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Apr 15, 2009 
This year Easter Sunday happened to be a little extra special. Not only was it one of my favorite holiday weekends (I mean who doesn’t love a pile of Easter candy) but my wife’s grandparents were also celebrating their 60TH … yes 60th …. wedding anniversary. Which to say the least is simply amazing. With so many momentous occasions occurring there was no way we could let this weekend go without making something special.
We happened to hear through the grape vine that her grandmother loved lemon cakes which worked out perfectly. I happened to remember that there was some left over Limoncello in the refrigerator from our Pom-cello Spritzers we had made earlier in the week.
One thing that I have to say about this cake was that it was definitely full of lemon flavor. The Limoncello gives the cake a little denser texture but adds a nice mellow lemon flavor which I love. One thing to watch out for is overcooking the batter. I almost made this snafu when making it and no one likes a cake that has been baked to a crisp. The frosting was really good for a buttercream frosting. I’m not a diehard fan of buttercream frostings, as they can sometimes taste really greasy to me, but this one wasn’t which I suspect is the result of the addition of Limoncello. My favorite part of this cake however, was the filling. It was one of those fillings that really surprises you. The lemon filling is a pretty thin layer but when you bite into it the flavor really bursts out!
Her grandmother loved it saying it was a really nice cake with loads of flavor and her grandfather said it was “wonderful” “wonderful” – he’s 94 so you know it has to be pretty good!
Limoncello Cake with Limoncello Buttercream Frosting
Cake Ingredients:
• 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, at room temperature
• 2 cups sugar
• 4 eggs
• 3 cups sifted self-rising flour
• 1 cup milk
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 2 tblsp Limoncello
• Lemon wedge, for garnish
• Lemon zest for garnish
Cake Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour 3 (9-inch) spring form cake pans.
Using an electric mixer, cream butter until fluffy. Add sugar and continue to cream well for 6 to 8 minutes. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Add flour and milk alternately to creamed mixture, beginning and ending with flour. Add vanilla and limoncello continue to beat until well mixed. Divide batter equally among prepared pans. Level the batter in each pan by holding the pan 3 or 4 inches in the air and dropping it onto a flat counter. Do this several times to release the air bubbles and level cake. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until golden brown. Cool in pans for 5 minutes. Remove the cakes from the pan and place onto cooling racks allowing the cake to cool completely.
Filling Ingredients:
• 8 egg yolks
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter
• 2 lemons, zest grated and juiced
Filling Directions:
Place all of the ingredients in a double boiler. Cook on medium-high heat and stir until mixture begins to gel or thicken. Remove from heat and allow to cool in the refrigerator for about 20 minutes.
Frosting Ingredients:
• 1 stick unsalted butter
• 4 tblsp icing shortening
• 5-6 cups powdered sugar
• 2 tsp Limoncello
Frosting Directions:
Cream together the butter and shortening until fluffy. Slowly add in powdered sugar one cup at a time until everything is combined. Add in the Limoncello and mix completely.
Cake Assembly:
Run hands along the side of the cake to remove excess crumbs and align cake pieces. Place the cake layers on the pedestal; be sure to spread filling between each of the layers. Frost the top and sides of cake with frosting. Garnish with a lemon wedge and lemon zest.
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Cake. Buttercream, frosting, lemon, Limoncello, Recipe
