Fourth of July Lemon Layer Cake

Happy 4th of July! Celebrate with this Lemon Layer Cake all decked out in red, white and blue.

I'll make this quick since we all want to get to our picnics!

The cake, with 1 tablespoon of lemon zest added, baked in two 9-inch round pans which were lined with parchment paper and sprayed with cooking spray. Each layer is sliced in half horizontally when completely cooled to make a total of four layers.

The icing, flavored with vanilla extract and 2T lemon zest. Use the icing in a piping bag to make a "well" for the lemon curd filling between the layers. Ice the outside of the cake, with only a thin layer on the top. Use the piping bag with an Ateco #846 tip or similar to pipe the white stripes and stars and also the bottom border.

The lemon curd filling. Spread a 1/4" layer inside each layer's "well". Tip: zest the lemons before you cut and squeeze them for use in the icing and cake. Make the lemon curd a day in advance to give it time to chill.

Place the blueberries and raspberries on the top of the cake in a flag pattern, fill in with icing stripes pipe the stars right over the blueberries. Garnish the bottom border with more fruit.