Lemon Raspberry Easter Cake

Ingredients:

Lemon cake

• 3 tbsp. cake flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 0.5 tsp baking soda
• 0.5 tsp fine salt
• 1 and 1/4 cups sour cream
• 1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (about 1.5 lemons)
• 1 tbsp vanilla extract
• 220 g butter, room temperature, cut into small pieces
• 2 tbsp. sugar
• 1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
• 5 large eggs, room temperature

Glaze and filling

• 1 and 1/4 cups sugar
• Protein of 5 large eggs
• 1.5 tsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 1/4 tsp cream of tartar
• A pinch of fine salt
• 330 g butter, room temperature, cut into small pieces
• 0.5 cup seedless raspberry jam
• Sugar cookie bunnies, homemade or store-bought, see recipe below
• Decorative sugar in pastel colors
• Almonds in sugar glaze

Sugar cookies

• 2.5 cups premium flour
• 0.5 tsp baking powder
• 0.5 tsp fine salt
• 220 g butter, room temperature
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 0.5 cup powdered sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1.5 tsp vanilla paste or vanilla extract

Preparation:

1. Position a rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Lightly grease two 9-inch (22 cm) cake pans with shortening or butter. Line the bottoms with greased parchment paper and dust with flour.
2. In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt; whisk until evenly combined. In a liquid measuring cup, combine sour cream, lemon juice and vanilla.
3. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter on high speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Stop the mixer and scrape down the sides of the bowl. Continue beating, gradually adding the sugar. This should take a couple of minutes. Continue beating until very light and fluffy, about 3-4 minutes more. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and fold in the lemon zest. Add the eggs one at a time, beating thoroughly after each addition.
4. With the mixer running at low speed, add the flour mixture in 3 additions, alternating with 2 parts of the sour cream mixture, beginning and ending with the flour. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and mix for another 15 seconds.
5. Pour the batter evenly into the prepared pans and smooth the surface with a knife (lightly tap the pan on the counter to ensure the batter is spread evenly). Bake the cakes until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 35-40 minutes. Cool them in the pans on a wire rack for 20 minutes; then turn the cakes out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
6. Custard meringuePlace a few centimeters of water in a saucepan large enough to accommodate a stand mixer. Bring to a boil. Whisk the sugar, egg whites, lemon juice, cream of tartar, and salt in the bowl.
   
   Place the bowl over simmering water and continue whisking until the mixture is hot to the touch and the sugar is completely dissolved, about 1-2 minutes. Transfer the bowl to a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment and beat the egg whites on medium-high speed until stiff peaks form. Let the mixture cool, about 10 minutes. Beat in the butter a little at a time. The icing should be smooth and pasty (if the icing separates, just continue whisking until it becomes smooth).
7. Assembling the cakeUsing a serrated knife, cut each cake layer in half horizontally to create four equal layers. Make sure they are as flat and straight as possible.
   
   Place a large flat plate on a large upside-down bowl or the bottom of a salad spinner (of course, if you have a cake stand, use that), spreading a little frosting on the bottom of the plate to secure it. Place a cake layer upside down on the plate. Using an offset spatula, spread about half of the jam onto it in a thin layer, leaving about 0.5 cm from the edges. Place the second cake layer on top as evenly as possible. Using an offset spatula, spread about 1 cup of frosting onto it. Place the third cake layer on top.
8. Spread the remaining raspberry jam over the cake and top with the last layer, pressing gently to seal all four layers together. Using an offset spatula or knife, spread about 3/4 of the remaining frosting onto the sides of the cake, then spread the remaining frosting over the top. Smooth the frosting as much as possible with an offset spatula.
   
   Place plain or frosted cookies along the sides of the cake, leaving a small gap between them for slicing. Decorate the sides of the cake with glazed almonds and sprinkle the top with pastel-colored decorative sugar. Serve immediately or let sit at room temperature for 2 hours before serving. If refrigerating the cake, remove it 30 minutes before serving to allow it to come to room temperature.
9. Sugar cookies (for decorating and eating): In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt.
   
   In another medium bowl, beat the butter, granulated sugar, and powdered sugar with an electric mixer on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 30 seconds. Add the eggs and vanilla, mixing well. Slowly pour in the flour mixture and continue mixing until the dough comes together, stopping the mixer and scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.
   
   Divide the dough in half, form two disks, wrap them in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.
10. Generously flour a work surface (for a neat, even layer, sift flour onto the surface). Carefully roll out the chilled dough to a thickness of about 0.5 cm. Using cookie cutters, cut out the desired shapes, working quickly so the dough doesn't warm up. If the dough becomes too soft, refrigerate it on a parchment-lined baking sheet for about 30 minutes to firm up.
11. Place the cut-out shapes on ungreased baking sheets, spacing them about 2 cm apart. Refrigerate the sheets for at least 30 minutes. Lightly brush off any excess flour with a dry pastry brush (the remaining dough can be re-shaped into a disk, chilled, and rolled out again).
12. Preheat the oven to 160°C (325°F). Bake the cookies until the bottoms are golden brown, about 12 to 15 minutes, depending on the shape. Cool on the baking sheets until firm, then transfer to a wire rack. Decorate with icing, if desired, and serve. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week.