Lemon Layer Cake with Lemon Curd Filling

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease two 9-inch cake pans with non-stick flour and oil baking spray (like Baker’s Joy) and line the bottom of each pan with parchment. Spray the top of the parchment as well.
2. To make cake, first whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt. Whisk together the milk and egg whites in another bowl. Put the sugar and lemon zest in your mixer bowl and rub the zest into the sugar until the sugar becomes moist and fragrant. Add the butter and beat at medium speed until the butter and sugar are very light, about 3 minutes. Mix in the extract, then add one third of the flour mixture and mix until combined, then half the milk-egg mixture until incorporated, another third of the flour mixture, the rest of the milk-egg mixture, and finally the last of the flour. Scrape the bowl as needed and make sure ingredients are incorporated as you alternate. Beat for another 2 minutes.
3. Divide the batter between the two pans and smooth the tops with an offset spatula. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until the middle of the cake spring back after being touched. Remove the cakes to cooling racks. Let cool for 5 minutes before removing from the pans. Remove the parchment from the cakes, then let finish cooling top side up.
4. To make the buttercream, place the sugar and egg whites in a heat safe mixer bowl over a pot of simmering water. Whisk the mixture continuously until it becomes hot to the touch and the sugar is dissolved, about 3 full minutes. Carefully remove the bowl from the heat and beat on high for about 5 minutes, or until the meringue has cooled (I recommend using a stand mixer if you have one). Using the paddle attachment mix in the butter a stick at a time, beating until smooth. Once all the butter is in, beat in the mixture on high speed until it is thick and very smooth, 6-10 minutes. Decrease the speed to medium and gradually beat in the lemon juice, waiting until each addition is absorbed before adding more. Mix in vanilla. Set aside while preparing the cakes.
5. To assemble, slice each layer horizontally in half. I place toothpicks around the perimeter of the cake a little below where I want to slice. This helps guide my serrated knife as I saw through the layers.
6. Place one layer, cut side up on your serving dish. Spread it with one third of the lemon curd, about ⅓ cup. Spread about ¼ of the buttercream over the lemon curd, repeat two more times, then top with the final layer of cake with the baked side up. Use the rest of the buttercream to frost the top and sides of the cake. Press the coconut over the frosted surfaces.