1.Preheat oven to 325. Butter cake pans. Dust with flour, and tap out excess.

2.Whisk together flour, lemon zest, and salt in a bowl.

3.With a mixer on medium-high speed, beat butter and sugar until pale and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Beat in cream cheese. Reduce speed to low. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until incorporated after each. Beat in flour mixture in 3 additions, alternating with the lemon juice and vanilla, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Beat in food coloring.

4.Pour batter into prepared pans (batter amounts and cooking times follow). Bake until a toothpick inserted into centers comes out clean and cakes have pulled away slightly from sides. Let cool completely in pans on wire racks. Run a knife around edges of cakes to loosen. Unmold. Cakes can be wrapped tightly in plastic and refrigerated for up to 1 week.