Moist and delicious citrus curd layered cake & cream cheese buttercream is made from scratch with citrus curd and filled with citrus curd and cream cheese buttercream.
If you are a lemon dessert person, then give this citrus cake a chance. I always want to think out of the box when it comes to creating recipes. There is a variety of lemon cake and other fruit combinations, so I thought why not try using three citrus fruit to get a unique taste and flavor for this recipe. Out of that thought, this recipe was born, and I enjoyed creating and testing the recipe, so I hope you enjoy making it.
What is Citrus curd layered cake?
Citrus curd cake is made of a basic white cake mix and mixed with fresh homemade fresh citrus curd and zest and baked. The cake layers are filled with some of the fresh citrus curd and cream cheese buttercream. It is easy to put together and yet complex and unique flavor. The citrus curd is made from lemon, lime, and orange juice and added to egg yolk and sugar. They are delicious, silky and at the same time sweet and tangy.
About the Cake and the Design
When planning this cake, I knew I wanted the citrus fruit flavor in the cake layers. I added some of the fresh citrus curd to the cake mixture before baking. The curd was also used for the filling in between the cake layers to help intensify the citrus taste and flavor. This cake pairs beautifully with the cream cheese buttercream.
The cake was decorated with Wilton’s Easter sprinkles. The cake should be iced completely and chilled before sticking the sprinkles on it. When adding the sprinkles to the cake, place the cake on a cookie sheet or parchment paper to catch the extra sprinkles. For the top decorations, I used Wilton piping tip 199 to pipe the design onto the cake and finished it with some of the sprinkles.
Tools Needed for Making the Cake
Round baking pan for baking the cakes in.
Hand mixer or stand mixer for creaming the cake mixture and whip up the cream cheese buttercream.
Mixing bowls to put ingredients in.
Piping tip and bag for piping designs on the cake.
Turntable is nice to have because they make icing cakes easy.
Cake cardboard circles and board to place cake on them.
Off set spatula for applying icing the cake.
Cake scraper or bench scraper for smoothing the sides of the cake
Helpful Tips for baking the best Cake
- Always use cake flour for tender cakes and crumbs unless otherwise stated in the recipe.
- Flour should be sifted to get rid of any particles, lumps and help aerate the cake.
- Cake butter should not be over mixed
- Do not open the oven door when the cake in baking, you can use oven light to check on the cake or when the cake has baked for more than ¾ of the baking time.
- Baking pans should be prepared well to prevent the cake from sticking to the pan after baking.
- Bring all the ingredients to room temperature before using especially the eggs, and milk. Check out my baking tips for more information.
Other Recipes To Try
Maple Pear Upside Down Cake (with Maple Cream Cheese Frosting)
Basic Baking Tips For Beginners
Homemade Pan Release (Baking Spray)
Did you try this recipe, let me know by leaving a comment below and share your photo with me on Instagram by tagging #theduchezkitchen.
Thanks for reading. As always, know that God loves you and stay blessed.
Citrus Curd Layered Cake
Ingredients
Citrus Curd
- ⅓ cup fresh juice (from 1 lemon, 1 lime, and ½ orange)
- ½ cup sugar
- ⅓ cup butter
- 2 large eggs
- 2 large egg yolks
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ tablespoon zest (from the lemon, lime, and orange)
Citrus Curd Cake
- 3 cups cake flour
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¾ cup butter softened
- 1¾ cups sugar
- 5 large egg white
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ cup milk (at room temperature)
- ½ cup citrus curd (room temperature)
Cream Cheese Buttercream
- 2 cups unsalted butter room temperature
- ½ cup cream cheese room temperature
- 5½ cups powdered sugar
- 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon salt
Instructions
For the Citrus Curd
- In a medium bowl, add juice and zest from the three-citrus fruits, sugar, butter, eggs, egg yolk, and salt and whisk until combined.
- Transfer the mixture to a medium pan and cook over low heat, whisk constantly until the mixture is thick for about 5 – 7minutes.
- Remove from the heat and strain the curd into a new bowl to remove the zest. Use a plastic spatula to push the curd through the strainer and scrape any leftover curd under the sieve.
- Cover the surface of the curd, not the bowl to prevent any skin foaming on the curd while cooling. Refrigerate to cool and set for about 2 hours.
For Cake Batter
- Preheat the oven to 350 °F or 180 °C. Prepare three 6×2" round cake pan or two 8" round cake pan with non-stick spray and set aside.
- In a medium bowl, sift the cake flour into the bowl. Add baking powder and salt to the flour and whisk together. Set aside.
- In a large bowl with a hand mixer or a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add egg white and whole egg one at a time and mix well after each addition. Add the vanilla extract and mix well.
- Add the flour and milk to the creamed mixture by alternating them. Mix well after each addition and divide the cake batter among the three prepared cake pans.
- Bake the cake in the preheated oven for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick is inserted into the cake and comes out clean and dry. Bring cake out of the oven and allow to cool in the baking pan for 10 minutes before transferring the cake to the cooling rack to cool completely.
For the Cream Cheese Buttercream
- In a bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or a medium bowl with a hand mixer, cream butter and cream cheese together on a medium high speed until well mixed and smooth.
- Slowly add the powdered sugar one cup at a time, then add the vanilla extract and beat until well mixed. Beat the frosting on medium-high for about 3 minutes until light, fluffy and smooth.
Assembly the Cake
- To assemble the cake, place a nonslip mat on a turntable and then tape a 6 inches cake cardboard circle to an 8 inches cardboard circle (the 8 inches cardboard helps to transport the cake to the fridge and back easily) and place the cake board on the turntable.
- Apply a small amount of buttercream to the center of the 6 inches cake board. Place the first cake on the board and add buttercream dam to the cake and fill it with the citrus curd filling. The filling should not go above the buttercream dam but just below the dam. Place another cake layer on top of the frosting and repeat the process until all the cakes are stacked.
- The last cake layer should be placed flat side up that is the bottom should face up. Press down on the stacked cakes lightly to help the cakes stick to the icing. Crumb coat the cake with a thin layer of buttercream and smooth it with a cake scraper.
- Refrigerate the cake for about 30 minutes or 10 minutes in the freezer. Add the final thick layer of buttercream frosting, then add the sprinkles and pipe the top decorations. Serve and enjoy.
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