Lemony lemon curd cake - Greg

Lemony lemon curd cake

Ingredients
As rule of thumb, for proportions, use half the amount of eggs to oz of flour, sugar and marg) eg. Tiny cake 6 oz. flour, marg and sugar, and 3 eggs

For a large cake (square or large round 2 layers)

For the sponge cake:
6 medium eggs
12 oz. Stork margarine
12 oz. caster sugar
12 oz. self raising flour
Generous tablespoon of pure vanilla extract (not essence)
Approx half a jar of the best lemon curd you can find – I used Tesco Finest…crap lemon curd is rubbish!

For the icing and decoration:
Icing sugar (loads)
1-2 Egg whites
1-2 massive spoons of lemon curd
2 lemons

• Turn oven to 180°, and line the bottom of your two tins with slightly greased greaseproof paper (or if you are cooking the two cakes - bottom and top separately if you’ve only got one tin – will have to do this twice!)

• Measure the ingredients out.

• Add the sugar and margarine into a bowl, and beat together until a creamed consistency, best to do with an electric whizzy whisk for about 2 minutes.

• Crack eggs into a separate small bowl and beat with a fork or whisk.

• Next add the beaten egg and sieve flour to the creamed sugar and marg mixture. But it is key to add a little of both at a time. A bit of egg and a bit of sieved flour and electric whisk it for a minute, until all is added. This prevents flour going absolutely EVERYWHERE too.

• Then add the vanilla extract and whisk a bit longer, for about two minutes or so solidly, until you are happy everything is mixed in and a creamy airy cake consistency, to ensure the cake will be light and fluffy!

• Spoon half of the mixture into each of your two cake tins evenly, so same amount is in each to make the top and bottom of the cake, and spread into the corners with a spoon so none of the greaseproof or gaps can be seen.

• By this time your oven should be preheated, and time to pop in to oven towards the middle. It should take roughly 18-25 mins. YOU MUST keep an eye on them to make sure they do not overcook or burn, and they should be golden/golden brown on top when cooked. To test it’s cooked, put a knitting needle in through the centre, if it comes out clean it is cooked, if not a needs a bit longer. The cake works better in wider tins so the mixture is a lot shallower depth rather than a small tin and having very deep mixture – otherwise the top burns and doesn’t cook evenly throughout.

• Take out and leave to cool on a wire mesh tray.

• When totally cooled down, spoon lemon curd onto your middle cake, and spread with knife or pallet knife. If you are icing the whole thing including sides of the cake, then don’t overload with lemon curd to the edges otherwise all spills out when you press top cake on. And it gets messy. If not icing whole thing – feel free to load to edges so it dribbles over the edges – yummy!

• Place top cake on top of the middle cake that you have just spread with lemon curd and lightly press together.

• Prepare the icing by separating 1-3 egg whites into a bowl depending on how much icing you like (read on). In a separate larger bowl sieve icing sugar.

• I am never good at strict quantities on icing as it’s a trial and error process I find, just need to add the egg white into the sieved icing sugar and beat with a spoon until shiny and smooth and thick. If it is runny, you need more sugar; if it is a bit too firm and solid, and hard to spoon through, you probably need more egg white. I think I used about half a big square box of icing sugar to ice sides of and top of a square cake generously, but its entirely up to you.
• NB. Using egg white instead of water makes the icing sets rather than still be watery hours later after spreading it on the cake. Also add one to two tablespoons of the lemon curd too as part of your “liquid content” to make it extra lemony without being too sharp.

• Add the icing to the cake with a spoon in blobs evenly and use a pallet knife to spread. Have a mug of warm water to dip the pallet knife into spread the icing smoother and not get stuck to the knife. You will have to pallet knife the sides which can be tricky but persevere until you feel your iced masterpiece is done.

• Grate the rind of 2 large lemons and sprinkle on top of the icing. The more lemon rind – the more lemony goodness will infuse your icing…

• Optional – when iced – feel free to melt white chocolate in a bowl over gently simmering water in a pan, and fill decorative moulds and place in fridge for added swanky decoration…

• Your masterpiece is created and all that is left is to eat it.