Cakes are truly my weakness – This is my favourite spring-time cake recipe!
Ingredients
For the Cake
250g golden caster sugar
250g self-raising flour
1 tsp baking powder
5 large eggs
250g unsalted butter, softened
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tbsp milk
For the Lemon Curd
zest of 4 lemons
juice of 4 lemons
200g golden caster sugar
100g unsalted butter
4 eggs
Top tip: if your lemon curd doesn’t thicken then you can add 1tsp of cornflour. Also, if it scrambles then you can strain it through a sieve to make it smooth.
For the Topping
250g mascarpone cheese
2 tbsp golden caster sugar
300ml double cream
raspberry jam
fresh raspberries
1 passionfruit
Method
– Preheat the oven to 180°C / 160°C with a fan.
– Add the butter and sugar, to a free-standing electric mixer. Beat for 2 minutes until combined.
– Add the eggs and beat for 30 seconds. Add the vanilla extract, baking powder, flour, and milk. Beat for 2 minutes until fluffy and pale.
– Grease and line a 10″ cake tin. Transfer the cake mix to the tin. Place it in the oven and bake for 35-40 minutes. Make sure to check at 35 minutes by using a skewer to puncture the cake – it should come out clean. If it isn’t cooked then check every 5 minutes until it is.
– Once the cake is baked, remove it from the oven, and let it cool completely.
– To prepare the lemon curd, add the lemon zest, lemon juice, sugar, and unsalted butter to a pan. Bring this to a boil until the sugar has dissolved and the butter has melted.
– Meanwhile, add the eggs to a small bowl and whisk thoroughly.
– Turn off the heat and stir the lemon mixture continuously as you add the eggs slowly.
– Turn the heat back on and cook on low heat for 10 minutes until thickened. Then, transfer the curd to a bowl and place it in the fridge to cool down and set.
– In large bowl, add the mascarpone cheese and sugar. Mix well. Then, add the double cream and beat with an electric whisk until it forms soft peaks.
– To assemble the cake, add an even layer of raspberry jam to the top of the cake. Then, spread the icing over the cake roughly, creating little craters for the curd.
– Pour the lemon over the icing. Decorate with some fresh raspberries and passionfruit.