Triple Layer Lemon Sherbet Cake

Sunday was my husbands birthday. We celebrated by spending time together as a family, eating good food and of course great cake. My husbands taste in cake is completely opposite to mine. I am a fan of chocolate, as you might have guessed, whereas my husband adores lemon. So I made him a lemon extravaganza!

Lemon sponge, filled with lemon curd and sweet buttercream. Covered in lemon, glace icing. Topped with flying saucers (filled with sherbet), mini meringues and crushed lemon sherbet sweets. It went down a storm with my lemon loving husband and I have to say I loved it too. I do love lemon cake but it's not my go to.

You'll be happy to know (or not) that I'll be blogging more healthy recipes for the rest of February before going overboard with Easter recipes! A lot of people of Instagram and Facebook are blaming me for the calories they've consumed haha.

So go ahead and make this for your lemon lover, or yourself. Happy Hump Day!

Triple Layer Lemon Sherbet Cake

- Serves 12 - 

For the cake:

250g butter, softened

100g light brown sugar

150g caster sugar

250g self raising flour

2 tsp baking powder

3 medium eggs

2 lemons, zested

1 tbsp milk

For the layers & coating:

250g butter, softened

500g icing sugar

2 tsp milk

lemon curd

Decoration:

50g icing sugar

6 yellow flying saucers

6 mini meringues

5 lemon sherbets, crushed

Pre-heat your oven 180/Gas 4. Grease and line 3 20cm loose bottomed sandwich tins. 

In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugars, until light and fluffy.

Add one egg, and a little of the flour and baking powder and combine with an electric whisk. Add another egg, adding flour and baking powder again. Add the final egg and all of the remaining flour and baking powder. Combine.

Add the milk and lemon zest and mix together.

Once fully mixed, divide the mixture evenly between the 3 tins. 

Bake for 20-25 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean.

Leave to cool completely. 

Prepare your buttercream. Mix together the butter, icing sugar and milk using an electric whisk. Mix until smooth and the mixture has turned pale.

Place half of the buttercream into a piping bag. And set aside.

Once the cakes are cool, level them with a bread knife (or cake leveller).

Place the first cake onto a cake board and spread a spoonful of lemon curd onto the sponge. Pipe a ring of buttercream around the edge of the cake and spread all over the cake using a palette knife.

Place the next layer of cake on top and repeat.

Place the final layer of cake on top and cover the whole cake in a 1cm coating of buttercream (this will be your crumb coat).

Place the cake into the fridge for 30 minutes or until the buttercream has set. 

Once set, apply a thicker layer of buttercream to cover the cake. Place back into the fridge for a further 30 minutes.

Once set make up a thick glace icing with the 50g of icing sugar. It needs to be thick but still runny enough to drip down the side of the cake. 

Pour on top of the cake and encourage some of the icing to drip down the sides.

Place back into the fridge for 10 minutes or until the icing has set a little (this will prevent your deocrations from sliding off).

Once set enough place on your decorations how you wish. I alternated meringues and flying saucers but you could do it however you'd like. Sprinkle over the crushed lemon sherbets and leave to set.