Recipe from Tracy K. Smith
Adapted by The New York Times
- Total Time
- About 3 hours, including time to cool
- Rating
- 4(431)
- Notes
- Read community notes
This Southern delicacy contains no cheese, but a buttery filling with a hint of cheese-like curd adds color and luscious flavor. —The New York Times
Featured in: Two Recipes From Tracy K. Smith’s Kitchen
Learn: How to Frost a Cake
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Ingredients
Yield:10 to 12 servings
- 1cup butter (2 sticks), at room temperature
- 2cups/360 grams sugar
- 1tablespoon baking powder
- 3cups/270 grams sifted cake flour
- ¾cup milk
- 6large egg whites, stiffly beaten
- ½cup butter (1 stick)
- 1cup/180 grams sugar
- 6large egg yolks
- Grated zest and juice of 2 lemons
- 2egg whites, unbeaten
- 1½cups/270 grams sugar
- ¼teaspoon salt
- ⅓cup water
- 1tablespoon light corn syrup
- 1teaspoon vanilla
- 1cup/135 grams shredded coconut
For the Cake
For the Lemon Filling
For the 7-minute Frosting
For Decorating
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (12 servings)
678 calories; 33 grams fat; 22 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 8 grams monounsaturated fat; 1 gram polyunsaturated fat; 92 grams carbohydrates; 3 grams dietary fiber; 71 grams sugars; 7 grams protein; 195 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
Make the Cake
Step
1
Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease three 8-inch cake pans.
Step
2
With a standing or hand mixer, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add dry ingredients alternately with milk. Fold in egg whites until thoroughly combined; do not overmix.
Step
3
Divide batter into greased pans and transfer to the oven. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until top springs back when lightly touched. Cool on racks before removing from pans; let cool completely.
Make the Lemon Filling
Step
4
Combine all ingredients in top of double boiler set over boiling water. Cook, stirring constantly until very thick, about 15 minutes. Transfer to a bowl and let cool completely before using.
Make the Frosting
Step
5
Combine all ingredients in top of double boiler. Beat with a rotary beater or hand mixer for 1 minute, then set over boiling water and beat for about 7 minutes more or until frosting stands in glossy peaks. Remove from the heat and continue beating until frosting is cool and thick enough to hold firm swirls. Let cool completely before using.
Assemble the Cake
Step
6
Spread the lemon filling between the layers and on top. Spread the frosting on the sides of the cake and press with shredded coconut.
Ratings
4
out of 5
431
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Cooking Notes
John Golden
I've commented before on the mistakes made in your cups to grams conversion when you ran both these cake recipes (including the pound cake) months ago. A cup of cake flour is equal to 120 grams; you have 270 grams for 3 cups. Sugar measurement is wrong, too. 1 cup sugar is 198 grams
Cat M
The cake is lovely and makes good use of the yolks and whites for cake and lemon cheese. But, while the directions say only to bake in greased pans, my experience trying to remove the layers from the pans makes me recommend using greased parchment paper on the bottom. Fortunately the crumbs tasted great!
Joe
Bakers Beware! I had a few issues with this cake recipe. The recipe doesn't make enough batter for the three pans, so the cakes came out flat. The cake texture is quite dense, almost like a pound cake. I followed the gram measurements for convenience (much easier to weight than fiddle with cups), and I suspect the conversions are faulty.
The lemon curd recipe, however, is a winner.
LEL
When making frosting, "all ingredients" does NOT include the shredded coconut!
Sandra
A fun recipe to make. Instructions are clear . Cake recipe is a keeper, moist and a perfect height for a three layer cake. Lemon filling set to perfection and the correct amount for three layers. Cooked the curd to a temperature of 165F and strained to remove any bits of cooked egg.Seven minute frosting was easy to make and delicious marshmallowy consistency. Will use this recipe again. The big test was at serving time. The cake cut cleanly and was delicious to all.
PAW
The shredded coconut is used for decorating portion of the cake, not in the frosting section.
William Fite
Joe, I realize this cake is likely unfamiliar to persons who have not lived in the deep South. The somewhat heavy texture is quite intentional. This recipe varies from the typical version only in the use of curd on the top. Most cooks from "down there" would use plenty of curd between the layers and frost the entire outside.
And, yes, the metric conversion is incorrect.
Laura Perry
I measured the flour using the grams given, then sifted it. The cake came out perfectly - looked exactly like the photo and tasted great.
Isabelle
My Alabama-born-and-bred mother-in-law taught me to make this cake 50 years ago with eight layers and lemon curd between each layer, on top, and on the sides. It is irresistible.
Dan S
I made this last night based on the volumetric measurements (different from the mass measurements, as others have noted) and Meyer lemons (only using half the juice). While the curd and frosting turned out well, the cake itself was dry and tough. I'm not sure I'll make this again, but if I did, I'd use the mass measurements.
kelly
If you half the recipe, cut the baking time down further than is specified and watch very closely. My filling was excellent, but the cake was very dry.
John Golden
I’d it sweetened or unsweetened coconut?
kelly
If you half the recipe, PLEASE note that the cake batter will not fill up the 8 inch round pans. Therefore, the baking time will need to be significantly reduced. My filling and icing were incredible (took a long time), but the cakes were overcooked at the 20 minute bake time in the recipe and hardened, making it mostly inedible.
Karmella
Would this cake recipe work for a lamb mold? I know there would be leftover batter. Thank you.
elaine
This cake is an absolute winner. Wow. I now understand how people get white cakes. No egg yolk. Used cups measurements. Italian meringue recipe works for the icing. I reduced the sugar in the cake and use cup measurements and it was perfect!
celiagf
Wow - great cake! I did cut the sugar on both cake and lemon curd, though.
DadInReston
I didn't prepare this cake, but stole the lemon curd recipe to use in another lemon cake recipe. As another commenter said, "it's a winner," and was one of the reasons my cake was so rapturously received.
Linda
As one other cook noted 3 c of sifted cake flour is not the weight given here. I used the 360 grams given by the other cook (my 3 c of sifted flour was actually slightly more than 360 g--measuring after sifting) and layers came out perfectly. I also added a tsp of vanilla and 1/2 tsp salt to cake batter as well as 1/4 tsp salt to lemon filling. Iced with cream cheese/sour cream confectioners sugar mix with 1 tsp vanilla, folding in 1/2 c cream whipped stiff before icing sides.
Clare
I also used buttered parchment rounds to get the cakes to release more easily from non-stick pans. I found that cooking a 1/2 recipe in 6" pans was a bit tricky to time correctly as not to dry out the cake layers. Maybe I'll try all purpose flour next time instead of cake flour as it could just be my preference there impacted my perception of a dry cake.
Helen
Could I replace the classic 7-minute frosting with Italian meringue frosting? I find this easier to prepare. I don't have a double boiler and a makeshift one isn't stable enough to use with a hand mixer.
Sandra
A fun recipe to make. Instructions are clear . Cake recipe is a keeper, moist and a perfect height for a three layer cake. Lemon filling set to perfection and the correct amount for three layers. Cooked the curd to a temperature of 165F and strained to remove any bits of cooked egg.Seven minute frosting was easy to make and delicious marshmallowy consistency. Will use this recipe again. The big test was at serving time. The cake cut cleanly and was delicious to all.
John Golden
I've commented before on the mistakes made in your cups to grams conversion when you ran both these cake recipes (including the pound cake) months ago. A cup of cake flour is equal to 120 grams; you have 270 grams for 3 cups. Sugar measurement is wrong, too. 1 cup sugar is 198 grams
Maria
You're right. However, regarding the flour measurement, it refers to 'sifted cake flour', which may mean that the flour should be sifted over the cup, making it much less compact, much fluffier and thus, containing fewer grams of flour per cup.
Laura Perry
I measured the flour using the grams given, then sifted it. The cake came out perfectly - looked exactly like the photo and tasted great.
puppywalker
There are various conversions online. I always use almost always use 100g/g Cake Flour (unsifted, spooned into cup): 1 cup = 4 ounces = 110 grams.Cake Flour (sifted before measuring): 1 cup = 3 1/2 ounces = 100 grams.
Remy
My guests were swooning from this cake! It is delicious. Thank you.
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