Lemon Blueberry Cake

Lemon Blueberry Cake

I’ll give Susi Smith of the Shady Lane Café credit for this recipe which appeared in the Courier-Journal yesterday.  Sandy got inspired by the sound of it and went shopping.  Susi has a great reputation for cakes and pies in this part of Louisville and because of this recipe we’re heading off to the Café for lunch. 

Susi calls this a “dreamsicle cake” (which I will not ... dreamsicle doesn’t do it justice and in fact lowers its standing in my opinion) but it is a considerable amount of work and most dreamsicle cakes are far from a scratch cake like this one.

This is a large cake and while it could be done as a sheet cake, the layering adds to the look.  We had some revelations, not being bakers in our house.  One was the Dream Whip mix – never heard of it.  A little painfulness with the entire one dozen eggs that go into this recipe.  And I guess I knew that there must be lemon extract, but never bought any until now.

You really need your very largest bowl to mix up this batter.  There is a lot going on here.

Before you start, put your butter and cream cheese out on the counter so it softens up sufficiently.  Separate your eggs well before you get into putting this together.  Measure out as much of the ingredients as you can as prep.

Ingredients:

4 ½ cups of Cake Flour – Swans Down is a good brand

2 cups granulated sugar

6 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

1 large box instant lemon pudding mix

1 2.6 oz box Dream Whip powder mix

Zest and juice of 2 medium lemons

1 20 oz can crushed pineapple, drained

1 cup milk

1 cup shortening

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon lemon extract

6 whole eggs

6 egg whites

12 oz (2 cups) fresh blueberries, rinsed and patted dry

Heat oven to 325 degrees.

In a large bowl stir together flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, pudding mix, and Dream Whip mix (all the dry ingredients).  Add lemon juice and zest, crushed pineapple, milk, shortening, vanilla and lemon extracts.  Beat at a low speed and gradually increase to a medium speed until blended smooth.  Scrape down the bowl as you go to fully incorporate.  Add the whole eggs until they are incorporated and finish on high for 2 minutes until batter is fluffy.

In a separate bowl beat 6 eggs whites until stiff peaks form.  Fold the whites into the batter lightly along with two-thirds of the blueberries.  Divide the batter between two 9 inch cake pans that have been buttered and floured lightly.  Bake for 50 minutes or until the edges of the cake pull away from the sides of the pans.  Cool completely on a rack.

Icing: Lemon Cream Cheese

Ingredients:

1 stick softened butter

2 8 oz packages of softened cream cheese

4 ½ cups powdered sugar (2 one pound boxes)

2 teaspoons lemon juice.

Using an electric mixer, beat the butter and cream cheese together until light.  Gradually beat in the powdered sugar and add lemon juice to a spread-able consistency.

Using a serrated knife, create a flat surface on one cake and place on a serving plate and frost the top.  Add second layer and frost the top and sides.  Garnish with remaining blueberries and thin lemon slices.