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Recipe Detail Page
Cranberry Lemon Cake with Lemon Cream Frosting
Holiday 2016
Cap off your holiday meal with this showstopper dessert featuring zesty cranberries and lemon baked into rich, buttery cake. The “naked” cake layers show off the luscious, creamy frosting in dramatic fashion in this four-layer tower. As the unfrosted layers tend to dry out more than a fully frosted cake (though the syrup does help prevent drying), make the cake layers a day ahead, then do the frosting and assembly the morning you plan to serve the cake. Garnish the top with simple shreds of grated lemon zest or go fancier with sugared lemon zest and cranberries. You’ll need about 6 large lemons for the zest in the cake and icing (plus garnish). Squeeze juice from extra zested lemons and refrigerate for 5 days, or freeze for longer storage.
Serves 12 to 16
CAKE
2 tbsp (30 mL) finely grated lemon zest, from approx. 2 to 3 large lemons
2 tbsp (30 mL) fresh lemon juice
1½ cups (375 mL) 35% whipping cream
3 cups (750 mL) all-purpose flour
1 tbsp (15 mL) baking powder
1 tsp (5 mL) salt
½ tsp (2 mL) baking soda
1 cup (250 mL) unsalted butter, softened
1¾ cups (425 mL) granulated sugar
4 large eggs, at room temperature
2 tsp (10 mL) vanilla extract
2 cups (500 mL) cranberries, coarsely chopped (fresh or frozen; see TIP)
SYRUP
½ cup (125 mL) granulated sugar
¼ cup (60 mL) water
2 tbsp (30 mL) fresh lemon juice
FROSTING
1 cup (250 mL) 35% whipping cream
1 cup (250 mL) unsalted butter, softened
¼ tsp (1 mL) salt
8 oz (250 g) brick-style cream cheese, softened
3 tbsp (45 mL) finely grated lemon zest, from approx. 3 to 4 large lemons
1 tsp (5 mL) vanilla extract
5 cups (1.25 L) icing sugar, sifted after measuring
GARNISH
Grated lemon zest, from approx. 1 large lemon
1 Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C).
2 Grease the sides of two 9-inch (23-cm) round cake pans and line bottoms with parchment paper.
3 Whisk lemon zest and juice into cream; set aside. Set aside 2 tbsp (30 mL) of the flour for cranberries.
4 Combine remaining flour, baking powder, salt and baking soda in a bowl using a whisk. In a large bowl, using electric mixer, beat butter and sugar until fluffy. Beat in eggs, 1 at a time, scraping down sides of the bowl often. Beat in vanilla. Using a rubber spatula, stir in flour mixture alternately with lemon-cream mixture, making 3 additions of flour and 2 of cream.
5 Sprinkle reserved flour over cranberries and toss to coat; gently fold into batter. Divide batter equally and spread into prepared pans, smoothing tops.
6 Bake for about 40 to 50 minutes or until tester inserted in the centre comes out clean. Let cool in pan on a rack for 15 minutes. Gently run a knife around edges, keeping edges as tidy as possible, then invert onto wire racks and peel off paper. Let cool completely. (Cakes can be stored, well wrapped, in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 day.)
7 For the syrup, combine sugar, water and lemon juice in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring until sugar is dissolved. Boil for 2 minutes. Let cool completely.
8 For the frosting, in a bowl, using electric mixer, whip cream just until firm peaks form. Set aside. In a large bowl, using mixer, beat butter and salt until fluffy; beat in cream cheese until evenly blended. Beat in lemon zest and vanilla. On low speed, beat in icing sugar in 4 additions until incorporated, scraping sides of bowl often. Beat on medium speed until frosting is smooth and fluffy. Beat in whipped cream just until incorporated. Cover and refrigerate for about 30 minutes or until starting to set but frosting is still spreadable.
9 To assemble cakes, cut each cake layer in half horizontally. Using a pastry brush, dab syrup all around outside edges of cakes, being careful not to drag brush and remove the crumb. Choose the nicest looking cake top for the top layer. Place one bottom-half on cake plate with the cut-side up; dab with syrup. Spread one-quarter of the frosting evenly over cake, right to the edges and leaving slightly thicker at the edges. Dab the cut-side of the next cake layer (a top) with syrup, then place on top of frosting with the cut-side down, pressing slightly to settle cake on frosting. Repeat with remaining cake layers, syrup and frosting, letting frosting show between cake layers, using the reserved cake top, right-side up, as the final layer. Spread remaining frosting on top, swirling as desired. Garnish with lemon zest. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour before serving, or for up to 12 hours.
TIP If using frozen cranberries, chop while frozen, then place back in the freezer until just before you’re going to mix them into the batter to reduce the pink colour from bleeding into the batter. The baking time will be in the upper end of the specified range.
Serves 12 to 16
