Happy Monday everyone, I hope you all had a really lovely relaxing weekend. I spent a lot of the weekend pottering in the kitchen whipping up lots of goodies for a beautiful afternoon tea party that the hugely talented Mel from All the Frills hosted and styled for 6 very lovely ladies. I can’t wait to show you all the photos from the tea party, everything really was far too perfect for words! I can however share a sneak peek of it and of course the delicious Vanilla Bean and Lemon Curd Layer Cake that I made - it’s such a lovely cake and the perfect chance to use the last of the delicious winter lemons before we head into spring. x
Recipe
Lemon Curd
Preheat oven to 150°C and place the jar you will store your curd in the oven for 20min, turn the oven off and allow the jar to cool before handling – this will ensure your jar is sterilized and safe to store your lemon curd in.
In a medium sauce pan, off heat, whisk together the sugar, lemon zest and eggs until combined. Then whisk in the lemon juice and salt and continue to whisk until smooth.
Add the butter to the lemon mixture and place the pan over a medium to high heat to cook, whisking constantly until the butter has melted. Continue to whisk until the curd is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon and small bubbles appear around the side of the pan – do not boil!
Remove the pan from the heat and continue to whisk until the curd cools down. Pour your lemon curd into the prepared jar and allow to cool completely before placing in the fridge.
Click here to see more tips for making your own delicious lemon curd.
Vanilla Bean Cake
Preheat oven to 180°C, butter and flour three 6” cake pans - or if you only have one reuse the same one for each cake. Cream butter, sugar and eggs together until nice and fluffy. Alternate adding the milk and flour to the butter mixture until combined, then add the and vanilla and continue to mix. Combine the baking soda and vinegar in a separate bowl, it will quickly foam up, once settled add to the cake batter and mix for another 2-3 minutes or until combined and smooth.
Pour 330g of cake batter to each cake pan and bake for around 20min or until a skewer inserted comes out clean. Allow to cool in the tins for around 5-10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely before icing.
vanilla bean and lemon curd buttercream
In a large bowl beat together the butter, milk and half of the icing sugar until combined. Gradually add in the remaining icing then the vanilla bean paste and lemon curd continue to beat until smooth and creamy – the longer you mix the icing the whiter and silkier it will get.
Assembling your layer cake
Once your cakes have cooled, using a bread knife gently level the cakes. Starting with the first cake, add a very small amount of icing to the cut side of the cake and stick it to the cake stand. Spread a thin layer of lemon curd to the top and sides of the cake before adding 1/4 cup of buttercream to the top - place the buttercream into the middle of the cake and very gently work the icing out to the edge of the cake, being careful not to ice the sides.
Place the cake into the fridge for about 10min to allow the icing to harden, add the next layer and repeat the above steps until you have three layers. Once done, very gently swirl a little (or a lot) of lemon curd onto the top of your cake – if the curd is a little to thick to drizzle, put a 1/4 cup of curd into a separate bowl and add either gradually add a teaspoon of hot water or lemon juice until you get the consistency you want to drizzle the curd over your cake. Serve with a delicious cup of tea and enjoy!
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