Chocolate Lemon Naked Cake

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This decadent naked chocolate and lemon cake is showing off all its delicious layers.

I have mixed emotions about Valentine’s Day. It’s a good excuse to gang up on your loved one with all the cheesy and mushy stuff because they can’t object. It’s a great reminder for us older folks that romance isn't, and shouldn't be, dead.

On the other hand, I feel it’s forced. I thought I’ll throw it out there in case you care about my opinion. You don’t? Oh well.

Since my husband chose Valentine’s Day to propose (I told you it’s a good day to get mushy and a bad day to object) we really can't ignore it. I find flowers, teddy bears, and chocolate in heart-shaped boxes kitschy and overrated. I know that my husband thinks something naked is much more romantic than those items and since I am the kind of wife that caters to my husband’s wishes I will give him a naked…wait for it….cake.

Not just any cake but a cake with his favorite flavors – chocolate and lemon. No, I will not serve it naked mainly because he might lose his appetite. 🤣

I have a good recipe for a chocolate cake that is moist (apparently moist is a bad word, who knew) and not too sweet and another recipe for a white chocolate filling that I haven't tried before. That was a mistake and it took me two days to fix the filling to my liking.

I really hope that if and when you try any of my recipes and it doesn't turn out well you will be kind enough to let me know. We all make mistakes and typos happen but for the love of food let us know we screwed up. I always read recipe reviews looking for tips and suggestions that have not been updated in the original recipe and this one for the filling had nothing but praises.

Since the filling was still a bit on the softer side and since the cake is for Valentine’s Day I skipped frosting the entire cake and left it naked. I kind of like the naked look – what you see is what you get.

Chocolate Lemon Naked Cake

Ingredients:
For 6 or 8-inch cake pan

Chocolate Cake:

• 1 stick Butter
• ½ cup Sugar
• 2 Eggs
• 1 cup all-purpose Flour
• 2 tablespoons Cocoa
• 1 teaspoon Baking Soda
• 1 tablespoon Apricot Jam
• 1 cup Greek-style plain Yogurt

Lemon Filling:

• 1 bag (12- oz.) white Chocolate Chips
• ½ cup Heavy Cream
• 1 cup Mascarpone Cheese
• Juice and zest of ½ Lemon

Directions:

Chocolate Cake:

1. Prepare an 8-inch springform cake pan using a round piece of parchment paper on the bottom and baking spray on the sides. I used a 6-inch pan (not a springform) and I also sprayed the parchment paper to ensure the cake comes out in one piece.
2. In a small bowl combine all dry ingredients and set aside. With an electric mixer, beat together butter and sugar until fluffy and creamy. Add eggs and mix on medium speed until combined and smooth. Alternating and ⅓ at the time mix in dry ingredients, yogurt, and jam.
3. Pour batter into the prepared cake pan and bake on 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 40-45 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.
4. Remove the cake from the oven and allow to cool for 10 minutes. Remove cake from the pan and finish cooling on cooling rack. Once the cake has cooled, use the serrated knife to cut off the cake dome, then cut the cake in two, or three if you baked it in 6-inch pan, even layers.

Lemon Filling:

1. In a small saucepan bring heavy cream to boil over medium-low. Remove pan from heat and add white chocolate chips. Whisk until mixture is smooth, and then cool to room temperature. Add lemon zest, lemon juice, and Mascarpone cheese. If the mixture is too stiff add heavy cream, one tablespoon at the time. Cover bowl with clear wrap and refrigerate for two hours or until set.
2. Spread the lemon filling over each cake layer. For a naked look, do not frost the entire cake. I placed a dark chocolate covered cherry on the top of my cake but you can decorate as you desire. Store the cake in the refrigerator for up to a week. Remove cake from the refrigerator 10-15 minutes before serving.

What special treat are you making for Valentine's Day?

Chocolate Lemon Naked Cake

This decadent naked chocolate and lemon cake is showing off all its delicious layers.

0 from 0 votes

Print Rate

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 45 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour 5 minutes

Servings: 8 servings

Calories: 368kcal

Author: Jas

Ingredients

• ▢ For 6 or 8-inch cake pan

Chocolate Cake:

• ▢ 1 stick Butter
• ▢ ½ cup Sugar
• ▢ 2 Eggs
• ▢ 1 cup all-purpose Flour
• ▢ 2 tablespoons Cocoa
• ▢ 1 teaspoon Baking Soda
• ▢ 1 tablespoon Apricot Jam
• ▢ 1 cup Greek-style plain Yogurt

Lemon Filling:

• ▢ 1 bag 12- oz. white Chocolate Chips
• ▢ ½ cup Heavy Cream
• ▢ 1 cup Mascarpone Cheese
• ▢ Juice and zest of ½ Lemon

Instructions

Chocolate Cake:

• Prepare an 8-inch springform cake pan using a round piece of parchment paper on the bottom and baking spray on the sides. I used a 6-inch pan (not a springform) and I also sprayed the parchment paper to ensure the cake comes out in one piece.
• In a small bowl combine all dry ingredients and set aside.
• With an electric mixer, beat together butter and sugar until fluffy and creamy. Add eggs and mix on medium speed until combined and smooth. Alternating and ⅓ at the time mix in dry ingredients, yogurt and jam.
• Pour batter into cake pan and bake on 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 40-45 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Remove the cake from the oven and allow to cool for 10 minutes. Remove cake from the pan and finish cooling on cooling rack.
• Once the cake has cooled, use the serrated knife to cut off the cake dome, then cut the cake in two, or three if you baked it in 6-inch pan, even layers.

Lemon Filling:

• In a small saucepan bring heavy cream to boil over medium-low. Remove pan from heat and add white chocolate chips. Whisk until mixture is smooth, and then cool to room temperature. Add lemon zest, lemon juice, and Mascarpone cheese. If the mixture is too stiff add heavy cream, one tablespoon at the time. Cover bowl with clear wrap and refrigerate for two hours or until set.
• Spread the lemon filling over each cake layer. For saucepan look, do not frost the entire cake. I placed a dark-chocolate-covered cherry on the top of my cake but you can decorate as you desire. Store the cake in the refrigerator for up to a week. Remove cake from the refrigerator 10-15 minutes before serving.

Nutrition

Calories: 368kcal | Carbohydrates: 37g | Protein: 10g | Fat: 20g | Saturated Fat: 12g | Cholesterol: 91mg | Sodium: 258mg | Potassium: 85mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 15g | Vitamin A: 688IU | Vitamin C: 4mg | Calcium: 96mg | Iron: 1mg

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This recipe was featured at Talented Tuesday & What'd You Do This Weekend.