Preheat your oven to 180°C/160°C fan. Grease two 20cm sandwich tins with butter or non-stick spray and line the base with a circle of baking paper.
In a medium sized bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt, and set aside.
In the bowl of a stand mixer with a paddle attachment (or large bowl if using a hand whisk), beat the softened butter on medium speed for around 30 seconds, to soften it a little more. Then add both sugars to the butter and beat on medium-high speed for 3 full minutes, until very pale and fluffy.
Next add the eggs one by one, mixing on low speed for around 20 seconds between each addition, finishing with the egg yolk. Then add the lemon juice, lemon zest and vanilla extract and beat for 20 seconds until just combined.
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Add 1/2 of the dry ingredients, mix on low until just combined, then add 1/2 of the buttermilk, and again mix until just combined. Repeat these steps until all added, finishing with the buttermilk. Do not over-mix!
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Pour the batter evenly into the two prepared sandwich tins and level the batter with a spatula or palette knife. They will each be about 2/3 full and the mixture will be slightly thick.
Bake on the middle shelf of your preheated oven for 25 minutes until golden brown, slightly shrinking away from the sides of the tins and a skewer inserted into the middle of each cake comes out clean. Do not open the oven door before this time or they may sink in the middle.
Place the cakes onto a cooling rack and then reduce the oven temperature to 120°C/100°C fan, ready for the meringue kisses.