An Engagement: Vanilla Cake with Lemon Curd Filling and Vanilla Buttercream

Nothing is sweeter than seeing a best friend find the love of her life...

Except when her and her man friend make a commitment to spend the rest of their lives together! EEE!

Gorgeous people! Photo credit: Jerek Barcelona

To celebrate the engagement of my BEAUTIFUL and SPIRITED friend Logan and her soon to be husband, Mason, I made a special engagement cake.

Take a deep breath, 'cause this title is a long one (again):

Vanilla Cake with Lemon Curd Filling and Vanilla Buttercream!

Made with love, my sweet Logan!

When talking with Logan and about her favorite kind of dessert, she quickly answered Lemon Bars (I love those too!).

P.S. We also share a love of Disney, Disney, and ummm...DISNEY! and everything else in life :0)

This immediately made me think of lemon curd! It tastes very similar to the thick and delicious texture and taste of Lemon Bars!

Let's just eat spoonfuls of lemon curd!

I considered doing a lemon cake but thought that might be too much lemon (not sure if that's possible) but I wanted to air on the side of caution.

ON STRIKE FOR MORE LEMON CURD!

I should have put lemon curd in all of the layers! I don't know what I was thinking! Lemon curd is strong and rich but I think it would have been worth the potential stomach ache!

Note: I used Trader Joe's lemon curd (delicious!) but I have an awesome recipe that I'll share with you soon!

The vanilla cake was super easy to make. I made it the night before and let the cakes cool in the fridge overnight.

The next morning I leveled them.

With a bulldozer! No...with a knife.

Made the vanilla buttercream frosting.

BUTTER + CREAM + OTHER STUFF = BUTTERCREAM!!

Layered and crumb coated the cake. Then I let it rest in the fridge so the crumb coat could set.

Not too "crumb-y".

During that time I colored the frosting blue. This is in honor and recognition of Logan's love of the ocean.

Ahhh...the waves at Hanalei!

I did my best to ice the cake as smooth as possible, I still need a lot more practice but not too bad!

I give it a B+.

I started to pipe the bottom but then my son woke up from his nap :0) and I couldn't get to it for the rest of the day...

Kina's Heaven.

Notice how it's night..I have a glass of wine...and I'm watching Cake Boss! YES!

Logan is a WONDERFUL "doodler" and artist. She's even working on a children's book! SO I thought the piping should look like doodling :0)

Doodle here, doodle there, doodle EVERYWHERE!

First attempt at piping...

It looks pretty good...from afar :0)

I had to put Akuna on the top because that is the name she will be using to start this new adventure!

AKUNA MATATA! If you are unsure what this refers to...shame on you.

I love you more than life Logan and couldn't be happier for you and Mason. Thank you for being such a strong, intelligent, and loving person. You brighten the lives of those around you! Sending all my love across the ocean...

Friends FOREVER! Photo credit: Jerek Barcelona

Don't worry...I will eat this cake for you! That's what best friends do, right?!

Gone in 60 seconds...

Love you all! Take Care and God Bless!

Vanilla Cake with Lemon Curd and Vanilla Buttercream Frosting

Print Recipe Yield: 6-8 servings         Prep Time: 20 minutes        Total Time: 1 hour Ingredients: Vanilla Cake 2 and 1/2 cups cake flour or all purpose flour 2 cups granulated sugar 3/4 cups canola oil 2 and 1/4 teaspoons baking powder 1 teaspoon pure vanilla 1/2 teaspoon salt 4 large eggs, room temperature 1 cup milk Lemon Curd I used Trader Joe's Lemon Curd this time around but I have a delicious recipe I will share with you soon! Vanilla Buttercream Frosting 2 cups unsalted butter (4 sticks), room temperature 6-7 cups confectioners sugar, sifted 1/4 teaspoon salt 2 teaspoons vanilla extract 2 teaspoons heavy cream or milk Directions:  Vanilla Cake 1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour four, 6" cake pans (you could also use two, 9" cake pans and divide batter in half). 2. In a large bowl or stand mixer, combine flour, sugar, oil, baking powder, vanilla, and salt until blended. 3. Mix in eggs 1 at a time. Make sure each one is incorporated before adding the next. 4. Stop periodically to scrap down the sides of bowl and bottom (don't miss this step or you'll get clumps!) 5. Mix in milk 1/2 cup at a time. Stop to scrap down sides and bottom in between. 6. Mix for 1 minute more so that all ingredients are thoroughly mixed in and batter is smooth.  7. Measure 1 and 1/3 cups batter into each 6" pan. Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until toothpick comes out clean. 8. Let cakes cool in pan for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, remove from pan and let cool on rack until completely cool. 9. Once cakes are cool, layer with lemon curd and frost outside of cake. Decorate to your liking.  Vanilla Buttercream Frosting 1. Using the paddle attachment of a stand mixer, beat butter on medium speed for about 3 minutes until smooth and creamy.  2. Turn mixer on low speed, add 6-7 cups of confectioners sugar (1 cup at a time). After adding each cup, turn the mixer to high speed to ensure the sugar has been incorporated. 3. Turn mixer to medium speed and add salt, vanilla, and cream.