My Birthday Cake

I know this post is a little late but it's all about my birthday cake!  My friend Jill let me pick the cake I wanted for my birthday and as soon as she said it, I already knew what I wanted.  She thought she was smart and said "I already know which one you will pick", but she was wrong!  She thinks just because she has known me for about half my life she knows everything about me, but I guess she doesn't know everything.  She thought I was going to pick the Blackberry Cobbler, which she is right, this is one of my all time favorite desserts, but I ended up picking the General Robert E. Lee Cake. 

 

As soon as I read this recipe I knew it was something I would love.  The cake is filled with the refreshing flavors of lemon and orange and then is frosted in a bright citrus buttercream frosting.  I love anything citrus.  Citrus reminds me of sitting on a beach somewhere in the Caribbean with some sort of island cocktail.  One thing that attracted me most to this cake was the lemon curd filling.  Up until recently, I wouldn't eat anything lemon flavored, but lately I can't seem to get enough.  Everywhere I go I seem to be getting something with lemon.  The lemon curd really makes this cake bright and refreshing.  The only thing that I was disappointed in was the citrus buttercream.  The buttercream tasted great but I have never seen a buttercream made the way Paula made it.  She whisked the egg whites together and then put the bowl on top of simmering water and cooked to 140 degrees and then beat until soft peaks formed.  I don't know if we did something wrong, since I have never made a frosting like this but, the texture was a little lumpy and grainy.  But even with the frosting this cake was still a winner and I will be making this again to see if I can figure out this icing recipe.  Maybe I need to get a lesson from the master, Paula Deen herself!  

 
General Robert E Lee Cake
Pg. 386
 
Lemon Curd
Combine all the ingredients except the butter and cook over medium heat until thickens about 10-15 minutes.  Take off the stove and stir in the cold butter and strain then chill for at least 2 hours.
 
Cake
Beat the butter until creamy; then add sugar and all the zest and beat until fluffy then add one egg at a time until they are well combined.
 
In another bowl combine all the dry ingredients, then in a small bowl whisk together the, buttermilk and vanilla.  Alternating the flour mixture and the buttermilk mixture combine into the egg mixture making sure you begin and end with the flour mixture. 
 

Pour into 3 - 9inch greased pans and bake at 350 degrees until done, about 25 minutes. 
 
Buttercream Frosting

First bring a pot of water to a simmer.  In a mixer, beat the butter until creamy then add the orange and lemon juice until combined.

With a handheld mixer, beat the egg whites, sugar, cream of tartar and salt and place the bowl over then simmering water and heat until 140 degrees.  While over the water, make sure you whisk by hand.  remove from the pot and beat until mixture cools completely and soft peaks form.  Add the butter mixture a little at a time and beat until well combined.

Assemble the cake

Place cake on plate, spread half of the lemon curd filling top with second layer and spread the remaining lemon curd filling.  Place the final layer of cake on top and frost with the Butter cream frosting.