Lemon Cheese Cake

Contrary to its name, there is no cheese in this old-fashioned Southern recipe. I've heard that the name comes from the fact that this cake resembles a big wheel of cheese. From what I know of her, my great grandmother was a wonderful cook and made the best homemade cakes (and one of those was lemon cheese cake). She passed on well before I came along, and although many of her recipes were passed down to my grandmother (and then on to me), lemon cheese cake was not of them. A few years ago, a cousin's request for this easy, but delicious cake led me on a little search for a recipe that would taste similar and this is the result.

This isn't necessarily the prettiest cake, mostly because the frosting is a little thinner than most. However, it's delicious, especially if your like me and prefer sweets with a little tartness.

The Ingredients:
The Cake:
1 1/2 sticks of butter, softened
2 1/4 c sugar
3 1/2 c cake flour
3 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt*
1 c milk
1 tsp vanilla
6 egg whites, beaten to stiff peaks
*I use kosher salt.

The Frosting:
9 egg yolks
1 1/2 c sugar
3 sticks of butter
Juice of 4-5 lemons
Zest from 2 of those lemons

1) Preheat oven to 375F.

2) In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, and salt, then set it aside. You can also sift the flour combination, too, if you want.

3) In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar together, then mix in the vanilla.

4) Add the flour mixture and milk alternately, mixing well after each addition.

The batter after the egg whites have been folded in.

5) Add the egg whites and fold them in.

6) Bake in three prepared 8 inch cake pans for about 30-35 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.

The Frosting:

The frosting right after coming off the stove.

1) Mix all of the ingredients together and cook in a double boiler until the mixture thickens (takes about 25 minutes or slightly longer). Make sure to stir constantly. Allow the frosting to cool before frosting the cake (it will thicken even more after cooling off).

2) Once the cake and frosting have cooled, spread the frosting in between the layers and on the outside of the cake. Since the frosting is thin, you'll most likely still be able to see the cake through it, especially on the sides.

Enjoy!