Easter Egg Lemon Cake With Whipped Cream Topping

4.7

(3)

2 Reviews

A fun way to bring Easter decorations to dessert.

Joy Howard

Published on March 19, 2023

Easter Egg Lemon Cake With Whipped Cream Topping — Photo:
Victor Protasio; Food Stylist: Emily Nabors Hall; Prop Stylist: Mary Clayton Carl Jones

Active Time:

35 mins

Cool Time:

1 hrs

Total Time:

2 hrs 5 mins

Servings:

Freshly-squeezed lemon juice and grated zest give this egg-cellent cake its citrusy flavor, and pairing it with a light and lofty vanilla whipped cream lets its lemony goodness shine through.

To keep the whipped cream from deflating, we mix it with a tiny bit of gelatin which does wonders without adding unwanted taste. If you would rather not use gelatin, keep the whipped cream fluffy with a pinch of meringue powder. The dried egg white substitute helps keep the cream's volume, lends it a beautiful shine, and similarly to gelatin, doesn’t impart any flavor.

When it comes to sprinkles for creating the egg decor on the top of this cake, we suggest using a variety of shapes and sizes for visual interest, such as colored sanding sugar, jimmies, and nonpareils. Mix them together in a small bowl to evenly distribute, and then sprinkle them across the cake using the stencil as directed.

Ingredients

Lemon Cake

Baking spray
3 cups unbleached cake flour
2 tsp. baking powder
3/4 tsp. baking soda
3/4 tsp. kosher salt
1 1/4 cups buttermilk
1 Tbsp. grated lemon zest
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice (from 3 small lemons)
1 1/4 tsp. vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
2 large eggs, at room temperature

Whipped Cream Topping

1/2 tsp. unflavored gelatin (from 1 [1/4-oz.] envelope)
1 1/4 cups heavy whipping cream
1/4 cup powdered sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Additional Ingredients

Blue, yellow, and pink candy sprinkles of various shapes
Green candy sprinkles

Directions

Prepare the Lemon Cake: Preheat oven to 350°F. Coat a 13- x 9-inch baking pan with baking spray, and line bottom of pan with parchment paper.

Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl. Whisk together buttermilk, lemon zest and juice, and vanilla in separate medium bowl.
Beat sugar and butter in a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment on medium-high speed until mixture is pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating on medium speed just until blended after each addition.

Gradually add flour mixture in thirds, alternating with buttermilk mixture, beating on low speed just until blended after each addition, stopping to scrape down sides of bowl as needed.
Spoon batter into prepared pan, spreading evenly. Bake in preheated oven until golden around edges and a wooden pick inserted in center of cake comes out clean, about 30 minutes. Transfer pan to a wire rack; cool completely, 1 hour to 1 hour, 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, prepare the Whipped Cream Topping: Sprinkle gelatin over 4 teaspoons water in a small microwavable bowl. Let stand 5 minutes to hydrate. Microwave gelatin on HIGH in 5-second intervals until melted, about 15 seconds total.

Beat cream, sugar, and vanilla in a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment on medium-high speed until thickened. With mixer running, slowly stream in gelatin mixture; beat until stiff peaks form, about 30 seconds. Chill until ready to use.
Spread Whipped Cream Topping over Lemon Cake. Cut an 8- x 10-inch egg shape from center of a 12- x 16-inch sheet of parchment paper; discard egg shape to create a stencil.

Gently lay stencil over cake; top as desired with blue, yellow, and pink sprinkles. Remove stencil; add green sprinkles around edges of cake. Store, covered, in refrigerator until ready to serve, up to 1 day.