Alyssa and Stephen's wedding cake, with two flavors

Success! What a relief. I couldn't sleep for most of last night, with worrying about putting this cake together. We very carefully drove to the hotel, arriving at 10:00 a.m. We had an hour to set up before the ceremony started. Luckily, the ceremony site was down the hall, so we didn't have far to go after finishing.

The cake came together seamlessly, and the ribbon around the base of each layer conveniently covered up a few minor flaws. None of the disastrous scenarios I had been imagining occurred, and we were done in less than half an hour. This gave us plenty of time to change and make it to the ceremony.

Two minor things for me to keep in mind for next time (if there is a next time.) 1) The bottom layer settled a bit overnight, making the dowels in it a little taller than the cake. This was easily covered by the ribbon, but I should have cut the dowels probably about 1/4" shorter than the top of the cake to allow for sinking. 2) The pearl spray that coated the fondant bow changed the color slightly. It was originally closer to the same color as the ribbon lining the layers, but the ended up a few shades lighter.

The wedding was beautiful; it was the first Jewish wedding I have attended. The reception was fun, and the cake tasted great!

Both flavors came out very well. The cake pictured below left is the lemon cake with a lemon filling. The cake on the right is the almond cake with a chocolate hazelnut filling.

Lemon Layer Cake
adapted from, Gourmet
September 1994

It is best to make two separate batches of this cake, and to split each layer for a total of four layers.

Batter will fit into a 9-inch cake pan that is 2-inches high, but will need to cook for longer.


For each batch of batter:
2 1/2 c cake flour
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 1/4 tsp salt
3 large eggs
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
1 c milk
1 1/2 Tbs freshly grated lemon zest (about 1 lemon)

Lemon syrup (only one batch required)
1/3 c sugar
1/2 c water
1 1/2 tsp freshly grated lemon zest
4 Tbs fresh lemon juice


Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter the bottom and sides of a 10-inch round cake pan (at least 2 inches deep). Line bottom with a round of parchment paper, and butter the parchment paper. Dust pan with flour, knocking out the excess.

Sift flour, baking powder, and salt into a medium bowl. In a larger bowl, cream butter and sugar
until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add vanilla. Add flour mixture and milk alternatively in batches, beginning and ending with the flour mixture, and beating until just combined after each addition. Beat in the zest. Be careful not to overmix.

Pour batter into prepared pan and bake for 30-40 minutes, or until a tester comes out clean.
Cool cake in pan on a rack for 10 minutes and invert onto a rack. Peel off paper and cool cake
completely.

For the syrup:
In a small saucepan combine sugar, water, and zest. Bring to a boil, stirring until sugar is dissolved. Remove pan from heat and let syrup cool completely. Strain out the zest, and stir lemon juice into the syrup. Brush the top of each split cake layer with the syrup before spreading the filling on.



Almond Scented White Cake
from Williams-Sonoma, Baking
edited by Chuck Williams


2 c all purpose flour
1 Tbs baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 c unsalted butter, room temperature
1 1/2 c sugar
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp almond extract
1 c milk
5 large egg whites, room temperature


Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. With butter, grease 2 9-inch round cake pans. Dust with flour, and shake out excess.

In a medium bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, and salt. In a larger bowl, using a mixer, beat the butter until light. Gradually add the sugar, beating until well blended. Beat in extracts. Reduce speed to low, and alternately beat in the flour mixture and the milk, beginning and ending with the flour mixture. Do not overmix.

In a large bowl, using a stand mixer with the whisk attachment (if available), beat the egg whites on high speed until stiff peaks form. Using a rubber spatula, gently fold the whites into the batter until just combined. Divide batter between prepared pans, and smooth with a spatula.

Bake about 30 minutes, or until a tester comes out clean. Transfer to wire racks; let cool for 10 minutes. Invert onto racks, and cool completely.