In honor of a visit by Historian Gerald Smith, Foodie Friday went back to the Betty Crocker cookbook from the 1970s for the Bonnie Butter Cake recipe. 
Kathy Whyte/ WNBF News
Kathy Whyte/ WNBF News
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Lemon Butter Cake with Lemon Curd and Whipped Cream Frosting  (prep. time about 1 hour.  Serves up to 12)
2/3 C. butter, softened
1 3/4 C granulated sugar
zest of 1/2 lemon
juice of 1/2 lemon
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
3 C. flour
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1/1/4 C milk
1/2 jar lemon curd, 2 cup butter cream frosting for crumb coat before whipped cream frosting:
2 C heavy cream
1 C 10X (powdered sugar)
(optional crushed lemon hard candy)
Preheat oven to 350.  Grease and flour 2 9" round cake pans.  Combine flour, baking powder and salt in a bowl and set aside (paper bowls work well when gradually adding the flour into your wet ingredients.)  Combine sugar and lemon zest.  Start beating the butter with a paddle beater if using a stand mixer to smooth out.  Add in the lemon sugar and cream on high for about 2 minutes until fluffy.  Add eggs, one at a time on medium and mix in the lemon and vanilla.  Stop and scape down the bowl.  Add in about a quarter of the dry ingredients and begin mixing on low.  Add in a little of the milk and continue to mix, alternately adding the milk and flour until all-in.  Stop and scrape down the bowl.  Beat on medium-high about 5 minutes.  Divide the batter evenly between the cake pans and bake 30-40 minutes, moving from lower rack to upper rack about 2/3 way through the baking.  Cake is done when it springs back and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out dry.
While the cakes cool, chill the clean mixing bowl and whisk attachment in the refrigerator.  When the cakes are almost cool and pull away from the sides of pan, turn out and continue to cool on racks.  When totally cool, place one cake on a large plate or cake stand on top of four long strips that have been placed in an X (makes for a clean plate when you pull them out after icing the cakes).  Put some of the butter cream frosting in a plastic sandwich bag down to one corner point, snip the point and "pipe" and border around the edge of the top of the fist cake to form a dam.  Spread the lemon curd in the center and spread out to the icing.  Gently place the next cake on top.  Ice thinly with butter cream (some of the cake should show through).  Here you can set the cakes aside in the refrigerator until you are ready for the final icing. Put the powdered sugar and heavy cream in the cold mixing bowl and whip on high until the frosting is as stiff as you want it.
 Crush the lemon hard candy into small crumbles.  Ice the cake with the whipped cream frosting flipping little peaks all over the cake with the tip of a knife or off-set spatula.  Let set up in the refrigerator for a little bit before sprinkling the crushed candy on top for decoration and added lemony zing.
(**Here's the deal, it seemed like a really dense cake when I made it first as a teenager and it seems even less fluffy this time around.  Anyone who has tips on improving on the old, basic recipe (without the lemon flavor additions), please email me. kathy@wnbf.com)

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