I'm back! My newly remodeled kitchen is beautiful and almost done! I'll post pics as soon as the last details are complete but for now I have a fully functional kitchen again. We did this remodel very quickly but it was still long enough for me to miss cooking and get sick of fast food.
The recipe for Sweet Almond Cake with Lemon Curd and Lemon Mascarpone Frosting was one of the first that caught my eye when I flipped through The Sweet Melissa Baking Book a little over a year ago so I was thrilled that the adorable Katie of Katiecakes chose it for this week's recipe. Not for the timid, the recipe calls for three plus sticks of butter and fifteen eggs! The cake recipe is very similar to my take on the recipe for Roasted Pecan Cake with Orange Curd and Orange Cream Cheese Frosting we did a while back, and one of my favorite cakes EVER. Following the recipe to a tee this time around, I wish I had made some of the same modifications to this cake.
The cake is delicous - nutty, rich, and light. I used Melissa's recipe for lemon curd and had to cook it a lot longer than indicated in the recipe and it still didn't get as thick as I would have liked. First change I would make is to use one of the lemon curd recipes I have made before with better luck or to use a prepared version. I was looking forward to the mascarpone icing but this version had too much butter. I did add two tablespoons too much butter at first and added additional mascarpone and confectioner's sugar to try and balance it out but there is still too much butter for me. I'm not a huge fan of buttercream frostings and wish I had added cream cheese to the mascarpone and less butter.
Feeling slightly disappointed, I hastily threw on a little layer of the frosting and gave up on creating the tower of lemon loveliness I envisioned. I did slice cakes into four layers and added the lemon curd/glaze to each layer but knew that more than just a thin layer of frosting would be too much. Fast forward to a few hours later, I pulled the cake out of my shiny new refrigerator and cut a small slice. It cuts beautifully and the flavors are outstanding. Full of almond flavor and slightly crunchy, the cake is my favorite component. The lemon curd/glaze is super lemony and adds a nice tang to cut the sweetness of the cake and the frosting. While better than I expected, the frosting is still just okay for me. The rich creaminess is a nice counterbalance to the airiness of the cake, but I prefer frosting to be a little less sweet and buttery.
All in all, a great baking project for me to break in my new kitchen! Check out what the other SMS bakers did, here.
The recipe for Sweet Almond Cake with Lemon Curd and Lemon Mascarpone Frosting was one of the first that caught my eye when I flipped through The Sweet Melissa Baking Book a little over a year ago so I was thrilled that the adorable Katie of Katiecakes chose it for this week's recipe. Not for the timid, the recipe calls for three plus sticks of butter and fifteen eggs! The cake recipe is very similar to my take on the recipe for Roasted Pecan Cake with Orange Curd and Orange Cream Cheese Frosting we did a while back, and one of my favorite cakes EVER. Following the recipe to a tee this time around, I wish I had made some of the same modifications to this cake.
The cake is delicous - nutty, rich, and light. I used Melissa's recipe for lemon curd and had to cook it a lot longer than indicated in the recipe and it still didn't get as thick as I would have liked. First change I would make is to use one of the lemon curd recipes I have made before with better luck or to use a prepared version. I was looking forward to the mascarpone icing but this version had too much butter. I did add two tablespoons too much butter at first and added additional mascarpone and confectioner's sugar to try and balance it out but there is still too much butter for me. I'm not a huge fan of buttercream frostings and wish I had added cream cheese to the mascarpone and less butter.
Feeling slightly disappointed, I hastily threw on a little layer of the frosting and gave up on creating the tower of lemon loveliness I envisioned. I did slice cakes into four layers and added the lemon curd/glaze to each layer but knew that more than just a thin layer of frosting would be too much. Fast forward to a few hours later, I pulled the cake out of my shiny new refrigerator and cut a small slice. It cuts beautifully and the flavors are outstanding. Full of almond flavor and slightly crunchy, the cake is my favorite component. The lemon curd/glaze is super lemony and adds a nice tang to cut the sweetness of the cake and the frosting. While better than I expected, the frosting is still just okay for me. The rich creaminess is a nice counterbalance to the airiness of the cake, but I prefer frosting to be a little less sweet and buttery.
All in all, a great baking project for me to break in my new kitchen! Check out what the other SMS bakers did, here.
That looks absolutely divine...give me a fork and I'd polish off that piece in a minute! Great job.
ReplyDeleteyou are so right about that frosting and the lemon curd! your cake came out great!
ReplyDeleteBeautiful cake!! I'd love a piece for desset tonight. I didn't bake along this week but reading everyone's review I am wishing I had.
ReplyDeleteCongrats on your new kitchen. I agree, the cake was the star of this recipe. I added a bit of extra sugar to my curd because I don't care for a super tart lemon flavor. I also had trouble with the frosting. So much so, that I ditched it altogether and just made traditional cream cheese frosting.
ReplyDeleteYour cake looks wonderful! I love all the layers.
That is a lovely slice of cake! I do not think that was a very good frosting recipe (mine was a huge lumpy mess), but the rest of the cake was divine.
ReplyDeleteYour cake looks lovely!!
ReplyDeleteThanks for baking along!
Katie xox
I am happy about your kitchen. The time it takes to get it just right is the hardest. Now is the fun time and this cake surely proves the new kitchen is the right setting for you.
ReplyDeleteThat is what I am missing. Sigh.
I want to go back and try the pecan cake you mentioned. I loved this one- the almond and lemon combo was great. your cake looks delish
ReplyDeleteYour cake looks like it turned out awesome :)
ReplyDeleteYour getting your kitchen back . . . NEW! And your cake looks delicious. I was thinking cream cheese would have been a better fit then mascarpone. Buttercream frosting isn't my flavor thing either. Beautiful cake!
ReplyDeleteThis cake looks and sounds to-die-for... I appreciate your thoughts on the frosting. I think this recipe would be a show-stopper! And the flavor profile is amazing! (How does anybody ever get anything but desserts cooked?)
ReplyDeleteI love how you vividly describe the cake! Your cake looks so pretty and it looks like it cut very neatly.
ReplyDelete