Pumpkin pie, step aside. This year I went unconventional for Christmas dessert and made the Fiddlehead's Ann's Lemon Cake (pg. ). It was light, had a nice balance of sweet with tart, and was a hit with the fam. I did suffer some serious rising issues (twice), and had to resort to using yellow cake box mix to layer with the lemon curd and lemon syrup.
I couldn't figure where I went wrong. I whipped the eggs and sugar until light and fluffy, then folded them into the flour/cornstarch mix to bake. After producing two unrisen, dense pancakes (which were supposed to slice in thirds), I was pushing up against 3:00 and opted for the box mix backup. Could it have been my egg/sugar wasn't fluffy enough? Or that my cornstarch was inactive (the label says it expires in 2012)? It tried to rise in puffs here and there, but just didn't have enough umph for the whole thing. Hmm...
The final product was delicious despite. Two layers of sweet-tart curd spread between three slabs of lemon syrup-drizzled cake made each bite moist and packed with flavor. Smothered in whipped cream, Ann's Lemon Cake is a bright delight to enjoy for the holidays...
I just made this and had issues with with my rising, too. Ugh! I don't know what I did either. I had the same problem with this recipe years ago. It's the only cake recipe in the book that I've had problems with.
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