CAKE: lemon cake with Raspberry Buttercream Frosting

LEMON CAKE 

INGREDIENTS

360 g ap flour
2 tsp baking powder 

1/2 tsp salt

4 medium eggs
225 g sugar
Zest of 2 lemons ( or 1tsp vanilla if not lemon)

225 g soft margarine or butter 

1 cup soda water 

3 TB yogurt 

Preheat your oven to 350ºF

Line your baking tins with baking parchment or reusable baking liners.

Finely grate the zest of two lemons.

Take the 4 medium eggs, and 225g caster sugar, then beat on high for 4 minutes. Next, add 225g butter and continue beating on high until there are no butter lumps. NOTE: I used 1/2 butter 1/2 avocado oil 

Add the remaining ingredients - grated lemon zest, 1 cup soda water, 3 TB yogurt, and beat on low with an electric mixer or by hand until combined. 

Sift the dry ingredients together -  ap flour and baking powder (2 tsp).

Add the dry ingredients to the mixer in 3 parts, mix on low, and do not over-mix. 

Split the mixture equally between the pre-prepared tins or a bundt pan. 

If split into two pans bake for 30-35 minutes.

Bundt pan takes closer to 45 minutes to bake but start to check if the cake is cooked insert a skewer into the center and if it comes out clean the cake is ready.

Leave the cake to cool in the tins for about 10 minutes before removing them from the tins.

Then move them to a wire rack to cool completely. 

Make sure the cake has cooled completely before frosting.

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 BUTTERCREAM

1 cup butter - softened 2 sticks

4 cups powdered sugar

1 drop of almond extract

a handful of clean fresh blackberries (12-15 berries) or frozen
¼ teaspoon lemon zest
lemon juice, to taste

pinch of salt.

* used 1/4 cup of fruit puree - done strawberry, raspberry & mulberry 

whip the butter and the powdered sugar together, it will be a bit crumbly. add the almond extract, lemon zest, lemon juice, and a pinch of salt. 

Once the berries are sieved add them to the mixer with the rest of the mixer and finish whipping the buttercream.

IMPORTANT: take the frozen berries and place them into a blender and blend till smooth or until almost smooth and sieve out the seeds.