Natasha's Creative Confections: Lemon-Raspberry Cake

I made this cake for my dad's birthday :) He picked out the recipe (which was from an old recipe card he found somewhere, or at least it looks very 1970s) and had been asking about this cake for sometime, so I figured it would be the perfect birthday cake.

I made a cake like this the first time I made one from scratch. It was exactly the same, but similar. That cake didn't turn out the way I thought it would, so I was hoping this one would be better. This cake was pretty quick to make--maybe because I forgot 2 of the ingredients (the extracts)--but it didn't seem to make the cake taste bad, which was nice. Since the recipe called for stirring in the extracts after everything had already been added, I just forgot that part because I'm used to beating it in before the flour and milk.

This cake wasn't my favorite, but I've realized that I'm not big on lemon flavor. I loved the raspberry filling though! Raspberry is one of my favorite fillings--it's just so tasty! I was very impressed with how the cake looked after I finished decorating it. :)

For the Cake:
-1 cup shortening
-2 cups sugar
-4 large eggs
-3 cups sifted cake flour
-2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
-1/2 teaspoon salt
-1 cup milk
-1 teaspoon almond extract
-1 teaspoon vanilla extract
-1 jar seedless raspberry preserves

1. Grease 3 (9-inch) round cake pans; line with parchment paper. Grease and flour paper. Set pans aside.
2. Beat shortening at medium speed of an electric mixer until creamy; gradually add sugar, beating well. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Combine flour, baking powder, and salt; add to shortening mixture alternately with milk, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Mix after each addition. Stir in flavorings.
3. Pour batter into prepared pans. Bake at 375 degrees F for 18-20 minutes or until a knife inserted into the center comes out clean.
4. Cool in pans on wire racks for 10 minutes; remove from pans, and let cool completely on wire racks.

For the Lemon Buttercream Frosting:
-1 1/4 cups butter, softened
-2 teaspoons grated lemon rind
-3 Tbsp. lemon juice
-3 cups sifted powdered sugar

1. Beat first 3 ingredients at medium speed of an electric mixer until creamy.
2. Gradually add powdered sugar, beating until frosting is of spreading consistency.

To Assemble the Cake: Place 1 layer on a cake plate; spread with 3 Tbsp. preserves. Repeat procedure with next layer, but do not add preserves to top layer of the cake. Spread frosting on top and sides of cake.