Sour cream lemon cake with lemon curd

Lemon trees in many of our gardens are currently laden with ripe bright yellow, juicy fruit and these are the more common popular variety, called Meyer lemons....used to make the lemon cordial from our childhood.
The more acidic varieties which I prefer to use for cooking have pale yellow skins and the fruit tends to be firmer. To extract maximum juice microwave the fruit a few seconds. These varieties are called Lisbon, Yen Ben and Genoa. The juice of these lemons enhances and lifts the flavour of many dishes.

Sour cream cake

The following Lemon cake recipe is easy and makes an attractive large cake or can be used to make small or mini cakes for variety.

Cake Ingredients:

• 250g butter, softened

• 2 cups, sugar

• 6 lightly beaten eggs

• 4 tsp lemon rind, finely grated 2 cups

• flour

• 2 tsp baking powder

• 1 cup light sour cream

Glaze ingredients:

• Juice of 1 lemon

• 1⁄4 cup sugar

• Method: Combine juice and sugar

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Method:

1. Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy

2. Add eggs and lemon rind, blend well

3. Fold in flour and baking powder alternately with sour cream

4. Mix gently until smooth and pour into a well-greased 20cm spring bottom tin Bake at 160°C Bake, (150 C fan bake) for 60 mins, or until the skewer comes out clean when tested

5. Small cakes will take approx 20 mins

6. After baking leave cake(s) in the tin for a few mins, pour over glaze. Leave for an additional 20 minutes then gently remove from the tin

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Lemon Curd

Ingredients:

• 3 eggs

• 1 cup caster sugar

• 250g butter (unsalted)

• Rind and juice of 3-4 lemons (Lisbon)
  
  

  Method:

1. Beat eggs and sugar together in a stainless steel bowl; add cubed butter, rind and strained juice of lemons.

2. Cook over a saucepan of gently simmering water, whisking constantly until curd is thick, creamy and delicious.

3. Do not leave unattended, as the curd will cook like scrambled eggs on the edge of the bowl.

4. If you want to do something else at the same time, then I suggest a china bowl is more practical, as the heat transfer is slower so the curd does not have to be constantly mixed.

Lemon Icing

1. Grated rind and juice of half a lemon.

2. Add icing sugar to thicken juice and to make a thin icing (approx 1 cup) combine together until desired consistency is reached

To make small lemon curd tartlets

1. Make your own pastry or roll out a pre-rolled sheet of sweet shortcrust pastry more thinly

2. Stamp into rounds and line mini muffin tins.

3. Freeze pastry shells.

4. Bake from frozen in a preheated oven at approximately 180°C
   (160 C fan bake) for about 10 minutes until pastry is light golden in colour and

   cooked through. 

5. To serve: Put a spoonful of curd in the tartlet base and top with a violet or a mini meringue

   Optional: Put a small dollop of sour cream on top of the curd for variety

Small lemon curd tarts are good to serve with coffee in place of dessert. The pastry shells and curd can be made in advance.

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Photography by Pippa Marffy