1 1/2 c Cake flour 1/4 c Sour cream
1 c Sugar 2 Eggs; at room temperature
3/4 ts Baking powder 1/4 c Lemon juice
1/2 ts Salt 2 ts Lemon zest; grated
3/4 c Butter;unsalted & softened 1/2 ts Lemon extract
-VANILLA CUSTARD-
1 c Heavy cream 1 tb Cornstarch; plus
1 Egg 2 ts Cornstarch
2 Egg yolks 1 ts Vanilla
1/3 c Sugar
CHOCOLATE GANACHE
6 oz Semisweet chocolate; 2 tb Butter; unsalted
-finely chopped 2 tb Sugar
3/4 c Heavy cream
Preheat the oven to 350. Butter a 9″ cake pan, line the bottom with a
circle of wax paper, then butter and flour the paper. In a large
bowl, mix the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Add the butter,
sour cream and 1 of the eggs. Mix until just blended. Add the
remaining egg, the lemon juice, zest and extract. Beat until smooth.
Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 40 to 45
minutes, or until the top is golden. Set the cake on a wire rack to
cool for 20 minutes. Wrap the cake in plastic wrap and chill in the
freezer until slightly firm, about 15 minutes. Meanwhile, make the
custard. In a small saucepan, bring the cream to a simmer. In a
bowl, beat the whole egg, egg yolks, sugar and cornstarch together
until light and lemon colored, about 3 minutes. Gradually whisk the
hot cream into the egg mixture to warm it. Transfer the warmed egg
mixture to the saucepan and cook over medium heat heat, stirring
constantly, until thick, about 2 minutes. Remove from the heat and
stir in the vanilla. Strain the custard through a fine sieve and set
in a bowl of ice water to quick cool to room temp. Cover and
refrigerate until throughly chilled. Prepare the ganache. Place the
chocolate in a medium bowl. In a small saucepan, bring the cream and
butter to a simmer. Stir in the sugar. Pour the hot cream mixture
over the chocolate. Let stand, covered, for 5 minutes, then stir
until smooth. Let cool to room temp. To assemble, with a long
serrated knife, carefully slice the chilled cake horizontally into
two layers. Place the bottom cake layer on a 9″ cardboard round.
PLace the layer on a rack set over a cookie sheet. Spread the top of
the cake with the chilled vanilla custard. Gently top with the
second cake layer. Spread the canache evenly over the sides and top
of the cake. Chill in the fridge for 20 minutes to set.
Yields
1 layer cake