Super Moist Lemon Lime Cake

Graduation week. December 2020, which means no in-person ceremony because of the pandemic. My degree was conferred by mail and I sat in my apartment kitchen and opened the envelope and read the diploma and Biscuit walked across my lap and paid no attention to this historic document, which is correct behavior for a cat.

I called Gloria immediately. She and James were sitting by the phone, I could tell by how quickly she answered. I said: it came. She said: read it to me. I read it. Doctor of Arts, Bachelor of Science, Early Childhood Education, with honors. She said: read that last part again. I read: with honors. She was quiet for a moment. Then she said: I have been waiting for you to be able to say that. I have been waiting for you to have that. I said: I know. She said: I know you know. James said in the background: congratulations, Savannah. He used my whole name. He uses my whole name the way he uses fine and well and good: with all the weight he has been saving for the right moment.

We celebrated on Sunday. Just the three of us, same as Thanksgiving. I brought a coconut layer cake with raspberry filling, which I had made Friday and which was technically perfect: the layers even, the filling bright, the coconut toasted and pressed into the frosting. James ate two pieces and said: that is a graduation cake. Yes. It is exactly that.

The coconut cake I brought that Sunday was made for James and Gloria — for the weight in James’s voice when he said my whole name, and for Gloria asking me to read “with honors” twice. But the cake I keep coming back to when I need something that tastes like brightness and earned sweetness is this Super Moist Lemon Lime Cake: layers that hold together, a crumb that stays tender, citrus that cuts right through any heaviness you’ve been carrying. It’s the kind of cake you make when something large has finally arrived and you want the food on the table to know it too.

Prep Time: 25 min | Cook Time: 35 min | Total Time: 1 hr | Servings: 12

Ingredients

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
2 cups granulated sugar
4 large eggs, room temperature
2 tsp pure vanilla extract
Zest of 2 lemons
Zest of 2 limes
3 tbsp fresh lemon juice
2 tbsp fresh lime juice
1 cup whole milk, room temperature
For the frosting:
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
4 cups powdered sugar, sifted
2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 tbsp fresh lime juice
1 tsp lemon zest
2–3 tbsp heavy cream
Pinch of salt

Instructions

Prep your pans. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease two 9-inch round cake pans, line the bottoms with parchment paper, then grease and flour the parchment.
Mix the dry ingredients. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
Cream butter and sugar. In a large bowl or stand mixer, beat the softened butter and sugar together on medium-high speed for 4–5 minutes until very light and fluffy, scraping the bowl as needed.
Add eggs and flavorings. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Mix in the vanilla extract and all of the lemon and lime zest.
Combine wet and dry. Stir the lemon juice and lime juice into the milk. With the mixer on low, alternate adding the flour mixture and the citrus milk in three additions each, beginning and ending with the flour. Mix just until combined — do not overmix.
Bake. Divide the batter evenly between the prepared pans and smooth the tops. Bake for 32–36 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean and the tops are lightly golden. Cool in the pans for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
Make the frosting. Beat the softened butter on medium speed until creamy. Add the powdered sugar one cup at a time, mixing on low after each addition. Add the lemon juice, lime juice, lemon zest, salt, and 2 tablespoons of heavy cream. Beat on medium-high for 3 minutes until light and fluffy, adding the remaining cream if needed to reach a spreadable consistency.
Assemble. Place one cake layer on a serving plate or cake board. Spread a generous layer of frosting over the top. Set the second layer on top and frost the top and sides of the cake smoothly. Garnish with thin lemon and lime slices or additional zest if desired.

Nutrition (per serving)

Super Moist Lemon Lime Cake — The One I Made When the Diploma Arrived