Cakes & Bakes: Lemon birthday layer cake

Lemon birthday layer cake

It’s Justin’s birthday in less than a week. Unsurprisingly, when I asked what kind of cake he’d like, he said, “Lemon”. I turned to Delia, one of my favourites, and she didn’t let me down. I tweaked a recipe from her book, Delia’s Cakes to make him a lemon birthday layer cake.

mixing bowl containing sponge cake ingredients Putting lemon sponge cake batter into a cake tin

It’s based on her all-in-one sponge cake recipe where you sift the flour and baking powder together into a bowl before simply stirring in all the other ingredients.

Cooked lemon sponge cake in its tin Slicing layers out of sponge cakes

The recipe calls for two, 18cm diameter tins – a particular size that I don’t have. I do have one 20cm diameter tin which I used to bake the cakes in two batches. The extra 2cm meant my cakes were wider and shorter, but I still managed to slice them in half.

Lemon curd between layers of lemon sponge cake

I usually make my own lemon curd, but we’d been gifted a jar of Tiptree’s, so I used about ¾ of the jar. I covered the cake with whipped double cream flavoured with a little lemon extract and zest. If you prefer, you could add a bit of sugar to the cream mix, but I think the rest of the cake is sweet enough.

Lemon birthday layer cake

I would have also topped it with some birthday candles… but there wasn’t enough room for all of them!

Slice of lemon birthday layer cake

Click here to save the lemon birthday layer cake recipe to Pinterest

Lemon birthday layer cake recipe

Lemon birthday layer cake

Lemon birthday layer cake

Delia Smith
Cook Time 25 minutes
Course Party
Cuisine British
Servings 8

Ingredients
  

For the cake

  • 175 g self-raising flour
  • 1 level tsp baking powder
  • 175 g spreadable butter
  • 175 g golden caster sugar
  • 3 large eggs
  • ½ tsp lemon extract
  • 250 g lemon curd

For the topping

  • 150 ml double cream
  • ½ tsp lemon extract
  • zest of 1 lemon

To serve

  • zest of 1 lemon

Instructions
 

For the cake

  • Pre-heat the oven to 170ºC/ 325ºF / Gas mark 3
  • Grease and line a pair of 18cm/7" round loose-bottom cake tins
  • Sieve the self-raising flour and baking powder into a large mixing bowl
  • Add all the other ingredients and combine well
  • Divide the cake mixture equally between the prepared tins
  • Bake for 25 minutes
  • Remove from the oven and after about 30 seconds loosen the edges by sliding a palette knife all round then turn them out onto a wire cooling rack
  • Carefully peel away the liners. Lightly place another cooling rack on top of the cakes and flip them over so that their tops are facing upwards (this prevents them sticking to the cooling rack)
  • Allow to cool completely before slicing each cake in half horizontally using a sharp serrated knife
  • Put one slice on to a cake plate or cake stand base. Spread generously with ⅓ of the lemon curd. Put another slice on top and spread this one with another ⅓ of the lemon curd. Put the third slice on top and spread with the last of the lemon curd. Put the final slice on top

For the topping

  • In a large mixing bowl whisk together the double cream, lemon extract and zest of 1 lemon until stiff. Spread the mixture evenly over the top of the layer cake
  • Sprinkle over the zest of the other lemon
  • Slice and enjoy!
Lemon birthday layer cake ingredients
Keyword birthday, birthday cake, layer cake, lemon, lemon cake

Cakes & Bakes: Sponge cake with raspberry and mascarpone cream

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Slice of sponge cake with raspberry and mascarpone cream with a cup of tea and vintage orange enamel tea pot | H is for Home

A Victoria sandwich is a quintessentially British cake and this sponge cake with raspberry and mascarpone cream is a little twist on that. It follows the Delia Smith all-in-one sponge recipe that I use as the base of many of my sponge cakes.

I spread a few large dollops of the wild raspberry jelly I made in the summer between the layers and used a mascarpone/fromage frais mix instead of whipped cream. I like that little bit of acidity it gives to counter the sweetness of the jelly. This is a lovely cake to have for afternoon tea!

Sponge cake with raspberry and mascarpone cream

Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes
Servings 8 slices

Ingredients
  

  • For the sponge
  • 8 oz/220g self raising flour sifted
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • 8 oz/220g caster sugar
  • 8 oz/220g butter or margarine at room temperature
  • 4 large eggs
  • 4-6 drops vanilla essence
  • For the filling
  • 8 tbs raspberry jam or jelly
  • 250 g mascarpone
  • 200 g fromage frais
  • 1 tbs castar sugar
  • 3 drops vanilla essence

Instructions
 

  • Pre-heat the oven to 170ºC325ºF/Gas mark 3
  • Into a large mixing bowl, sift the flour and baking powder, holding the sieve high to give the flour a good airing. Then simply add all the other ingredients to the bowl, and whisk - preferably with an electric hand whisk - until thoroughly combined
  • If the mixture doesn’t drop off a wooden spoon easily when tapped on the side of the bowl, add 1 or 2 teaspoonfuls of tap-warm water and whisk again
  • Add equal amounts of the mixture to the 2 prepared tins, level off and bake on the centre shelf of the oven for about 30 minutes
  • When cooked leave in the tins for only about 30 seconds, then loosen their edges by sliding a palette knife all round and turning them out onto a wire cooling rack
  • For the filling, combine the mascarpone and fromage frais in a bowl; a balloon whisk will amalgamate them more quickly
  • Stir in the sugar and vanilla extract
  • Spread 4 tablespoons of jam/jelly over one of the sponge sandwiched, do the same with the other Spread the cream mixture over one of the sandwiches then put the other one, jam side down, on top
  • Press down carefully to sandwich everything together and finish off with a light dusting of icing or caster sugar

Piece of Cake

slice of chocolate sponge cake with dessicated coconut topping on vintage John Russell Black Velvet plate with coffee in matching cup & saucer | H is for Home

A new cake has been made for the tin by the kettle – a rather nice chocolate sponge cake with a coconut chocolate topping.

The recipe is taken from Delia Smith’s Cookery Course Part Two book. It’s based on her quick & easy ‘All-in-one sponge’ recipe:

  • 4oz/110g self raising flour, sifted
  • 1tsp baking powder
  • 4oz/110g soft margarine, at room temperature
  • 4oz/110g caster sugar
  • 2tbs cocoa powder
  • 2 large eggs
  • 2-3 drops vanilla extract

Pre-heat the oven to gas mark 3/325ºF/170ºC

Lightly grease a 7-inch/18cm sponge tin and line its base with greaseproof paper (also greased) or silicone paper.

Take a large, roomy mixing bowl, and sift flour and baking powder into it, holding the sieve high to give the flour a good airing. Then simply add all the other ingredients to the bowl, and whisk them – preferably with an electric hand whisk – till thoroughly combined. If the mixture doesn’t drop off a wooden spoon easily when tapped on the side of the bowl, then add 1 or 2 teaspoonfuls of tap-warm water, and whisk again.

Add to the prepared tin, level off and bake on the centre shelf of the oven for about 30 minutes. When cooked, leave it in the tin for only about 30 seconds, then loosen the edge by sliding a palette knife all round and turn it out onto a wire cooling rack.

To finish:

Melt 100g milk chocolate in a bowl over hot water (bain marie). Add 1tbs dessicated coconut to the chocolate and spread over the top. Finish with a further sprinkle.

It can be tweaked with all kinds of other flavours, fillings & toppings – vanilla, ginger, dried fruit etc. We also like the look of this new version that Delia has on her own website

If you prefer a thicker cake with a middle layer of butter cream, jam etc, just double the quantities, and use two tins.

close up of chocolate sponge cake on vintage John Russell Black Velvet plate with vintage Joseph Rogers cake fork

It’s delicious – give it a go next time you have a few minutes to spare – and enjoy it with a nice cuppa!