tropit

Thank you for those words of encouragement and cake ideas. I appreciate your inside knowledge about entering the fair. I hope that others will be inspired to enter their local fair too.

Some areas of the fair are full of entries, while others are not. I don't know why. At least I won't have a lot of competition in the Baked Goods department...LOL. I've only entered once before and I got a second place ribbon. The judge said that my cake tasted good and she was so glad that I displayed it on a cake stand, but I didn't present the sliced piece of cake correctly. I just didn't know any better and the instructions are minimal and vague. I hope that I get it right this time. I'm also going to embellish the cake a little more...get fancier in my decorating and frosting techniques. In other words, I'm going to try a little bit harder this time around.

I'm testing the lemon cake recipe today and tomorrow; making the sponge today and the frosting and decorating tomorrow. I'm only doing 2 layers for the test, but plan to make a 3 layer cake for the competition. It's too expensive to test the big version every time. I'm on WW, so most of the cake will be sent to my dau and her hubby. I'm just going to try a small sliver. Wish me luck.

tropit

So...yesterday was quite a day. I started testing this recipe for Lemon Cake: https://www.wellplated.com/wprm_print/33566/

I read through the instructions several times and read many of the comments from other readers. I hung my oven thermometer in the oven and preheated the oven to exactly 350 degrees F for about an hour before the cake pans were put in it. I used only the freshest ingredients and made sure that they were added at room temperature. I baked it for exactly the amount stated in the recipe and I didn't open the door. I tested the layers and they were moist, but not gooey....just perfect. In other words, I followed the recipe to the word.

The cake sponges came out OK. I think that they could have risen a bit more than they did, but the texture was soft and airy. This recipe does not call for any egg yolks and I feel that it was missing that component. The sponge was kind of like that of an Angel Food cake...white and fluffy on the inside, with brown, slightly tough, "crust" on the edges. It also did not have that much lemon flavor. I wasn't impressed.

But here's where it got interesting...When I made the sponges, the weather was pleasantly warm outside and the house was cool. However, the weather started to change and it became cloudy, smokey (fire up north of us,) and the house became quite warm and muggy from having the oven on all morning. I made the mistake of going ahead with the frosting of the cake. The frosting was lovely...very light and fluffy, especially for a cream cheese frosting, but because of the heat, it started to get a little soft. I should have put it back in the fridge for a few minutes, but I was almost done, so I went for it.

I frosted the cake and the frosting was getting everywhere. As I was wiping down the edges of the plate, there must have been some melting frosting on the bottom of the plate, because the plate of cake just took on a life of its own and spun right off of the counter, flipping, top down, plate up and landed on my Roomba that was passing by. The Roomba then carried it a few feet, where the cake then slid right off and on to the floor. The scene was so crazy and comical...I didn't know whether to laugh, or cry. I picked up the cake, which had separated itself from that thin, brown crust on the top of the cake, so only the frosting had touched the ground. I refrosted it and served it to my husband that evening. He ate almost the entire cake!

I'm trying a different recipe today: https://sugargeekshow.com/recipe/lemon-cake-recipe/

PB from MN

Oh dear, one should not laugh at your mishap and mess to clean it up, but the way you told it is hilarious! One of the things that I have learned from judging 4-H (50% project 50% interview) is that the most things are learned when mistakes happen, so keep trying.
The recipe you are going to try sounds delicious. I would double check if they accept a cream cheese frosting as it is recommended that it is refrigerated.
Please let us know how you place at the fair. I am excited for you.

tropit

Oh...good point! Thanks. I entered a Hummingbird cake before and it had cream cheese frosting, so I think I'm OK, but I'll double check.

I know, I was horrified when the cake slipped off the counter, but it became obsurdly funny, watching my Roomba, (We call it "Li'l Roo",) go scooting off with the cake riding on its back. I could have laughed, or cried. I chose to laugh.

toverly

Oh Tropit, that's hilarious. Sometimes tragedy and comedy go hand in hand. Thanks for the laughter this morning. Glad your hubby liked the cake. I would have done the same thing.

tropit

Yesterday, I tried making this recipe: https://sugargeekshow.com/recipe/lemon-cake-recipe/ and I found it to be a much better recipe than the first one. I had never tried the "reverse creaming" method before and the crumb of the sponge came out very good...moist, tender, soft edges, etc. The frosting was also really good. The curd was much more tart than I am used to and I didn't think that it was sweet enough to hold up to the rest of the cake, but that's an easy fix. I didn't do the drip on the frosting. It's been overdone lately, so I thought I'd just to a pretty, ombred, spiral swirl, stating with a pale green and then yellow, light yellow, ending in creamy white. I liked the look, but it might need a little extra decor next time, such as lemon slices, or sugared leaves.

As for other possible improvements...
The DH thought that the crumb was too dense, but I didn't think so. That being said, I may try adding a couple of stiffly beaten egg whites to the next, trial cake batter and see what happens. I'm also going to try making a lemon syrup and brush it on the sponge layers for some extra, lemon flavor. I'm also considering spliting each layer into 2 layers, so that I can incorporate more lemon curd. I definitely need to make the lemon curd sweeter.

Overall, I was happy with the cake and it survived and made it to the cake stand in one piece this time.

aashley333

I made a lime cake once that had me poke holes with a drinking straw so that the glaze would permeate the cake better. It's a thought for your lemon cake. I love tart! and would try your cakes.

tropit

This cake testing exercise is getting expensive! I've gone through over a dozen lemons so far at $1 a piece, 6 or 7 cream cheese packets at $2.59 a box, pounds of butter...I lost count. Then there's the pounds gained by eating the cake...yee gads!

I made some lemon syrup last night to brush on my next set of cake layers. I used the rinds from some of those squeezed lemons that I kept from the last experiment. I was thinking that frozen lemonade might be good and cheap way to make syrup, but I think that I have plenty now.

So much for deep cleaning the kitchen.

aashley333

I remember a boiled-lemons recipe using almond flour instead of all purpose flour. People would be surprised that it used the whole lemon! https://www.quiltingboard.com/vbulle...e-t314626.html

tropit

I'm still experimenting with the lemon cake. I think that I'm going to switch frostings from a cream cheese/butter/lemon/confectioner's sugar recipe to a Italian meringue/butter/cream cheese/lemon curd recipe. I've tried it once and it turned out fabulous! It's supposed to hold up at room temperature and the egg whites supposedly get cooked in the process. There's also a Swiss meringue version that definitely has cooked egg whites and that may work out even better.

I cannot eat another bite of cake.