Prep Time
30mins
Cook Time
20mins
Makes
1
Difficulty
Medium
Method
- Pre-heat the oven to 180C. prepare 2 x 20cm cake tins (either grease and line with baking paper or grease the tin and dust with flour, tapping and shaking out the excess)
- Using an electric whisk/ stand mixer/ some manual labour, beat together the sugar and butter in a large mixing bowl, until it is pale and fluffy. Add the lemon zest at this stage and mix it in a bit.
- Next, add the eggs, one at a time, to the creamed butter and sugar mixture. Continue to beat until the eggs are incorporated. Take care though not to over beat the butter otherwise it will split and the cake will be a bit greasy. If this starts to happen, add a spoonful of flour and mix it in.
- Sift the flour into the mixture and this time, using a spatula, fold in the flour until it is all incorporated. (tip: fold it in gently with a figure of 8 motion, taking care not to over-mix. If you over mix at this stage, the sponge will turn out tougher than Ant Middleton!).
- Add in the lemon juice and gently mix this in. You want the cake batter to be a soft dropping consistency (which is basically where the mixture should fall off the spoon). If it is too thick then add a tiny splash of water.
- Put the mixture into the two cake tins in equal amounts and using your best bricklaying skills, level them out so they’re flat and evenly spread. Then put them in in the oven to bake on the middle shelf. (don’t open the oven door half way through or anything, as this will cause the sponge to fall in the middle). Bake them for about 17-20 mins. Check if they are done by putting a skewer or knife into the middle. If it comes out clean, it’s done. If not then put it back in the oven and let it bake for a few more mins.
- Once baked, leave to cool for about 10 mins before removing each from the tin and placing on a wire rack until completely cool. Once cool, poke some holes in the sponges and drizzle with the the lemon juice and elderflower cordial (which you can just stir together in a bowl or jug).
- In the meantime, while you wait for the sponges to cool, make the frosting. Do this by first mixing together the butter and sugar with a spoon. If you put this straight into a stand mixer or use an electric whisk you will be cleaning icing sugar off your kitchen cupboards for the next 3 days! Beat together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the lemon zest and the cream cheese along with the elderflower cordial. Mix until incorporated. Put in the fridge until you are ready to use.
- Assemble the cake! First put a cake then layer of frosting and lemon curd then cake then layer of frosting and lemon curd (you get my drift). Tip* pipe around a circle of frosting on each sponge then place the lemon curd in the centre. This way, it won't ooze out of the sides and the cake will be more stable. If you want it to look extra pretty, decorate with some nice little edible flowers or petals.
