Many years ago a very Special Friend brought me a slice of cake that she had gotten at a little Mom and Pop restaurant in Fergus Falls, MN. She was so excited to share this cake and asked me if I could possibly recreate the recipe. Well, I tried and tried, but never got the exact consistency of the cake. I did however, (I think) do a great job of getting the cream center right. I tried so many times my family had to ask me to stop making my experiment cakes because they were getting sick of eating them. So – I gave up after this one. It is not an exact replica of the one my friend gave me – but It’s a keeper. In fact I served it the other night to that Special Friend and Her Wonderful Husband, and they agreed – it’s just Yummy! I hope you enjoy!
Italian Lemon Cream Cake
1/4 cup Butter, soft
1/4 cup Shortening
1 cup Sugar
3 Egg – Separated
1 1/4 cup AP Flour
1 cup Cake Flour
1/2 tsp Salt
1 1/2 tsp Baking Powder
3/4 cup Buttermilk
1 tsp Almond Extract
In small bowl, beat egg whites to stiff peaks – set aside.
In large mixing bowl, cream together the butter, shortening and sugar. Add extract and then egg yolks one at a time, beating well after each. In a large measuring cup blend the flours, salt and baking powder. Alternately add the flour mixture and buttermilk to your batter, beating between each addition. Beat all until smooth. Fold in egg whites.
Pour into a lined or lightly greased Spring Form Pan. Bake for approximately 50 minutes or until golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
Cool completely – remove side of pan and slice the cake in half, making two circles leaving the bottom layer in the pan. Replace the side of the Spring Form Pan. Spread the Lemon Cream (recipe below) on the bottom layer of your cake, then place the top cake circle back into the pan on top of the Cream layer. Cover with plastic wrap and chill cake for at least 2 hours. Overnight is best. I serve it with Fresh Whipped Cream and Fresh Raspberries.
Lemon Cream Filling
1 8 oz container Mascarpone Cheese – room temperature
1 cup Heavy Cream
1/2 cup Powdered Sugar
1 tsp Lemon Extract
1/2 box Lemon cook and serve Pudding
3/4 cup Heavy Cream
While cake cools – in small microwavable bowl – blend pudding mix and 3/4 cup cream. Microwave on high for 1 minute – stir, then microwave again until pudding becomes thick. Remove from heat and cool to room temperature – stirring a few times. Pudding my look watery – just stir it in (this is normal).
With a hand mixer blend Cheese and 1 cup cream to smooth. Add powdered sugar and extract. When well blended, take a large spoon and drop some cheese mixture into the pudding. Blend well. Repeat – with a few more spoonful’s of the cheese mixture into the pudding. Then transfer all of the pudding mixture into the cheese mixture and blend well. (If you just dump all of the pudding into the cheese mixture without blending it a little at a time, it may be too lumpy to mix well.)