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Perfect Golden Sunburst Leo Cake: Easy Homemade Birthday

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A stunning lemon cake with a golden sunburst design, featuring moist layers soaked in lemon syrup and topped with silky Swiss meringue buttercream. Perfect for celebrating birthdays or any special occasion.

Ingredients

Scale
  • 3 cups all-purpose flour
  • 2 ½ teaspoons baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
  • 2 cups granulated sugar
  • 4 large eggs, room temperature
  • 1 tablespoon lemon zest
  • ¼ cup fresh lemon juice
  • 1 cup buttermilk
  • ½ cup sour cream, room temperature
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • ⅓ cup fresh lemon juice (for syrup)
  • ⅓ cup granulated sugar (for syrup)
  • ¼ cup water (for syrup)
  • 5 large egg whites (for buttercream)
  • 1 ½ cups granulated sugar (for buttercream)
  • 2 cups unsalted butter, softened and cubed (for buttercream)
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract (for buttercream)
  • 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (for buttercream)
  • Yellow gel food coloring
  • Gold luster dust (optional)
  • Yellow sanding sugar or gold sprinkles
  • White chocolate candy melts (optional)

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C). Grease three 8-inch round cake pans, line bottoms with parchment paper, and grease parchment.
  2. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
  3. In a stand mixer with paddle attachment, beat butter and sugar on medium-high for 4-5 minutes until light and fluffy. Scrape bowl.
  4. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each. Add lemon zest, lemon juice, and vanilla; beat until combined.
  5. With mixer on low, add one-third of flour mixture, then half of buttermilk. Repeat with another third of flour, remaining buttermilk, and final flour. Mix just until flour disappears. Fold in sour cream gently.
  6. Divide batter evenly among pans (about 1 ½ cups each). Bake 24-28 minutes, rotating halfway, until toothpick comes out clean. Cool in pans 10 minutes, then turn out onto wire rack.
  7. Make lemon syrup: combine ⅓ cup lemon juice, ⅓ cup sugar, and ¼ cup water in a small saucepan. Heat over medium, stirring until sugar dissolves. Cool slightly, then brush generously over warm cake layers.
  8. Make Swiss meringue buttercream: combine egg whites and 1 ½ cups sugar in a heatproof bowl over simmering water. Whisk until sugar dissolves and mixture reaches 160°F (71°C). Transfer to stand mixer with whisk attachment; beat on high until stiff and glossy (8-10 minutes). Switch to paddle attachment; add butter cubes one at a time on medium speed. Mixture may look curdled; keep beating until smooth. Add vanilla, lemon juice, and yellow gel food coloring; beat until combined.
  9. Assemble cake: place one layer on serving plate, spread ¾ cup buttercream. Repeat with second layer. Place third layer bottom-side up. Apply thin crumb coat; refrigerate 20 minutes.
  10. Apply final thick layer of buttercream, smoothing. Fill piping bag with Wilton 1M star tip with remaining buttercream. Pipe spiral from center outward on top, then pipe star-shaped rays radiating from center to edges. Sprinkle with yellow sanding sugar. Optionally, brush gold luster dust mixed with vodka onto rays.

Notes

Room temperature ingredients are essential. Don’t overmix batter. Use an oven thermometer for accuracy. Level cake layers for easier stacking. Chill cake before piping sunburst design. For gold luster dust, mix with vodka or clear vanilla extract to paint on buttercream.

Nutrition

Keywords: lemon cake, birthday cake, sunburst cake, Leo cake, lemon buttercream, Swiss meringue buttercream, golden cake

Find it online: https://spoonette.com/perfect-golden-sunburst-leo-cake-easy-homemade-birthday/