Lemon Layer Cake with Summer Berries

Ingredients

• For the cake:
• 3 cups all purpose flour
• 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 2 cups sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 4 large eggs
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 1/2 teaspoons lemon zest
• 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
• For the frosting:
• 6-8 cups of confectioner's sugar
• 2 tablespoons milk
• 1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon lemon zest
• For the filling:
• 6 ounces raspberries
• 6 ounces strawberries, cut into thin slivers
• For garnish:
• 4 ounces blackberries

Directions

1. Start the cake by heating your oven to 350 degrees F. Coat 3 9 inch cake pans with butter, then dust them with flour. Whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt in a small bowl. In a separate large bowl, use an electric mixer to beat the butter and sugar until the mixture looks pale and airy, about 3 minutes; a stand mixer with the paddle attachment on medium speed works too. Mix in the vanilla, then add the eggs one at a time. Add half of the flour mixture and beat it in, then mix in the milk. Add the rest of the flour mixture, followed by the lemon juice and lemon zest. Divide the batter among the prepared pans. Bake for about 20 minutes, until the cakes are faintly golden and a tester poked into the center comes out clean. Cool the cakes in their pans for fifteen minutes, then release them onto a wire rack.
2. While the cakes cool, prepare the frosting. In a large bowl, stir the butter, 6 cups of confectioner's sugar, milk, lemon juice, and lemon zest with a wooden spoon until everything comes together. Beat for 3 minutes, until the frosting starts to turn fluffy. Taste it now, and if you want it sweeter, work in the remaining 2 cups of confectioner's sugar in 1/2 cup additions, tasting as you go. Beat again until the frosting is thick and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
3. For assembly, mash the raspberries in a small bowl with a fork until they can be spread. Set the first cake layer on a cake stand or plate. Spread icing over it, then add an even layer of raspberries. Add the second cake layer, frost it, and arrange the strawberries evenly over the top. Set the last cake layer over the first two, then cover the top and sides with the remaining frosting. Finish by arranging the blackberries around the outer edge of the frosted cake.