Tag: sponge layer cake

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
Print recipe Pin recipe
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: Pecan sponge layer cake with maple syrup buttercream frosting

Slice of pecan sponge layer cake with maple syrup buttercream frosting

It feels like it’s been ages since I made an iced sponge cake; it’s something we enjoy mid-afternoon with a cuppa. I recently replenished the stock of dried fruits and nuts in my pantry so I decided to bake a pecan sponge layer cake with maple syrup buttercream frosting.

Creamed butter & sugar and 3 eggs Sifting sponge flour and baking powder

During lockdown I couldn’t get my hands on any flour, so I stocked up on different types that I bought online direct from Shipton Mill. One was their soft cake and pastry flour; the consistency of the cake was much lighter as a result. I won’t be going back to plain old self-raising in a hurry!

Chopped pecans on a wooden board

Pecans are probably my favourite nuts to cook with however, you can try this recipe using walnuts or brazils instead.

Pecan sponge cake batter in two round lined cake tins Two cooked pecan sponge cake layers

I have a very sweet tooth, so the amount of frosting suits my taste. If you think it’s too much, you could always use 100 grams each of butter and icing sugar and 50ml of maple syrup.

Ingredients for maple syrup buttercream frosting

It’s pretty much the best cake we’ve had in a long time, lovely with coffee or tea.

Pecan sponge layer cake with maple syrup buttercream frosting

Click here or on the image below to save my pecan sponge layer cake with maple syrup buttercream frosting recipe to Pinterest

Pecan sponge layer cake with maple syrup buttercream frosting recipe

Pecan sponge layer cake with maple syrup buttercream frosting
Serves 8
Cook Time
30 min
Cook Time
30 min
Ingredients
  1. 175g/6oz butter, softened
  2. 175g/6oz caster sugar
  3. 3 large eggs
  4. 175g/6oz self-raising flour, sifted
  5. 1tsp vanilla extract
  6. 50g/1¾oz pecans
For the frosting
  1. 300g/ icing (powdered) sugar, sifted
  2. 150g/ butter, softened
  3. 100ml maple syrup
To finish
  1. 8 pecan halvesPecan sponge with maple syrup buttercream frosting ingredients
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For the cake
  1. Pre-heat the oven to 170ºC/325ºF/Gas mark 3
  2. Grease & line two 18cm/7-inch round cake tins
  3. In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter & sugar until light and fluffy
  4. In a measuring jug, whisk the eggs and mix in the vanilla extract
  5. Add the eggs, bit by bit, into the butter/sugar mixture stirring constantly
  6. Carefully fold in the flour in 3 or 4 rounds, trying not to lose the airiness in the mixture
  7. Chop the pecans, fairly finely, and carefully fold them into the mixture
  8. Divide the batter equally between the two prepared cake tins, gently levelling the tops with the back of a spoon
  9. Place them on the centre shelf and bake for 30 minutes or until the tops have turned golden brown and a skewer inserted into the middle comes away clean
  10. Put the cakes, still in their tins, on a cooling rack for 5 minutes. Then, remove them from the tins, peel off the parchment liners and allow to cool completely
For the frosting
  1. Combine the softened butter and icing sugar
  2. Stir in the maple syrup until the mixture is light and fluffy
  3. Set aside while the cake layers cool completely
To finish
  1. Use about a ⅓ of the frosting to sandwich the two cakes together
  2. Spread the rest on the top and sides of the sandwiched layers and stud the top with the 8 pecan halves
Notes
  1. Instead of self-raising, I used cake flour to which I added 2 tsps baking powder
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