Lemon Doberge Cake

By knothaft

This recipe is my adaptation of the classic Beulah Ledner/Gambino’s Bakery recipe, and other similar recipes found on the web. It uses the classic lemon custard filling, but introduces a lemon-vanilla buttercream frosting, in lieu of the traditional lemon glaze topping. I hope you enjoy it as much as my family does!

Ingredients

• FILLING:
• 1 & 1/4 cups sugar
• 3 Tablespoons cornstarch
• 3 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
• dash of salt
• 1 & 1/2 cups cold water
• 2 Tablespoons butter
• 1 teaspoon finely zested lemon peel
• 1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
• 3 beaten egg yolks
• CAKE:
• 2 cups cake flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 10 Tablespoons butter
• 1 & 1/2 cups sugar
• 3 eggs, separated
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 2 teaspoons lemon extract
• FROSTING:
• 6 ounces cream cheese, softened
• 3 Tablespoons butter, softened
• 3 cups powdered sugar
• dash of salt
• 2 teaspoons finely zested lemon peel
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Preparation

Step 1

FILLING:

In a sauce pan, combine sugar, cornstarch, all-purpose flour, and salt. Stir in cold water. Cook and stir 2 minutes more. Stir in butter and lemon peel. Mix well. Cover surface with clear plastic wrap. Cool the mixture to room temperature without stirring. In a separate bowl, beat the egg yolks. Stir about 1 cup of cooled mixture into the beaten egg yolks. Return the mixture to saucepan. Bring mixture to a gentle boil. Cook and stir 2 minutes more. Remove from heat; cover surface with plastic wrap until ready to use. (Filling can be made a day ahead and refrigerated).


CAKE:

Preheat Oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour 6 8-inch round cake pans.

In a medium bowl, beat egg whites until very stiff. Set aside.

In a medium bowl, sift flour, baking soda and salt 3 times. In a separate large mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar. Add egg yolks, one at a time. Gradually alternate adding the flour mixture and the buttermilk. Add lemon extract & mix well. Beat on high speed for 3 minutes.

Fold beaten egg whites into cake batter mixture.

Divide cake batter into 6 prepared pans, spreading approximately ¾ cup of the mixture into each pan (use all the batter). Using a small offset spatula, spread the batter out into the bottom of the pan, making sure batter reaches all the way to the edges of the pan (batter will only be about 1/4 - 1/3 inch thick, once spread).

Bake for 35-45 minutes. Cakes are done when they are a light golden brown, and toothpick comes out clean. Remove from oven when done and cool for 5 minutes, then turn out onto wire racks and allow to cool completely.


FROSTING:

In a mixing bowl, beat cream cheese, butter and sugar until fluffy. Add salt, lemon peel, vanilla and lemon juice. Beat until smooth.


TO ASSEMBLE:

Spread 1-2 Tablespoons of filling into a 3-inch diameter circle, directly onto surface of a cake stand, then center the first layer of cake on top of the filling (this helps prevent the cake from sliding as it gets taller and heavier). Spread one sixth of the filling mixture on top of the first layer of cake. Alternate adding layers of cake and layers of filling. After spreading the last of the filling on the top layer of cake, place cake stand in refrigerator for 45 minutes to allow layers to set. When cake is firmly set, frost cake with the icing and refrigerate until ready to serve.