Lemon Curd Cake..

Lemon Cake is a favourite in our house, we bake it in all shapes and sizes, whether it's a loaf or little cupcakes, but today we are baking a round sponge cake.

When decorating this cake I piped buttercream in between the two sponges as the filling and in the centre placed a few dollops of lemon curd and smoothed them out, this gives a nice surprise when you cut into the cake.

Then for the icing on the top, I simply smoothed the rest of the buttercream over the surface of the cake, then placed 4 even dessert spoons of lemon curd in each corner then used a teaspoon to drag them out into the centre in a C motion.

For the fresh lemon in the centre, I cut a lemon in half then cut a round of one of the halves. I used some kitchen roll to dry excess juice off the lemon that might weep into the buttercream, then cut half way up the lemon, to the centre then twisted the two pieces opposite ways to create a twist, then placed it in the centre of the cake.

Recipe:

8oz Butter

8oz Caster Sugar

8oz/3-4 Room Temperature Eggs

5oz Self-Raising Flour

3-4 Drops of Lemon Extract

1tspn Baking Powder

Buttercream Recipe:

5oz Butter/Margarine

10oz Icing Sugar

2-3 Drops of Lemon Extract

Juice of half a lemon

2tbspn of Lemon Curd

Preheat oven to 170/150fan

Lightly grease 2 8inch tins with butter, I then line my tins the paper cake tin liners but using just butter is fine.

Cream together the butter and sugar until fluffy

Add the eggs and whisk until combined

Use a spatula to gather any excess mixture in the edges of the bowl

Sift in the flour and baking powder then whisk until all is combined

Add lemon extract and whisk again.

Split the mixture between the two tins, remember to weigh both tins so that they’re equal weights

Bake one at a time for 25-30mins, until the surface of the cake is firm and a testing skewer comes out clear

Once both cakes are cooked, leave to cool in tins for 10mins then transfer to a cooling rack

For the icing:

Add butter to a small mixing bowl

Sift in icing sugar, add the lemon extract, juice and curd then whisk until combined and smooth.

Happy Baking!