A Request A Year In The Making

Remember me telling you about my mom's gorgeous birthday cake? Well here it is! I'm not trying to toot my own horn, because I am hard on myself and see all kinds of flaws in the overall cake BUT it is pretty and I love the contrasting colors and flavors. This month the Cake Slice Bakers were to make a Key West Cake with Mango Mousse and Ginger Lime Cream. It sounds delicious but I didn't have time to make this cake as well as all the other birthday treats I had to bake this month. Besides, this is the cake my mother specifically asked for and I was glad to fulfill her request.

If you've been following me long, then you'll know I blogged about this cake exactly one year ago today. If you're new here, then WELCOME to my blog! I had intentions of making my mother cranberry orange scones for her birthday rather than a cake because she loves them and Starbucks changed their recipe and she complains about them every time she gets one. But I asked her what she'd like and without hesitations she said, "I want that lemon blueberry cake you made last year. I've been thinking about it ever since because it was so good." Well alright then, move over scones, hello luscious marble cake. Although I'm pretty sure I'll be making those scones for her sometime soon anyway.

This really is a great cake. I professed my love about it last July 20th (also known as Debby's birthday. Happy Birthday Debby!!!) and this time is no different. I like to eat it at room temperature because the buttercream is soft and creamy and buttery, but my mom likes it cold because the frosting stiffens up. It's great either way. I did decide to take a shortcut and purchase a jar of blueberry jam rather than making the homemade jam. If you have time to make it, then I suggest doing so, if not, spend the extra money for the good stuff. This particular one had lemon juice already in it, but I added a bit more to thin it out and add flavor. The only note I have for you is to puree the jam so you end up with a smoother consistency- I did not do this and my blueberries sunk to the bottom of the cake. Still pretty but not so marbled.

On a different, yet still related note, I get a lot of emails and comments about frosting my cakes and getting them so smooth. So while assembling this cake, I took several pictures of the process and I plan on sharing those with you at a later date- don't worry it will be soon. In the meantime, I hope you'll forgive me for not baking the Key West Cake the other Cake Slice Bakers made. And I hope that you enjoy this cake as much as my mother did.

Lemon Blueberry Marble Cake from Sky High

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• 2 sticks (8 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 2 cups sugar
• 2 tsp grated lemon zest
• 1½ tsp lemon extract
• 7 egg whites
• 3 cups cake flour
• 4 tsp baking powder
• ½ tsp salt
• 1¼ cups milk

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter the bottom and sides of three 8 inch round cake pans. Line the bottom of each pan with a round of parchment or waxed paper and butter the paper.

In a mixer, cream together the butter, sugar, lemon zest and lemon extract until light and fluffy. Gradually add the egg whites 2 or 3 at a time, beating well between additions and stopping occasionally to scrape down the sides of the bowl.

Combine the flour, baking powder and salt, whisk gently to blend. In 2 or 3 alternating additions, beat the dry ingredients and milk into the butter mixture, scraping down the sides of the bowl several times. Beat on medium-high speed for about 1 minute to smooth out any lumps and aerate the batter.

Scoop 1 cup of the batter into a small bowl. Divide the remaining batter equally among the 3 prepared pans, smoothing the tops with a spatula. This gives you a smooth surface to work with. Add 2½ tbsp of the lemon blueberry jam to the reserved batter and blend well. Drizzle heaping teaspoons of this blueberry mixture over the batter in the pans. Use a skewer to swirl the blueberry mixture in short strokes to drag it down through the lemon batter without mixing it in.

Bake for about 25 minutes or until a cake tester or skewer stuck in the center comes out clean and the cake pulls away from the sides of the pan. Let the layers cool for 10 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack, peeling off the paper and leaving to cool completely.

Blueberry Lemon Jam

• 3 cups blueberries, fresh or frozen
• ¾ cup sugar
• 2 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 1½ tsp grated lemon zest
• 1 tsp grated fresh ginger (optional)

Puree the blueberries with any juices that have exuded in a blender. Pass the puree through a coarse strainer to remove the skins.

In a heavy medium saucepan, combine the blueberry puree with the sugar, lemon juice, zest and ginger (if using). Bring to a gentle boil over a medium heat, stirring often for 20 minutes, or until the preserves have thickened and are reduced to 1 cup.

To check the proper thickness place a small amount of a saucer and put in the freezer until cold. Drag your finger through it. If a clear path is made through the preserve then it is ready. Let the preserves cool before using. (Can be made up to 5 days in advance).

Lemon Buttercream

• 1 cup sugar
• ¼ cup water
• 2 eggs
• 3 sticks (12 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 2 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 1 tbsp finely grated lemon zest (my addition)

In a small saucepan, combine the sugar and water. Bring to the boil over a medium heat, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Continue to boil without stirring, occasionally washing down the sides of the pan with a wet pastry brush until the syrup reaches the soft-ball stage, 238 (I take it off the heat at 235) degrees F on a candy thermometer. Immediately remove from the heat.

In a large mixer bowl with an electric mixer on medium speed, beat the eggs briefly. Slowly add the hot syrup in a thin stream, pouring it down the sides of the bowl; be careful to avoid hitting the beaters or the syrup may splatter. When all the syrup has been added, raise the speed to medium-high and beat until the mixture is very fluffy and cooled to body temperature. This can take 15-20 minutes.

Reduce the mixer speed to medium-low and gradually add the softened butter 2 to 3 tablespoons at a time, beating well between additions. As you’re adding the last few tablespoons of butter, the frosting will appear to break, then suddenly come together like whipped butter.

Beat in the lemon juice and zest (if using), and the frosting is ready to use.

NOTE: I reserved a small amount of the buttercream and tinted it with Americolor gel colors to pipe the birthday greeting. I piped it with a #3 tip. The border was piped with a #12 tip.

Assembly: To assemble the cake, place a layer, flat side up, on a cake stand. Spread half of the lemon blueberry jam over the top. Place a second layer on top of the first and spread the remaining jam over it. Finally place the third layer on top and frost the top and sides with the lemon buttercream. Decorate with fresh blueberries and serve.

Makes one 8 inch triple layered cake.

To see pictures and learn how to frost a layer cake, click HERE.

Happy 50th Birthday Mom! I love you!