When they throw you lemons, make lemon cake.
Lemon Layer Cake ~
~ adapted from Saveur ~
Heat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Butter and flour two 9″ round cake pans.
Whisk 2 1/2 cups sifted cake flour, 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder, and 1 teaspoon kosher salt. In a separate bowl, whisk together 1/2 cup milk and 1 teaspoon vanilla; set aside. Cream 16 tablespoons unsalted (softened) butter, 1 1/2 cups sugar,
and 1 tablespoon lemon zest. Beat 3 minutes. Add 4 eggs, one at a time. On low speed, alternately add dry ingredients in 3 batches and wet ingredients in 2 batches. Increase speed to high and beat until batter is smooth,
about 5 seconds. Divide batter between prepared pans. Bake approximately 30 minutes. Let cakes cool 20 minutes in pans before turning out onto a rack; continue to let cool. With a serrated knife, halve each cake horizontally, making 4 layers.
Juice lemon to produce 1/3 cup juice to bring to a boil with 1/4 cup sugar in a saucepan.
To make the frosting, whisk together 1 1/2 cups sugar, 1/4 cup cornstarch, 1/4 cup lemon zest, and 1 teaspoon salt in a 4-quart saucepan. Add 10 egg yolks, whisk until smooth, then stir in 1 cup lemon juice. Stir often when bringing to a boil on medium heat; cook and stir constantly until very thick; 3 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool, then refrigerate.
In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat 1 1/2 cups unsalted butter and 1/4 of the curd on medium-high speed until fluffy and smooth. Add half of the remaining curd, beating until smooth; then all the remaining curd and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract. Increase speed to high and beat for 3 minutes.
To assemble the cake, place 1 cake layer on a cake stand, drizzle 2 tablespoons syrup, spread 3/4 cups frosting; top with another layer of cake, drizzle 2 tablespoons syrup, spread with more 3/4 cups frosting and repeat for the remaining layers of cake, syrup, and frosting. Cover top and sides with frosting.
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