Lemon Poppy-Seed Cake

Maybe it's the fact that we are celebrating a lot of Birthdays in the summer or maybe it's the sugar-meringue frosting, but this cake spells Birthday Cake to me. This is my version of a combination of several recipes.

Lemon Curd Filling: (prepare ahead)

•  cup sugar
• 1 tablespoon finely grated lemon peel
• 1 ½ tablespoons cornstarch
• ¼ cups water
• 6 egg yolks
• ¾ cup lemon juice
• ¼ cup butter

1. In a small pot, mix sugar, lemon peel, cornstarch, water and egg yolks well.
2. Stir in lemon juice and bring to boil, stirring, but just before it boils, pour through fine sieve into a glass bowl.
3. Return egg mixture to pot and boil gently for several minutes, stirring.
4. Remove from heat and stir in butter, one tablespoon at a time.
5. Cover surface with cling wrap and refrigerate until firm.

Cake

• ¾ cup butter
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 tablespoons finely grated lemon peel
• 3 eggs
• 2 cups flour
• 2 tablespoons poppy seeds
• 1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ¾ cups buttermilk
• ¼ cup lemon juice

1. Preheat oven to 350° F. Grease and flour two 8 inch round baking pans.
2. In a large mixing bowl, beat butter, sugar and lemon peel with hand held mixer until light and fluffy.
3. Beat in eggs, one at a time, beating each in well and scraping the sides of bowl with spatula.
4. Mix dry ingredients in a separate bowl.
5. Combine lemon juice and buttermilk in one cup.
6. Alternately, add dry and wet ingredients to egg mixture, stirring well with wooden spoon.
7. Divide cake batter evenly in pans. Bake 30-35 minutes, until cake tests done.
8. Cool 10 minutes in pans, then remove from pans and cool on wire rack.
9. Cut each cake in half horizontally to create four layers.
10. Place one cake round on a cake plate. Spread with about 2/3 cup lemon curd. Repeat two times and top with last cake round.

Boiled Sugar-Meringue Frosting and Coconut Sprinkles
Toast approx ½ cup long thread coconut and 1/4 cup slivered blanched almonds in 350° F oven until golden, for about 10 minutes. Stir and set aside to cool.

• 1 egg white
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/3 cup water
• 1 tablespoon icing sugar
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice

1. In a small glass bowl, beat egg white until almost stiff. Set aside.
2. In a small stainless steel aluminum pot, bring water and sugar to a boil over slightly less than medium heat and continue to boil for about 3 minutes after it clears, stirring often and checking to make sure sugar does not harden on sides of pot. After 3 - 4 minutes of boiling it should drip off the spoon like thin syrup.
3. Remove from heat and immediately add to beaten egg white while beating with electric hand mixer.
4. Continue to beat for several minutes, add 1 Tbsp icing sugar and 1 Tbsp lemon juice and continue to beat until it’s thick and peaks form.
5. Frost cake promptly, smoothing half of the frosting over the top first and then the rest in sections along the side.
6. Generously sprinkle cake with coconut/almond mixture.
7. Cover with cake top and refrigerate until ready to serve.