Light, fluffy, and deliciously tangy, but with super smooth and creamy white chocolate cinnamon cream layers, this Lemon White Chocolate Sugared Cinnamon Layer Cake is the perfect dessert – particularly for a 40th Birthday Celebration!!!! There’s no shortage of bright lemon flavor in the dessert, but the citrus zing is perfectly complemented by the richness of white chocolate and the spice of cinnamon.
By the way, I’m pretty darn proud of my fondant flowers, too. Never having made fondant before, let alone molded the confection, I think they turned out well.
Don’t forget the gold dust. Jillian deserves all the golden sparkles in the world – after all, she is MY burst of golden sparkles!
Happy Birthday, Jillian – Jilly Bean 😍
Lemon White Chocolate Sugared Cinnamon Layer Cake
Lemon White Chocolate Sugared Cinnamon Layer Cake
Lemon Cake:
(Moist, buttery, and tender, this lemon cake recipe is like a ray of sunshine)!
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
3/4 tsp. sea salt
1 cup Irish butter, softened to room temperature
1 1/2 cups white sugar
2 Tbs. lemon zest (from 2 lemons)
3 large eggs
1 cup buttermilk, room temperature
1/4 cup lemon juice (from the 2 zested lemons)
1 Tbs. vanilla extract
White Chocolate Cinnamon Cream:
1 package white chocolate instant pudding
1 cup heavy whipping cream, cold
2 tsp. ground cinnamon
Lemon Buttercream:
2 cups Kerrygold Irish Butter, room temperature
1 1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 Tbs. heavy whipping cream
2 tsp. lemon extract
fondant** + food coloring
Sugared Cinnamon Lemon Zest:
2 Tbs. granulated white sugar
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
zest of 1 fresh lemon
Cake:
Preheat the oven to 350. Grease three 6-inch round cake pans and line with parchment paper.
In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
In a large mixing bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Beat the butter on medium speed until creamy. Add the sugar and lemon zest and beat until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add the vanilla then eggs one at a time, scrape down the bowl between additions, and beat until well combined and fluffy.
Stir the buttermilk and lemon juice together.
With the mixer on low speed, add a third of the flour mixture followed by half of the milk mixture. Continue, alternating between the flour and milk, mixing just until combined. Stop and scrape down the bowl occasionally. Divide the batter among the prepared cake pans.
Bake for 35 to 40 minutes or until the center of the cakes are springy to the touch and the sides are just starting to pull away from the pan. Let the cakes cool in the pan for 15 minutes then invert and cool completely on a wire rack.
Chill or freeze for several hours.
Cream Layers:
Using a stand mixer with the beating attachment (or a hand mixer), beat together the pudding mix, cream, and cinnamon until stiff and gooey.
Place one chilled cake layer atop a parchment lined cake plate (secured with pudding) and slather with 1/2 the pudding cream. Top with a second chilled layer of cake and repeat with the remaining half of the cream. Top with the final layer of chilled cake.
Lemon Buttercream:
Using a stand mixer with the beating attachment, whip together the softened butter, sugar, and lemon extract until smooth and fluffy.
Slather atop and around the layered cake.
Using a flat surface, spin, and spread the buttercream evenly, but sparingly – use more frosting, if preferred (I enjoy a “minimal cake” look).
Top with fondant** flowers.
Sugared Cinnamon Lemon Zest:
Stir together the dusting ingredients. Allow the lemon zest to dry out for several hours.
Dust the cake with the mixture through a sieve. Sprinkle with golden sparkle dust before slicing and serving.
