Magnolia Blossom Cake

Whisk together flour, salt and baking powder until thoroughly combined and set aside.

Rub the lemon zest into the sugar using your finger to express the lemon oils and intensify the flavor.

Crack eggs into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment. Beat the eggs on medium speed for 1 minute. With the mixer running, slowly stream the sugar in.

When the sugar is completely in, turn the speed to high and beat for about 7 minutes. The mixture should be light and fluffy.

Combine the milk and butter in a saucepan and gently heat until completely melted. Do not let it overheat or simmer. Set aside but do not let it cool off too much (do not do this ahead of time).

Add the flour mixture in three parts to the egg mixture just mixing until almost combined. If you still see flour, finish mixing by hand by folding the batter with a rubber spatula.

Add vanilla and oil to the milk-butter mixture and whisk to combine.

Remove two large spoonfuls of batter and add it to the milk-butter mixture and whisk to completely combine. This tempers your milk mixture so that it does not cook your egg mixture.

Pour the milk mixture into the rest of the egg mixture with the beaters running on low. Continue beating just 10-15 seconds more until combined.

Bake for 25-30 minutes. Remove from the pan and let cool completely. Level the cakes, if necessary. I use a serrated knife to slice uneven tops off.

Combine the honey with 2-3 tablespoons of water and heat for a few seconds in the microwave to thin the honey. Brush this mixture onto the tops and bottoms of the cooled cake layers.

Add the magnolia blossom sugar mixture to a medium saucepan with the milk. Cook over medium heat until simmering. Let steep for a few minutes before straining and discarding the blossoms.

Combine flour and sugar in another medium saucepan over medium heat. Whisk and cook for about 2 minutes to toast the flour.

Slowly add the magnolia blossom milk, whisking to combine, and turn heat to medium-high. Bring the mixture to a simmer, whisking continuously until it is thick and pudding-like. Once simmering, cook for an additional minute. Add pink food coloring, if desired.

Transfer the magnolia blossom pudding to a heat-proof bowl. Cover with plastic wrap so that it is touching the surface without any air bubbles in between to prevent a skin from forming. Let cool in the refrigerator for a few hours or overnight. Alternatively, Spread the mixture thin onto a sheet pan (covered with plastic) and chill for 30 minutes to cool it down faster. Ensure the mixture is cool, otherwise it will melt the butter.

Add the room temperature butter to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment and mix on high until very light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.

Add the cooled magnolia blossom pudding gradually, by the spoonful, while still beating. Incorporating the mixture slowly ensures a smoother consistency.

Add vanilla and salt, and mix until fully incorporated. Mix on low for a few minutes to remove large air bubbles. Transfer the buttercream to a large piping bag.

Cover the top of the first layer with a thin layer of buttercream with an offset spatula. Then pipe a border around the edge.

Fill with lemon curd, if desired. Place the second layer of cake on top.

Cover the entire cake with a thin layer of buttercream to create a crumb coat to seal in any crumbs. Freeze for 5-10 minutes to seal this coating.

When the crumb coat is set, pipe or dollop more frosting around the outside and on top. Spread evenly with an offset spatula before scraping down the outside with a bench scraper. You may need to do this several times to get a smooth look.

I found that keeping the bench scraper in a bowl of warm water before using it (drying it off in between) helped remove air bubbles on the outside and made smoothing even easier. If you need a visual on how to frost a cake, check out this video.

I garnished with squiggles of buttercream using a small plain round piping tip, as well as fresh magnolia blossoms.