A Delicious Trio of Family Favourite Cakes To Enjoy . . . Vanilla, Chocolate and Lemon

I wanted to share some of my all time favourite cake recipes with you today.  These are old recipes that I've been using for a very long time.  Tried and true, there is a delicious Lazy Daisy Cake, a fabulous Double Layer Chocolate Cake and a to die for Lemon Meringue Cake.   That's right, cake not pie!  Enjoy!

I got this first recipe a long time ago from my dear Aunt Freda. She's been gone from us for 9 or 10 years  now . . . but there is not a day that goes by when I don't think of her and smile in my heart. She was a dear sweet Aunt, a friend . . . and much beloved. Baking her cake always helps me to feel close to her, and to remember sweet and special times spent together.



*Lazy Daisy Cake*
Makes one 8 inch square cake
Printable Recipe

A hotmilk sponge with a coconut topping that is baked on. Old fashioned, low in fat, simple and very tasty. I like to serve this with tinned fruit for an extra special treat.

2 large eggs
1 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup milk
1 TBS butter

Topping:
3 TBS butter
3 TBS brown sugar
2 TBS cream or canned milk (undiluted)
1/2 cup flaked coconut

Preheat the oven to 160*C/325*F. Grease and flour an 8 inch square baking pan. Set aside.

Beat the eggs well. Beat in the sugar and vanilla. Whisk together the dry ingredients. Heat the milk and butter together until the butter melts. Stir the dry ingredients into the creamed mixture alternately with the heated milk. Mix well. Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake for 35 minutes. About five minutes before the cake is done make the topping. Blend the cream, butter and brown sugar in a small pan. Bring to the bubble. Stir in the coconut. Remove from the heat. Once the cake is baked, remove from the oven and spread the coconut topping on top. Heat the grill. Replace the cake into the oven and bake for an additional 2 minutes under the grill until bubbling. Allow to cool in the pan. Cut into squares to serve.



 

I don't deny it, chocolate is one of my favourite things to eat.  I try to control myself most of the time, and I admit it helps to have a husband who is not a lover of things Chocolate.  (I know!  It just ain't human!)  However once in a while my chocolate loving heart just has to indulge in something chocolatey.

This is an old, old recipe which I have been making for many, many years.  I am no longer sure where the recipe came from. It exists only on a chocolate spattered page in an old notebook of mine, handwritten of course.

 

*Double Chocolate Layer Cake* 
 makes 12 servings
Printable Recipe

Can you say "To Die For"? Repeat after me.....to die for...to die for....to die for...deliciously moist chocolate cake with a gorgeously rich and delicious chocolate ganache coating....

 FOR CAKE:
3 ounces fine quality semi sweet chocolate
1 1/2 cups hot brewed coffee
3 cups sugar
2 1/2 cups plain flour
1 1/2 cups unsweetened cocoa powder
2 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp baking powder
1 1/4 tsp salt
3 large eggs
3/4 cup vegetable oil
1 1/2 cups buttermilk (well shaken)
3/4 tsp vanilla
FOR GANACHE FROSTING:
16 ounces good quality semi sweet chocolate
1 cup heavy cream
2 TBS caster sugar
2 TBS golden syrup (or corn syrup)
1/4 cup unsalted butter

Pre-heat the oven to 150*C/300*F. Lightly grease two nine inch layer pans. Line bottomms with parchment paper and grease the paper. Set aside.

Finely chop the chocolate and put in a bowl along with the hot coffee. Let stand, stirring occasionally until the chocolate is melted and the mixture is smooth.

Sift together the dry ingredients, stir in the sugar and set aside.

In a large bowl, beat the eggs until they are thick and lemon coloured, about 5 minutes with a hand held electric mixer. Slowly beat in the oil, buttermilk, vanilla and melted chocolate mixture. Mix well. Add dry ingredients, mixing only until they are combined.

Divide batter between the two prepared baking pans and bake in the centre of the oven for one hour up to one hour and ten minutes or until a tester inserted in the centre comes out clean. Cool layers completely in pans on racks. When cold, run a knife carefully around the edges of the pans and invert onto the racks. Carefully remove the paper.

For the frosting chop the chocolate finely. Bring the cream to a boil along with the syrup and sugar, whisking until the sugar is dissolved. Remove from the heat and stir in the chocolate pieces and whisk until melted. Cut the butter into pieces and whisk in a bit at a time, until melted and the mixture is smooth. Set aside to cool, stirring occasionally, until the mixture is of spreading consistency.

Sandwich the layers together on a plate with some of the ganache and then spread the remaining frosting over the top and around the sides of the cake. This cake keeps well, covered and chilled for 3 days. Bring to room temperature before serving. Wonderful!


 

One of my favourite flavours is Lemon.  I just adore Lemon anything . . .  cookies, puddings, pies, cakes . . .  if it's lemon I am in taste heaven!  I love chocolate too, but when push comes to shove if I had to choose between the two, I think lemon would win every time!

That's why I am really excited to show you this recipe here today for Lemon Meringue Cake.  This is a recipe I clipped out of a magazine yonks ago and it is a real family favourite.  You have a lovely buttery sponge cake bottom, topped with a lucious tart lemon filling, covered with meringue and toasted.     It's like the pie, but it's not a pie.  It's a cake.  'Nuff said!


 


*Lemon Meringue Cake*
Serves 8
Printable Recipe

If you were to ask me what my favourite kind of pie was, Lemon Meringue would rank high in the list…I could never pick just one. This cake combines all the flavours of a lemon meringue pie with all the pleasures of a delicious cake. It’s fantastic!

Cake:
¼ cup butter, softened
½ cup castor sugar
1 whole egg, plus 2 egg yolks (save the whites for the meringue)
1 cup plain flour, sifted
1 tsp baking powder
1/3 cup milk
½ tsp vanilla essence
½ tsp lemon essence

Filling:
2 egg yolks (save the whites for the meringue)
1 cup water
¾ cup castor sugar
1/3 cup plain flour
½ tsp finely grated lemon zest
¼ cup lemon juice
1 TBS butter

Meringue:
4 egg whites at room temperature
½ tsp cream of tartar
½ cup castor sugar

Pre-heat the oven to 180*C/350*F/ gas mark 4. Cream together the butter and sugar until fluffy. Beat in the egg and egg yolks. Mix together the flour and baking powder and then beat into the creamed mixture alternating with the milk, beginning and ending with dry ingredients. Stir in the vanilla and lemon essences, mixing in well.

Butter and flour a nine inch round cake tin. Pour in the batter, level off and bake in the preheated oven for 25 to 30 minutes. Remove from oven. Let sit in the pan for five minutes then turn out onto a rack to finish cooling.

For the filling combine the flour and sugar in the top of a double boiler. Mix together the lemon juice, water and egg yolks and then stir into the flour/sugar mixture along with the lemon zest. Place over simmering water and cook, stirring until thickened. Remove from heat and let cool five minutes, then stir in the butter until melted. Set aside until cool.

Place the cake layer on a plate (one that can handle some heat) and spread the lemon filling over. Beat together the egg whites and cream of tartar until the mixture begins to turn foamy, then continue to beat slowly adding the sugar until mixture is stiff, but not dry. Spread over the sides and top of the cake. Place in a 180*C/350*F oven and bake until the meringue browns. Remove from oven and cool. Serve at room temperature, cutting slices with a wet knife. This helps to prevent the meringue from tearing as you cut it.

Posted in: Mixed