Meet the Maker: Citrus Collection (+ a Delicious Lemon Butter Cake Recipe)

Jan 27, 2023

During the long, chilly and often dark days of winter, we at Sur La Table are on the hunt for sunny, bright flavors to help usher in spring.

Which is why, this season, we’re falling head over heels for the brightest, sunniest flavor of them all: citrus!

In fact, we’re so silly for citrus, that we were inspired to add a little zest to our homes with a line of dinnerware that pays homage to the season’s shining star.

To bring this collection to life, we partnered with Denver-based artist and fashion designer, Hillary B. Sorrentino.

Hillary earned a BFA in Fashion Design from the Rhode Island School of Design in 2002 and has spent the last two decades honing her skills and talent in the fashion industry. We sat down to with her to learn a bit more about her work and her inspiration for our Citrus dinnerware collection:

What was your inspiration behind the collection?

The collection was inspired by the classic beauty of citrus and its important role in the kitchen. I created the design by firstly [sic] researching images of lemon trees, and then painting them in my own loose, painterly style.

The border was really just me experimenting with my brush to create a graphic complement to the citrus trees and fruit clusters.

Tell us a bit about yourself and your art background.

I have always been drawing and went to RISD to study fashion design actually! But after a few years in the industry, I moved into textile and now home design. I also recently relocated from NYC to the Denver area with my family; it’s been a great change!

Where do you find your daily inspiration?

My daily inspiration comes from checking out Instagram, looking at vintage on Etsy, and also my own home library. I own a large collection of books that range from 17th-century botanical illustrations to vintage Christmas cards.

I love having all of these resources in my home studio to browse and be inspired by when a new project is commissioned!

***

And because we’re all about food and finding new ways to celebrate seasonal flavors, here’s a tangy, creamy, soul-satisfying Lemon Butter Cake recipe that’ll have you dreaming of sunny days ahead.

Check it out below.

Lemon Butter Cake

Original recipe by Kerrygold

Photography by Karlee Flores of Olive & Artisan

Serves: 8–10

Ingredients

Cake:

8 tablespoons Kerrygold unsalted butter, softened (plus extra for buttering cake tins)
all-purpose flour for dusting cake pans
¾ cup sugar
4 eggs, separated
½ cup whole milk
1 teaspoon lemon extract
2 cups cake flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt

Buttercream:

4 egg yolks
½ cup sugar
⅓ cup light corn syrup
1¼ cups Kerrygold unsalted butter, softened
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon lemon zest
½ teaspoon lemon extract

Procedure

To make the cake:

1.Heat oven to 350°F.

2. Butter two 8″ round cake pans; dust with flour, tapping out excess.

3. In the bowl of an electric mixer with a paddle attachment (or use a hand mixer), beat the butter and sugar on medium speed until light.

4. On low speed, beat in egg yolks, one at a time.

5. Beat in milk and lemon extract; mixture may look curdled but will smooth out when flour is added.

6. Whisk together flour, baking powder and salt. Add to butter mixture; beat on low speed just until smooth.

7. In the bowl of an electric mixer with a whisk attachment (or use a hand mixer), beat egg whites until stiff but not dry.

8. Stir one-fourth of the egg whites into the batter; fold in remaining egg whites until no streaks remain.

9. Spread batter in prepared pans, dividing it equally

10. Bake about 25 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.

11. Cool in pans 5 minutes; turn out onto a rack and cool completely.

To make the buttercream:

1.Lightly oil a heatproof glass measuring cup.

2. In the bowl of an electric mixer with a whisk attachment (or use a hand mixer), beat egg yolks on high speed until light.

3. While yolks are beating, in a small saucepan, heat sugar and corn syrup over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture comes to a full boil. Immediately pour into measuring cup.

4. With mixer off, pour one-third of the sugar syrup onto egg yolks; beat on high speed for 5 seconds. Repeat with remaining syrup in 2 additions. Beat until cool.

5. Add butter, a few tablespoons at a time. Add lemon juice, zest and extract, beating until smooth.

6. If not using immediately, refrigerate buttercream in an airtight container; bring to room temperature and beat until smooth before using.

To assemble the cake:

1.Trim 1 cake layer so that top is flat; brush off any crumbs.

2. With metal spatula, spread a layer of buttercream on trimmed layer.

3. Place second cake layer, rounded side up, on top of first layer.