Orange and Lemon Cake
Cake:
- 2 cups cake flour, sifted twice before it is measured
- 1½ teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon cream of tartar
- 9 large eggs, separated
- 2 cups sugar, sifted six times
- Finely grated zest of 1 large lemon
- Juice of 1 large lemon
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- Two 16-ounce boxes confectioners’ (10 X) sugar
- ½ cup (1 stick) butter, cut into slim pats and softened slightly
- Finely grated zest of 3 large oranges
- Finely grated zest of 2 large lemons
- ¼ cup fresh lemon juice
- 3 large pasteurized egg yolks
- 3 to 4 tablespoons fresh orange juice
Instructions:
When making the frosting, use the yolks of pasteurized eggs.
- For the cake: Preheat the oven to 325° F. Grease four 9-inch layer cake pans well and set aside.
- Sift the flour with the baking powder and cream of tartar six times and set aside.
- Beat the egg yolks in a large electric mixer bowl at high speed for about a minute until thick. Beat the sugar in gradually, then add the lemon zest and continue beating at high speed until the color and consistency of mayonnaise. This will take about 10 minutes. Beat in the lemon juice.
- Sift about one fourth of the flour mixture over the yolk mixture and fold in by hand, gently but thoroughly. Repeat twice. The last of the flour mixture goes in at the end.
- Beat the egg whites with the salt until stiff peaks form. Blend about one third of the beaten whites into the yolk mixture to lighten it, then scoop the remaining whites on top and fold in until no streaks of white or yellow show—easy does it. Using the lightest of touches, fold in the remaining flour mixture.
- Divide the batter among the four pans and rap each lightly on the counter to expel large air bubbles.
- Bake the cakes in the lower third of the oven for 25 to 30 minutes or until springy to the touch and a cake tester inserted halfway between the center and the rim comes out clean.
- Invert the cakes on wire racks immediately but do not remove the pans. Instead, cool the cakes to room temperature in the upside-down pans. Lift off the pans and let the cakes stand for 1 hour before frosting.
- For the frosting: Beat the confectioners’ sugar, butter, orange and lemon zests, lemon juice, and egg yolks until smooth and silky. Begin at low mixer speed, then gradually raise it to high as the sugar is incorporated. Finally, add just enough of the orange juice to make the frosting a good spreading consistency.
- Sandwich the four cake layers together with some of the frosting, then smooth the rest over the top and sides of the cake.
- Cut the cake into slim wedges and serve.