Romanian Lemon Cake (Snow White) (2024)

A glorious Romanian lemon cake with lemon buttercream – Lamaita (Lemon Cake) or Alba ca Zapada (Snow White Cake), this layered cake is just amazing!

This lemon buttercream cake is one of my favorite Romanian cakes! I like lots of them, of course, but the Snow White cake has a special place in my heart.

Why? Simply because it was one of the first truly typical Romanian cakes that I've tasted and actually liked. I've mentioned it before that as a child I was not really a cake or sweets person.

There were a few choice things I liked (like the Romanian Biscuit Salami - Salam de biscuiti or Arlechin), but the list was short. And most of the time I would not even try any cake; I just assumed I would not like it and ignored it.

It was at my mother's place that I had this cake for the first time. I was already grown up, so I thought I should get over it and just give it a try. I liked it so much, I could not stop eating it for a while. We even baked it together again a few days later.

Steps and tips for making lemon buttercream

• Start with making that delicious lemon buttercream, as the pudding will need time to get completely cool before you add the butter and the lemon juice.
• To make the pudding, you will need some flour, cornstarch, sugar, and milk. The procedure is the same as when making a regular pudding. You mix the flour, cornstarch, and sugar with enough milk to obtain a thick yet pourable paste.
• In the meantime, bring the remaining milk to a boil. Slowly start pouring in the flour mixture while whisking continuously to avoid the formation of clumps.
• Let the pudding bubble for about 20 seconds while stirring, and transfer to a bowl. Cover the pudding with a piece of cling film directly over the surface; this will prevent the pudding from forming a skin.
• While the pudding is cooling, take the butter out of the refrigerator and let it come to room temperature.
• It is very important that both the pudding and the butter have the same temperature (room temperature) when you start mixing them. Otherwise, the buttercream will curdle.
• Also, make sure that you don't taste the lemon buttercream while mixing it; the spit from your fingers will also cause the buttercream to curdle.
• So, once the pudding and the butter have reached room temperature, beat the soft butter until pale and fluffy.
• Mix the pudding with the freshly squeezed lemon juice. Start with about 8 tablespoons and add the remaining juice to taste. I always add all the 10 tablespoons; I love the buttercream to be really lemony.
• Slowly start adding the pudding, one tablespoon at a time, to the butter while beating all the time. Mix well.

How to make the pastry layers?

• This Romanian lemon cake consists of four layers of crust held together by the creamiest, most delicious lemon buttercream filling.
• The idea of baking four layers of crust might sound difficult or time-consuming, but it is really not the case.
• The dough is rather oily, which makes it really easy to roll, and it only needs about 10 minutes in the oven, a total time of 40 minutes, which is really more or less about the time you will need when baking a regular cake base as well.
• You should make the cake layers while waiting for the pudding to cool. The cake layers will also need some time to cool, but not as long as the pudding.

Using baker's ammonia

When first publishing the layered lemon cake recipe, I used baking soda to make the crusts. I wasn't bothered by the light baking soda after-taste, but I had readers saying that the after-taste was too domineering.

I suggested the use of baker's ammonia, although I had never usedthat when making this particular layered lemon cake. But I knew for afact that baker's ammonia is very popular in Romania and that my auntuses it a lot when making cakes.

What isbaker's ammonia?

The most important thing you have to know is that you should nevermistake baker's ammonia with cleaning ammonia. Cleaningammonia is poisonous!!!

Baker's ammonia or ammonium bicarbonate is what bakers used totake before the discovery of baking soda and baking powder. Those twoquickly replaced the baker's ammonia in baking due to one reason:baker's ammonia stinks!! Really badly!

That is why it is best to use the baker's ammonia for making "onlylow-moisture baked goods like crisp cookies and crackers thatthoroughly dry out during baking, lest the ammonia linger".

Once the cake layers are baked, there will be absolutely no lingering smell anymore. Nothing at all! And most importantly, there will also be no soapy-tasting after taste of baking soda or baking powder.

Bake and assemble

• You will have to bake the four cake layers or cake crusts on the back of a baking tin. This is a very often used technique in Romania; there are lots of layered cakes being baked this way.
• However, you can also bake the layers on a regular tray lined with baking paper, you just have to pay more attention, the layers should all have roughly the same size.
• You will only need to butter the back of the tin before baking the first layer. When baking the following layers, make sure you use oven gloves as the tin will be extremely hot.
• Roll the layers on a lightly floured surface in rectangles about the size of the tin. Transfer them to the back of the tin and roll or press the dough around to make it fit the back of the tin.
• The edges do not have to be perfect; you will cut them away anyway before slicing the cake.

• To remove the cake crust from the back of the tin, hold the tin firmly with a gloved hand and run a long knife underneath the cake layer. It works very easily; you will not have to worry about the crust getting stuck to the tin or breaking.
• Place the ready-baked cake layers on top of each other and let them cool completely. They will not stick to each other if stored this way.

• Divide the lemon buttercream into 3 equal portions and cover 3 cake layers with the buttercream. Use the nicest-looking layer to place on top of the cake.
• Cover the cake with cling film, place in the fridge, and let it set overnight. The lemon buttercream cake needs time to become really tender and develop the flavor.
• I also recommend using European-style unsalted butter; it has a higher fat content and less water, and it tastes better when making buttercream.
• I used about 10 tablespoons of freshly squeezed lemon juice for the buttercream, which would be the juice of 2-4 lemons, depending on their size.

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