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Bake until pale brown, set, and a little puffed, until a toothpick or cake tester inserted into the center of the cakes comes out clean, about 30 minutes. Cool completely before frosting with the Chocolate Whipped Cream.

To cool and unmold: Transfer to a wire rack and cool for 10 minutes, then unmold the cakes by inverting them onto a cutting board, removing the baking pans, and reinverting the cakes onto the wire rack to cool completely, about 1 hour.

To store: Do not ice. Wrap the cooled layers individually in plastic wrap and store at room temperature for up to 2 days.

To ice:. Spread the Chocolate Whipped Cream between the layers, over the top, and down the sides. Shave the bittersweet or semisweet chocolate through the large holes of a box grater or with a chocolate shaver over the cake; shave some of the chocolate onto a sheet of wax paper, then gently press this against the sides of the cake to get the shavings to adhere to the whipped cream. Once frosted, refrigerate for up to 4 hours before serving.

Variations: Any jam will do, provided it’s a little tart, like orange marmalade (so long as the chunks of orange are not too large). You can also use blackberry or apricot jam, but also add 1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest.

Chocolate Whipped Cream

Makes about 6 cups

3½ cups heavy cream

½ cup confectioners’ sugar

1 tablespoon cornstarch

7 tablespoons sifted unsweetened cocoa powder

Whisk 1 cup cream, the confectioners’ sugar, and the cornstarch in a medium saucepan set over medium-high heat until the mixture comes to a simmer. Whisking constantly, simmer for 30 seconds, then remove from the heat and cool completely, about 15 minutes.

Beat the remaining 2½ cups cream and the cocoa in a large bowl with an electric mixer at medium speed until the cocoa has dissolved. Increase the speed to high and continue beating until the beaters begin to leave tracks in the thickening cream.

With the beaters running, slowly add the cornstarch mixture. Continue beating until stiff peaks form, the kind you can mound on a rubber spatula. Ice the cake at once.

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All-Purpose v. Cake Flour

In truth, we tried every cake with all-purpose flour, more readily accessible; but some simply needed the higher starch of cake flour. If you simply can’t find cake flour, a somewhat tricky variation is to substitute 14 tablespoons all-purpose flour plus 1 tablespoon cornstarch for every cup of cake flour. The results won’t be as tender or light but they’ll be less gummy than if you’d used all-purpose flour only.

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Lemon Meringue Layer Cake with Lemon Curd Filling

This is a cake version of our favorite pie—a light, buttery cake, one layer with a meringue topping, and a lemony filling to go between the layers. Makes one 9-inch two-layer cake

1½ cups plus 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour, plus additional for dusting the pans

4 large eggs plus 2 large egg whites, at room temperature

1 cup plus 7 tablespoons sugar

¾ teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon finely grated lemon zest

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled, plus additional for greasing the pans

Lemon Curd Filling (recipe follows)

Position the rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350°F. Butter and lightly flour two 9-inch round cake pans; set aside.

Beat the 4 large eggs, 1 cup sugar, and ½ teaspoon salt in a large bowl with an electric mixer at medium-high speed; beat until very pale and doubled in volume, 8 to 10 minutes. Beat in the zest and vanilla.

Scrape down and remove the beaters. Fold in the melted butter with a rubber spatula just until incorporated. Add the flour and fold just until dissolved, until you can see no white bits in the batter. Divide between the two prepared pans.

Bake until lightly browned and springy to the touch, until a toothpick or cake tester inserted into the center of one of the layers comes out clean, about 25 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and cool for 10 minutes, then invert the layers onto the rack