This is the lemon cake for people who don’t typically like lemon cakes. I know, because I’m one of them. My friend Sarah recently celebrated her 30th birthday, and I wracked my brain for at least a month beforehand to come up with the perfect birthday cake for her. She’s an accomplished baker in her own right, so I didn’t want to make something she’d typically make herself. Then it hit me like a ton of bricks: LEMON! Sarah’s husband isn’t the biggest fan of lemon desserts, so

I have a confession to make: I don’t generally like lemon desserts. Give me your creamy, your chocolate, your vanilla-based confections – I’ll take anything soft, buttery, and caramelized. Lemon can so often overpower, it vanquishes all other flavor, from cheesecakes to sugar cookies. Bleh. But not this time. A few weeks ago, my friend Danny came to me with a deal: he’ll do my taxes for me (an odorous affair) in exchange for an anniversary cake for his wife. He wanted a mock