Pink Lemonade and Fresh Raspberry Layer Cake

 

Triple-layer Lemon Cake with a Lemon Buttercream and Lemon Curd Filling covered in a Fresh Raspberry Buttercream Frosting and a Raspberry Mascarpone with Fresh Raspberry Garnish

 

 

Ok.  I'm in love with this cake.  The tartness against the sweetness all smoothed together with the buttercream and curd means this cake has a little something for everybody.

 

Of the many reasons I bake, one is to have a creative outlet.  I love working with colors, shapes, and flavors.  One of the other reasons includes...sometimes I bake to relieve stress.  This cake is a stress cake.  For me, it's rarely just one thing that triggers stress but a series of circumstances that prompts..."I need to go bake a cake" instead of "I want to go bake a cake."

 

Kids leaving for college and friends walking through rough times are probably routine... just not routine to me.  This time, our youngest has set off for university and dear friends are hurting.  So, I processed it with pink frosting.

 

I added just a bit of pink food gel; next time I'll add more.

A very thin layer of buttercream is the base for the lemon curd.

 

 

I love my lemon cake because it has a denseness while being quite lemony.  It stacks quite well and often serves as a strong base layer for a tiered cake.  Because this layer cake is just 6" I had a bit of leftover batter for a dozen cupcakes.

 

I love having a swirl option on this cupcake.  It's super easy to pipe on without
needing to buy a special tip.  I lay the piping bag down on the counter then gently
push the buttercream to one half of the piping bag - making room on the other
half of the bag for a different color.  Finally, I pipe in the second flavor/color.

 

Finishing up the cake, I just wanted more pink.  The interior filling was yellow, but I wanted the natural color of the raspberry to be the star.  And it is!  I added a little bit of color to the mascarpone and puree'd raspberry garnish/drippy cake top.  Seriously - I need to the official cake word for this particular component.

 

 

Baking helped.  My life partner helped more.  And, the cake was delicious.