Lemon Cake with Fresh Raspberry Mousse Filling

A coworker requested a lemon cake for my next Wilton class cake and I was certainly very happy to oblige! I went straight to Good Things Catered....I knew Katie was a big lemon fan so I assumed she had a lemon cake in her blog and sure enough I was right!

This cake is just fabulous...do you need proof? Well I work in an office with only 8 other people besides myself, it's 10am, and 3/4 of it is gone. I really wanted the lemon to stand out in this cake, so I added 1 more lemon then what was called for which worked out great. The cake is not too tart but the lemon flavor is definitely in the forefront. The raspberry mousse is something that I just made up as I went along but it worked out great! I made sure to make it a bit on the sweet side to contrast to the strong lemon flavor of the cake. This cake is really perfect for springtime; it's light and fresh, with just the right amount of sweet!

Ingredients
Source: Good Things Catered

2 1/2 c. cake flour (I used AP flour, sifted very well)
1 3/4 c. granulated sugar
1 Tbsp meringue powder
3 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
2 extra large organic lemons, washed thoroughly then zested and juiced separately (I used 3 lemons)
2/3 c. milk
1/3 c. vegetable oil
3 egg whites, beaten
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Directions
-Preheat oven to 350 degrees and prepare two cake pans.
-In bowl of electric mixer sift and add flour, sugar, baking powder, meringue powder, salt, and zest of one lemon.
-Stir with mixer to combine, about 30 seconds.
-Add milk, oil, juice from two lemons, beaten egg whites and extract.
-Beat on medium to combine thoroughly, about 1 1/2 - 2 minutes.
-Remove from mixer and stir with silicone spatula to thoroughly combine (making sure there is no flour mixture left unincorporated at the bottom of the bowl.
-Fill prepared pans 2/3 of the way full and bake until toothpick inserted into center comes out clean (about 25-28 mins for 8 inch pans)
-Remove from oven, let cool 15 minutes in pan and then turn onto wire racks to cool completely.

Raspberry Mousse

Ingredients
-aprox. 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
-about 1/2 - 1 cup fresh raspberries, mashed with a fork
-aprox. 4 tsp granulated sugar
-1/4 - 1/2 tsp. raspberry extract (If needed)
-1/4 cup water
-1/2 packet Knox Gelatine

Directions
Whip the heavy cream to medium peaks. Add sugar to mashed raspberries and combine thoroughly. Meanwhile, sprinkle Gelatine over water and let sit for about 1 minute. Add Gelatine to the raspberry mixture and stir to combine. Fold raspberry mixture into the whipped cream, and add raspberry extract if desired. Spread on the top of the bottom layer of cake, and then put the top layer of cake over the mousse. Refrigerate cake until ready to serve so the mousse sets up.