Lemon Velvet Squares

'Tis that time again!  Time for the Cake Slice Bakers to reveal the cake baked for February!  We are baking from Great Cakes by Carole Walter.  The cake for February is the Lemon Velvet Squares.  Mine aren't going to be very square since I elected to bake my cake in a new mini bundt pan.

This cake starts out on the right note...

Fresh citrus zest is usually a good thing and then add in butter - ok yum!

Get your sugar, eggs, liquids and dry ingredients incorporated and you get a silky smooth batter.

Even though my mini bundt pan is new and a non-stick I chose to spray (which I hardly ever do) and sugar the pan.  Put my batter into the pan and had some left over so I sprayed and sugared a nine inch round pan also.

The cakes baked up nicely with a bit of golden brown to the edges.

Let the cakes cool for about ten minutes and then it was time to unmold them.... 

Screeeeeech!!!!

Well that was not part of the plan.

Ok no problem!  The glaze will cover up the "specialness" of these minis.

Time to whip up the glaze.

Well ok, that is not a glaze consistency in my mind.  Glaze should be pour-able.  This is more like a frosting.  Spreadable, which would be fine if I had made the 9"x13" cake the recipe specifies.  But I didn't so...  time to thin it down a bit.

I added about one tablespoon of additional lemon juice and it broke.  As long as you kept stirring the glaze it was fine but as soon as you stopped it started to separate.

The glaze tasted fine and since these were served to my family I just went for it.

Still not glaze thin + not spreadable cake surface  = a quite unattractive dessert.  Well that's a bummer!

This cake and glaze combination was pretty tasty if you like citrus.  The cake crumb texture was light and soft but does need the extra kick of the glaze.

The cake would be best baked in and served from the same pan.  Spread the glaze on while still warm and enjoy!

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Enjoy!

:)

*I didn't publish the recipe because it comes from a copyrighted cookbook.

Lemon Berry Trifle

Serves 16
Berries:
5 1/2 cups frozen blueberries
7 1/2 cups frozen raspberries
2 lemons, juiced
1/2 cup sugar
3 teaspoons cornstarch

2 pounds strawberries, hulled and slices

Lemon Cream:
2 cup heavy whipping cream
2 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 (11-ounce) jar lemon curd
2 pound cakes, cubed
Directions
Place the berries into a large bowl and sprinkle with half of the lemon juice. Lightly toss.


Combine the blueberries, raspberries, sugar, cornstarch and lemon juice in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Bring to a simmer and cook just until the berries begin to break down and give up their juices, about 3 minutes. Take the berries off the heat, stir in the sliced strawberries and let cool for at least 1 hour. The mixture should thicken up just a bit as is cools.


In a clean bowl, whip the cream to soft peaks then add the sugar and the vanilla; finish whipping to stiff peaks. Put the lemon curd into a second bowl and whisk it a bit to loosen it.  Add in one quarter of the whipped cream and whisk.  Fold in the remaining whipped cream.


To assemble the trifle, spoon a layer of the lemon cream into a large glass bowl. Add a layer of pound cake. Then soak the cake with a layer of berries and their juices. Repeat - cream, cake then berries. Finally top with the cream mixture.


Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.

Print friendly recipe here.