Lemon Layer Cake

For the cake – preheat the oven to 350, butter 2, 8-inch round cake pans, layer a piece of parchment on the bottom of each and grease again.

Whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt in a small bowl and set aside, then use your electric mixer to beat the sugar and butter together for about 5 minutes until fluffy.

Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well in between, then alternately add the flour mixture and the buttermilk, mixing in between, beginning and ending with the flour mixture and scrapping down the sides of the bowl as needed.  Beat in the zest, then the lemon juice.

Pour the batter evenly into the 2 pans and bake for about 35 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean from the middle, or until an instant thermometer reads 200 degrees.  Allow the cakes to cool in their pans for about 10 minutes and then turn each out onto a rack to cool completely.  Once they are cooled, you can either get ready to ice them, wrap them well and refrigerate for a day, or freeze them if you won’t be using them for a couple of days or more.

For the icing – whisk everything except for the lemon strips together in a large bowl until smooth.  Place one cake layer on your serving platter and spread on half of the icing – it doesn’t all need to be covered, it looks lovely when it just starts to spill over the sides.  Top with the second cake layer and spread on the rest of the icing, topping with some lemon rind if you wish.

If you aren’t serving this straight away, cover it lightly and refrigerate.