The Oddest Cake Concoction

This is my first blogging experience. The idea for me to even begin was due to the thoughtfulness of a dear friend who sent me a subscription to Taste of Home as a Christmas gift. In one of the issues, the editors chose twelve of their favorite cakes from reader submissions. I then thought- Hey! I could blog about making these 12 cakes and how they turn out. And yes, it's a spin off of Julie and Julia, a movie I thoroughly enjoyed.

I chose what I thought to be the oddest cake out of the dozen for my first baking adventure. The cake is called lemon-rosemary layer cake, and it was a big hit to say the least. For starters, I don't like many lemon desserts, but I really liked this cake. The combination of pungent rosemary with tart lemon randomly lying in a cream cheese frosted white cake was a type of sensory awakening.

Lemon-Rosemary Layer Cake

Prep:20 Min. Bake: 25 Min.

Yield: 16 Servings

Cake Batter:

1 Cup + 2 Tbsp. softened butter2-1/2 cups sugar
4 eggs
1 egg yolk
4 cups all-purpose flour
3 tsp. baking powder
1-1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. + 1/8 tsp. baking soda
1-1/2 cups (12 oz.) sour cream
6 Tbsp. lemon juice
3 tsp. grated lemon peel
3 tsp. minced fresh rosemary

Frosting:

2 pkg. (8 oz. each) cream cheese, softened
8-1/4 cups confectioner's sugar
3 tsp. grated lemon peel
2-1/4 tsp. lemon juice

Directions: In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar til light and fluffy. Add one at a time, eggs and yolk beating well after each addition. Combine the flour, baking powder, salk and baking soda; add to the creamed mixture alternatively with the sourcream, beat well after each addition. Add lemon juice, peel and rosemary. Again, beat well.

Transfer to 3 greased and floured 9" round baking pans. Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes or until edges brown. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks to completely cool.

For frosting, beat cream cheese til fluffy. Add the confectioner's sugar, lemon peel and juice and beat til smooth. Spread frosting between layers and over top and sides of cake. Refrigerate any leftovers.

I baked the cake layers in fluted pans which turned out nicely, except for the fact that I had to use extra frosting. This could be a plus for some. Well, I took the cake to our friend's home for dinner and he and my hubby, Chris had several pieces. I was pretty surprised. I left the cake for our friends and they returned an empty plate. So, I'd call this a success.