Lemon Cake with Chocolate Lemon Frosting

I really wanted to make this cake for Easter dinner.  But...it failed.  Big time.  The cake came out of the pan in pieces and was kind of tough.  Not awesome.  So I threw together a quick lemon frosting (which actually rocked), and had my oldest Hungry Puppy frost it for me.  Not to be deterred, I tried again.  I used a different cake recipe this time, and created my own frosting.  I added lemon to the chocolate frosting just to keep the lemon theme throughout the entire cake, and it is so perfect.  Don't be afraid to pair lemon with chocolate, it totally works amazingly well!  The chocolate lemon frosting is going to be a new favorite for sure!  I am seeing this combination in brownie form in the future.  Cake recipe slightly adapted from here.

Lemon Cake with Chocolate Lemon Frosting

Lemon Cake:
2 3/4 cups cake flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, room temperature
2 cups granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon lemon extract
1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
Zest of 3 lemons
1/2 cup lemon curd
3 eggs
1 cup milk

Chocolate Lemon Frosting:
1/2 cup butter, room temperature
1/2 cup shortening
Zest of 1 lemon
1 teaspoon lemon extract
1/2 teaspoon coffee extract
1/2 cup cocoa powder
4 cups powdered sugar
4 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup lemon curd

Preheat the oven to 350F.  Grease 2 8 or 9 inch round baking pans, then line the bottoms with parchment paper and grease the parchment.

In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder and salt.  Set aside.

Cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.  Beat in the vanilla extract, lemon extract, lemon juice, lemon zest, and lemon curd until well blended.  Beat in the eggs one at a time until combined.  Add 1/3 of the flour mixture and beat on low until combined.  Add half of the milk and beat until blended. Repeat with another 1/3 of flour mixture followed by the remaining milk, and finishing with the remaining flour mixture and beating until just blended.

Pour the batter into the two prepared cake pans and smooth the top.  Bake in the preheated oven for 35 to 45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the centers comes out clean.  Remove the cakes from the oven and let cool for about 10 to 15 minutes.  Remove the cakes from the pans and remove the parchment from the bottom of the cakes.  Place the cakes on a cooling rack to cool completely.

For the frosting, cream together the butter, shortening, lemon zest, lemon extract, and coffee extract until blended.  Add the cocoa powder and beat on low until combined.  Beat in the powdered sugar, one cup at a time, until incorporated.  Beat in 2 tablespoons of the lemon juice, adding the remaining lemon juice if necessary to reach the desired consistency.

To assemble the cake, place one cake layer on a serving plate.  Spread with some of the chocolate frosting, then with the 1/2 cup of lemon curd.  Place the second cake layer on top.  Frost the top and sides with the chocolate lemon frosting.  Makes 12 to 16 servings.

Enjoy!  -Cardamommy