Rosemary Lemon Cake with Mascarpone Honey Frosting

I stumbled across a picture on Pinterest of a gorgeous baked alaska decorated with sunflowers and thought “ Wow I have to make that.” After reading the recipe, however, there were a lot of flaws to my plan.
For starters I don’t have an ice cream maker, which the recipe required. Then you needed a blowtorch to caramelize the meringue, which I also did not have. Finally I don’t really like meringue that much so I didn’t want to make a cake covered in it. So instead of making the cake I decided to use it as inspiration. My second inspiration was found in a rosemary + honey latte at the Mud House in St. Louis. I thought the flavor combination was very warm, comforting, and just what my belly wanted. So  why not make a rosemary and honey cake covered in daisies and add a bit of lemon to the recipe-- because what is anything without a zest or squeeze of lemon in it? Here is a cake that was created by my inspirations and is sure to fulfill your taste buds! 

Rosemary Lemon Cake with Mascarpone-Honey Frosting

makes one 2 layer 8-inch cake {recipe can easily be doubled to make 4 layers}

For the cake

{ 2 Tablespoons fresh rosemary, chopped / 

2 Tablespoons grated lemon zest (that was about 2 ½ lemons for me) / 1 1/4 cups granulated sugar / 

12 Tablespoons (that's 1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature / 

3 room temperature eggs / 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract / 

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour / 1 teaspoon baking Powder / 1/2 teaspoon salt / 1 cup milk }

Prepare the cake: Preheat the oven to 350 F. Butter and flour two 8 x 2-inch deep round cake pans, tap out any excess flour.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the rosemary, lemon zest, and sugar. Use your fingers to rub the rosemary and lime into the sugar until moist and fragrant. Add the butter. Using the paddle attachment, beat on medium speed until light and fluffy. Scrape down sides of the bowl. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. After you add the final egg, beat in the vanilla extract until the batter is pale and thick.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt.

Alternate adding the flour mixture and milk to the batter, beginning and ending with the flour and only beating until each addition is just combined - scape down the bowl as needed.

Divide the batter evenly between prepared cake pans. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until the cakes are golden and a tester inserted into the center of a cake comes out clean. Remove the pans from the oven and place onto cooling rack(s). Allow the cakes to rest in the pans for about 15 minutes before removing. Cool completely before adding the filling and frosting. {Note: The cakes can be made two days ahead of time. Be sure they're tightly covered in saran wrap and store in the refrigerator.}

For the lemon curd filling

{ 1/2 cup lemon juice / 1/2 cup granulated sugar / 2 egg yolks / 2 eggs / 1/4 teaspoon salt

3 Tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into cubes }

Place a mesh strainer over a large heat-proof bowl: Set aside.

In a medium saucepan over low heat, whisk together the lemon juice, sugar, egg yolks, and eggs. Add the cubes of butter and stir until the butter has melted. Turn the heat up to med-low. Stirring constantly, cook until the mixture thickens and takes on an almost pudding-like consistency (this can take 8-12 minutes depending on the heat level). Strain the curd into the heat-proof bowl. {Note: The mesh strainer will catch any egg white that might have curdled during the cooking process.} Allow the curd to come to room temperature. Press it has cooled off, press a piece of saran wrap directly on the surface - to prevent "skin" from forming. Refrigerate until ready to use.

*** If you do not have a mesh strainer, I would highly recommend getting one. I had a tiny tiny one that went over the top of a can and I struggled hard core. I believe they are fairly cheap and are used in a variety of recipes. The next time I go to the store, a mesh strainer will definitely be on the top of my list.

For the frosting  (This frosting is SO delicious!!)

{ 2 (8 oz.) containers mascarpone cheese /
 2 c. heavy whipping cream / 


¼ c. granulated sugar / 
1 tbsp. vanilla extract }

First beat the heavy cream in a medium bowl until it forms stiff peaks (about 3-4 minutes). Next mix together the mascarpone cheese, honey, vanilla, and salt in a large bowls together. Then gently incorporate the whipped cream into the mascarpone cheese mixture. Add more honey to your taste. If you have extra rosemary, feel free to chop some of it up and through it into the frosting. Also if you want more of cheese flavor you can reduce the whipping cream to 1 cup and double the mascarpone cheese. Mascarpone cheese is just very expensive, so I’m a bit stingy with it. 

Assembly

Simply spread a layer of lemon curd on top of the first round cake. Then top it with a layer of frosting. Place the next cake on top and spread a layer of lemon curd. Follow that with a layer of frosting and continue to frost the sides of the cake. Next I just took some of the daisies that I picked earlier that day and washed them. Cut off the stems and arrange them however you like on the cake. Voilà your masterpiece is complete, Enjoy!