ruffle cake

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(adapted from martha stewart)

Tender Lemon Cake

12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature, plus more for pans
2 1/4 cups sifted all-purpose flour
2 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups sugar
3 large eggs
3/4 cup buttermilk
Zest of 1 lemon

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Butter three 6-inch round cake pans. Line with parchment; butter; dust with flour.
   
2. Sift flour, baking powder, and salt together in a medium bowl. With electric mixer, beat butter on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, 4 minutes. Add sugar; beat well. Reduce speed to medium; add eggs one at a time, beating well after each. Reduce speed to low; alternately add flour and buttermilk, starting and ending with flour. Stir in zest.
   
3. Pour batter into pan; bake, rotating halfway through, until tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Cool in pan on rack 15 minutes. Remove; let cool completely right side up on rack.
   
   
   

   swiss meringue butter cream
   1 pound (4 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
   1 1/2 cups sugar
   6 egg whites
   1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

   Beat butter with electric mixer until fluffy and pale. Transfer to small bowl.
   In double boiler over simmering water, whisk sugar and egg whites until warm and sugar is dissolved, 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer to clean bowl of electric mixer; beat on high with whisk attachment until fluffy and cooled, about 10 minutes.
   Reduce mixer to medium-low; add butter a scant 1/4 cup at a time, beating well after each addition. Mix in vanilla, then pink food coloring (I used  Americolor Electric Pink Soft Gel Paste .
   Switch to paddle attachment; beat on lowest speed 3 to 5 minutes. Leave at room temperature if using same day.
   

   
   Trim bottom layers; stack on cake round, with 3/4 cup butter cream spread over top of each. Add top layer; spread 1 cup butter cream over entire cake. Refrigerate 40 minutes until firm. Tint half remaining butter cream pink.
   
   

   

   Place cake on rotating stand. Lay flat a 12-inch pastry bag with #103 tip. Fill pastry bag from tip to top with pink butter cream. Hold bag vertically, slot of tip perpendicular to cake; use swift back-and-forth motion 1 inch wide to make ruffle, pulling tip up side. Turn cake stand slowly, piping circular ruffle over top.
   
   
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enjoy!