Lemon Cake recipe from 1961

 

I found this yummy lemon cake recipe in a newspaper dated January 14, 1961.

INGREDIENTS

Cake:

• 2 ½ cups sifted all-purpose flour (300g)
• 2 tsp baking powder
• ½ tsp baking soda
• ½ tsp salt
• 1 lemon, juice & rind
• 1 cup pitted dates (550g)
• ½ cup unsalted butter (113g)
• ½ cup white sugar (100g)
• ½ cup brown sugar (100g)
• 3 eggs
• 1 cup milk (approx.)

Lemon Filling:

• ¾ cup white sugar (150g)
• 1 tbsp corn starch
• ¼ tsp salt
• ¾ cup water
• 1 tbsp butter
• 1 tbsp lemon rind
• ⅓ cup lemon juice

Cream Cheese Buttercream Frosting:

• 250g cream cheese, softened
• ½ cup unsalted butter
• 3 cups powdered sugar (375g)
• ½ tsp salt
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tsp lemon juice

Note: All ingredients should be room temperature unless otherwise stated.

Method:

• Preheat oven to 350°F/175°C
• Grease two 8-inch cake pans

Cake:

1. Sift cake flour and measure or weigh.
2. Sift flour, baking powder, baking side, and salt. Set aside.
3. Grate 1 lemon.
4. Squeeze the juice of 1 lemon into a measuring cup and add enough milk to make 1 ¼ cups of liquid.
5. Put lemon rind and dates into a food processor and pulse until about the size of small raisins.
6. Coat fruit with ½ cup of the flour mixture. Set aside.
7. In a large bowl, cream butter, white sugar, and brown sugar.
8. Add eggs, one at a time. Fully incorporate each before adding the next one.
9. Beat in fruit.
10. Add flour mixture and milk/lemon liquid alternately — beginning and ending with the flour mixture.
11. Pour the batter evenly into two greased  8-inch pans.
12. Bake in a preheated oven at 350°F/175°C for 25-30 minutes or until done.
13. Cool in pans for 15-20 minutes, then fully cool on a cake rack.

Lemon Filling:

1. Mix sugar, corn starch, and salt in a saucepan.
2. Stir in water gradually. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Boil 1 minute.
3. Remove from heat and stir in butter and lemon rind.
4. Add lemon juice gradually.
5. Set aside to cool.

Cream Cheese Buttercream:

1. Beat butter and cream cheese until creamy and well-combined.
2. Add powdered sugar, vanilla, salt, and lemon juice.
3. Combine until smooth.

Assemble & Frost Cake:

1. Pipe a border of buttercream on the first layer and fill in with lemon filling.
2. Top with the second cake layer, and ice as you like.

White Chocolate Drip:

1. Melt 170g of white chocolate.
2. Add 28ml of warm water.
3. Add yellow food coloring.
4. Let cool slightly. 
5. Use a piping bag, squeeze bottle, or spoon to nudge the warm chocolate over the edge of the cake. (Make sure your cake has been in the fridge for at least 20 minutes, or the freezer for 10 minutes to help the chocolate set as it drips and to prevent the warm mixture from melting your frosting.)

Enjoy!

Original newspaper clipping: