key to getting this frosting smooth is to sift the powdered sugar (I do this as I weigh it) and to alternate adding the cream and the powdered sugar to the buttered mixture.

reply by: Mrs Cindy on April 08, 2015 at 1:52 pm
But you DO like the frosting? You said it was easy to work with and made a smooth, creamy, frosting. That is what I've been looking for. I'll make a note in my book about sifting and how to add the powdered sugar and butter mixture.
.
Thanks.
Cindy

reply by: bakeraunt on April 08, 2015 at 1:55 pm
Yes, I love how it tastes. Otherwise I would not make it, no matter how easy it is to work with.
reply by: Mrs Cindy on April 09, 2015 at 1:55 pm
Just what I needed to know. Thanks!
.
~Cindy

reply by: thepastryguy on April 19, 2015 at 12:18 pm
hey bakeraunt. Great question! It's absolutely fine to do this as long as your lemon curd is top quality. I have just written a post on how to make your own lemon curd with suggestion on other desserts using lemon curd which you can check out here:
http://makepuds.com/simple-lemon-curd-recipe
Hopefully that helps. If you use the lemon curd option I would recommend folding it into a little whipped cream and leaving more space around the edges when feeling.
Best wishes Steve.

reply by: Mrs Cindy on April 20, 2015 at 5:23 am
Steven, loved your blog! Great information for aspiring pastry chefs. Are you still in the business or have you retired? In any case, welcome to the baking circle. We have a lot of fun while creating fabulous dishes and desserts!

reply by: Livingwell on April 20, 2015 at 8:11 am
Welcome, Steven! I just finished reading your blog and loved all the detailed instructions on how to make lemon curd. It's something I have yet to make, but it's on my "to-do" list.

reply by: KitchenBarbarian aka Zen on June 10, 2015 at 3:28 am
OMG, I just realized - Frick gave me a copy of that exact book (Susan Purdy, "The Perfect Cake") when I was up there for our Excellent Adventure! She had two copies and gave me her extra one. I forget how she ended up with the extra copy, but I was sure glad to have it! It was a generous gift. It's on the coffee table. I keep wanting to make things out of it but - you know - dieting in this household just now.

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