Thursday, March 8, 2012

Lemon debutante cake

lemon curd
{lemon curd}

I normally put recipes up here when I use them, because I normally have notes and tweaks and clarifications and I like to be able to look back at them.

meringue
{meringue}

I will not be posting Miette's recipe for the Lemon Debutante Cake here. I'm sorry. Mostly because it is so incredibly long and detailed that it would pain me to type it out and partly because the instructions are so exhaustive that I have nothing left to say. If you are looking to get a crash course in cake baking, the Miette cookbook is a great source. They walk you through it all step by step, which makes the recipes look intimidatingly long but is probably useful if you've never understood why you need to do a crumb coat.

lemon debutante cake
{lemon debutante cake}

It was incredibly good. It took a lot of time. You will need an instant read thermometer. You MUST measure out all your ingredients in advance and have them ready and waiting. Please consider all those factors before diving in.

You have to make a curd and a simple syrup before you even get going on the cake. The cake itself requires you to use a double boiler to cook the eggs and you have to melt the butter into the milk and everything needs to be at the proper temperature before you start combining things. The buttercream uses the European method, so you need to beat hot sugar syrup into egg whites. My cake fell in the oven and wasn't terribly cooperative and I was cursing while I got it out of the pans and I swore I wouldn't recommend anyone else make it.

But the cake was so roundly enjoyed that I can't bring myself to steer you away from it. I will just recommend that you avoid starting it at the end of a 10 hour workday. Come to it fully rested and everything should go just fine. And maybe don't bother trying to split the layers, because it really wasn't necessary.

18 comments:

  1. This reminds me a lot of a Martha Stewart cake I used to make all the time...simple syrup, lemon curd filling, but Swiss meringue buttercream rather than the hot sugar syrup kind. This looks SOOO incredible. Amazing job!!!

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    1. I wonder if that's the same cake I made for my sister's wedding! It sounds really similar. The lemon poundcake?

      This one has a more delicate crumb and a much more intense lemon flavor, but it is reminiscent of the MS cake.

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  2. Looks so good. I love lemon desserts. I don't think I would have the patience, can I just come over and have a bit of yours? xo Teri

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    1. You'd be welcome to it, but I think we ate it all. We're crazy.

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  3. That is gorgegous! Compliments! And now I am dying for a slice of cake.

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  4. I absolutely love anything lemon so this cake really sounds great to me. Your decorating job looks flawless!
    http://lindseyyoung.net

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  5. It turned out lovely, and I LOVE your yellow cake pan (or tin)! This recipe looks like a true feat. I'll leave it up to the husband.

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    1. Thanks, Roseann! The yellow tin is vintage and was a gift from my sister. Sadly, the cake refused to fit in it and I had to find another way to transport it! Too big.

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  6. tasting as good as it probably did is just a bonus to how PRETTY IT IS.

    you got skillzzzz.

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  7. I love Miette! Although I've never had their lemon debutante cake, I'm sure it's good. Your version looks amazing too.

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  8. Wow. That's one impressive cake. I haven't heard of Miette. But rest assured I will be checking her out! I am crazy for lemon curd. :)

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  9. I might just have to pick up the Miette book on my way home tonight.

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  10. Wow! You inspire me to try more complicated recipes. Just lovely!

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  11. That cake looks so 'pro'. I don't even like cake and my mouth is watering at the sight of this!

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  12. Yum, I love lemon cake. Yours turned out gorgeous!

    Mal @ The Chic Geek

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  13. Looks lovely! I am on a lemon kick with the abundance of citrus going on now in California...time to tie on my apron!

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