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: Lemon curd and jelly tarts

Home-made lemon curd and fruit jelly tarts with a cup of tea | H is for Home

I had a bit of leftover lemon curd from last week’s Pavlova recipe… I also have jar upon jar of home-made fruit jelly in the store cupboard. As someone who hates to waste anything, I thought I would make some simple lemon curd and jelly tarts.

Making pastry tart cases | H is for Home

Whether you’re rubbing in by hand or using a food mixer, the shortcrust pastry is a breeze…

Filling pastry tart cases | H is for Home

…then fill with your preserve(s) of choice and bake. Start to finish in an hour or so. Perfect if you want to rustle up something quickly – or try a bit of baking with the kids.

Cooked lemon curd and fruit jelly tarts | H is for Home

You can leave them plain & simple – or perhaps pretty them up a bit. I garnished the top of the lemon curd tarts with a single blueberry and the jelly ones with a little sprinkle of dessicated coconut.

Adding garnishes to lemon curd and fruit jelly tarts | H is for Home

They’re a good finger food for a party or an afternoon or high tea. They’re simple, inexpensive and delicious – a great combination!

Click here to save the recipe for later!

Home-made jelly and lemon curd tarts | H is for Home
Lemon curd and jelly tarts
Yields 24
Cook Time
15 min
Cook Time
15 min
Ingredients
  1. 180g/6oz plain flour
  2. pinch of salt
  3. 90g/3oz cold butter, cubed
  4. 3-4 tbsp cold water
  5. 8tbsp lemon curd
  6. 8tbsp fruit jelly or jamHome-made lemon curd and jelly tart ingredients
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Instructions
  1. Put the flour and salt into a food processor and whiz briefly together to mix
  2. Add the butter cubes and pulse briefly a dozen times or so until you have coarse crumbs
  3. Trickle in the water continuing to pulse until the mixture resembles rough lumps and looks a bit like overcooked and dry scrambled eggs. Add only as much water as you need
  4. Tip the clumped crumbs onto a sheet of cling film and gently squeeze together into a ball without pressing too hard
  5. Wrap & chill in the fridge for at least 30 minutes
  6. Preheat the oven to 180ºC/350ºF/Gas mark 6
  7. Lightly grease a tartlet tin
  8. On a lightly floured work surface, roll the pastry out thinly
  9. Using a pastry cutter slightly larger than the circumference of a tartlet hole, cut out pastry rounds
  10. Press the pastry rounds evenly into each hole (I use the end of my rolling pin as a tamper)
  11. Fill each pastry case with about a teaspoon of lemon curd or jelly/jam
  12. Bake for 15 minutes
  13. Allow to cool for 5 minutes in the tin before attempting to remove them
  14. Allow them to cool completely on a wire rack
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Cakes & Bakes: Lemon curd

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Lemon curd layered sponge cake | H is for Home #recipe #lemon #lemoncurd #cake #spongecake

For someone who claims to hate lemons, I sure cook a lot of lemon-based Cakes & Bakes recipes!

This week, I needed one lemon for something or other but saw one of those string bags of lemons in the supermarket for a whole 25p – cheaper than buying it singly.

I ended up with half a dozen lemons in the fruit bowl that needed using up. More drizzle cake? Cookies? Sorbet? Meringue?

I’ll let you in on a secret. Even though I generally can’t bear the taste or smell of lemon, I LOVE lemon curd – I don’t know why! Lemon curd on hot, buttered toast is divine – and it’s a doddle to make.

I found a really simple recipe in my favourite celebrity chef, Delia Smith’s Cookery Course Part Two. I scaled up her recipe which made enough to fill two 400ml Mason jars. As well as being good on breakfast toast, you can use it in a sponge sandwich like I did here, lemon curd tarts or lemon roulade.

Lemon curd sponge sandwich with jar of home made lemon curd

Don’t worry if your mixture looks like it’s curdling when it begins to cook. Once the temperature is low, you keep stirring and the butter begins to melt – it will all be fine!

Lemon curd

Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 1 hour
Course Condiment
Cuisine British
Servings 2 x 400ml Mason jars

Ingredients
  

  • 300 g/10½oz caster sugar
  • 4 large lemons finely grated zest and juice
  • 8 large eggs
  • 200 g/7oz butter

Instructions
 

  • Put the grated lemon zest and sugar into a large bowl
  • In a large measuring jug, whisk the lemon juice together with the eggs
  • Pour the lemon juice & egg mixture over the zest & sugar mixture
  • Add the butter cut into small cubes and put the bowl over a pan of just simmering water
  • Stir frequently until thickened - about 30 minutes
  • Decant into sterilised jars before screwing the lids down tightly
Keyword curd, lemon, lemon curd