Lemon Poppy Seed Cake

Step 1

To make the cakes: Arrange an oven rack in the middle position. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease the bottoms and sides of three 8-inch cake pans with butter and line the bottoms with parchment paper.

Step 2

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the granulated sugar and oil until combined. Add the eggs, one at a time, whisking to fully combine after each addition. Whisk in the yogurt, almond flour, lemon zest and juice, poppy seeds and almond extract. Sprinkle the all-purpose flour, baking powder, salt and baking soda evenly over the top of the batter and give the dry ingredients a rough little whisk before incorporating into the batter. Whisk until just combined. Pour into the prepared pans.

Step 3

Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean and the top is golden; begin checking for doneness at 32 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool in the pans for 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Step 4

To make the vanilla buttercream frosting: In a large mixing bowl or in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the powdered sugar, butter and salt until combined and crumbly. Add the heavy cream, vanilla and almond extract and beat until creamy. Add about a quarter of the frosting to a piping bag fitted with a medium round tip (this will serve to pipe an interior border between layers to keep the jam from seeping out). Add another quarter of the frosting to a small bowl and dye it blue to desired shade. Transfer half to a piping bag fitted with a medium round tip (for piping the decorative border) and the remaining half to a piping bag fitted with a small round tip (for writing).

Step 5

To assemble the cake: Trim the tops of the cakes to create a level surface. Place a dollop of buttercream into the middle of an 8- or 10-inch cardboard cake round, then gently adhere the first cake layer, cut-side up. Apply buttercream on top and spread into an even layer. Pipe a border of plain buttercream around the perimeter. Then gently spread half of the raspberry jam all over, inside the border. Stack the second layer of cake on top and repeat with the buttercream and remaining raspberry jam. Finish with the final cake, cut-side down. Decorate the entire cake with the remaining buttercream. Pipe blue pearls around the bottom and top perimeter of the cake with the medium-tipped piping bag of blue buttercream. Apply gold dragees around the sides. Use the small-tipped piping bag of blue buttercream to write your preferred message. Finish with some gold sprinkles on top and a cake topper.