Tangy, zesty, sweet, voluptuous lemon curd. Friend to families across the ages. Too poetic? Maybe, but it’s so easy to make and doesn’t so much knock the shop-bought stuff out of a cocked hat, so much as push it over and laugh at it. It stores for a good 3 weeks in the fridge, so it makes sense to make it. I bought really good shop stuff for my lemon and sultana buns, but one reminding taste of the home made stuff and I’m reassured that it is no substitute for the real thing. Spread on a slice of brioche, it is unbeatable.

In a small saucepan, and on a very low heat, put 2 oz unsalted butter.

Once it has melted, add 4oz sugar

and the zest and juice of 2 plump and large, or in my case, 4 small and miserable lemons.

Put 2 eggs and 1 extra egg yolk in a bowl and beat them well.

Add the eggs to the saucepan and stir in thoroughly. Taste it to make sure it’s sweet enough. I ended up adding nearly another ounce of sugar, but my lemons were particularly mean and spiteful.

Stir over the lowest of low heats and don’t let the mixture bubble at all during this process, or you will end up with scrambled eggs. If you get a scary moment – like a white piece of egg – whip the pan off the heat and beat it like a maniac. Try not to cry though – that would be a step too far.
It’s ready when the mixture coats a spoon; that is, dip the spoon in to the curd

and draw a line, with your finger, down the back of it and the clean line remains,then you’re there.

Pour into a bowl, cool and put in the fridge. It will thicken as it cools.
Keep it in a jar or sealed container in the fridge for about 3 weeks – if you can keep it that long.

Spread it on bread,

or add to whipped cream, use as a filling for a cake – the list goes on.

One word of advice though – don’t just cover it with clingfilm. I have done that in the past and every time I go to the fridge there’s a hole where a 4 yr-old’s finger has been inserted and licked. I am confident that the finger will not have been sanitised before or after this quick taster and more to the point, there’s no way of knowing how many times that finger went from mouth to lemon curd. *shudder*

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Lemon Curd

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2oz unsalted butter
4-5oz sugar (add 4oz, then check sweetness as it cooks)
zest and juice of 2 large, or 3-4 small, miserable lemons
2 eggs and 1 egg yolk, beaten

In a small saucepan, and on a very low heat, melt the butter.
Add the sugar, zest and juice.

Add the eggs and stir in thoroughly. Taste it to make sure it’s sweet enough.

Stir over the lowest of low heats and don’t let the mixture bubble at all during this process, or you will end up with scrambled eggs. If you get a scary moment – like a white piece of egg – whip the pan off the heat and beat it like a maniac. Try not to cry though – that would be a step too far.
It’s ready when the mixture coats a spoon; that is, when you dip the spoon in to the curd and draw a line, with your finger, down the back of it and the clean line remains,then you’re there.

Pour into a bowl, cool and put in the fridge. It will thicken as it cools.
Keep it in a jar or sealed container in the fridge for about 3 weeks – if you can keep it that long.

Spread on bread, add to whipped cream, use as a filling for a cake – the list goes on.

Mmmmmmmm.We have lunch with Mum and Dad on Sundays, and the afternoon is ‘try a new cake’ day.This cake was yesterday’s offering and is a delightful recipe from a dear little book called  ‘Good Food’s 101 Teatime Treats’.

I felt sure I would want to tweak it, but in fact it needed little altering – brilliant recipe.

Butter and line two 20cm/8″ sandwich tins and preheat the oven to 180C/350F/gas mark 4.

Put 6oz softened butter, 6oz caster sugar and the zest of 3 oranges into a large bowl.

Cream until fluffy (high five!)

Beat in 4 egg yolks, then sift in 4oz self-raising flour, 1tsp baking powder and 4oz ground almonds and gently fold in.

Fold in the juice of 1 orange.

Whisk the 4 egg whites until they are just holding their shape (the shape of a lady’s legs, in this case)

and gently fold this in too, in 3 lots.

Divide the batter between the two tins …

and bake for 30 mins, or until golden and, erm, cooked. Cool in the tin for 5 mins, then remove from tins and cool completely on a wire rack.

The icing now. Melt 8oz white chocolate very gently in a bowl resting over a saucepan of hot water. Take the bowl off the saucepan and allow the chocolate  to cool.

With a handwhisk, whip a 200ml carton of creme fraiche until thickened. (It says on the side of the carton that it can’t be whipped, but apparently you can).

Add the cooled, melted chocolate and blend the two together.

Now. At this point, you need to put it in the fridge to firm up. The instructions don’t tell you to do this, but if you don’t, you go from this:

to this:

No panic. Stick the top layer on and ice the top and sides of the cake, poke a wooden skewer through to the bottom to make sure the top doesn’t slide off, then stick it in the fridge to firm it up. Smooth the whole thing around with some more icing once it’s looking less sloppy.

Then 4 yr old Alex asks if he can decorate it with sprinkles. So you say ‘yes’.

I was going to tastefully top it with white chocolate scrolls or something along these lines, but this was more fun to watch.

“Chefs don’t lick their fingers when they’re cooking”. He said this phrase a lot. He so very desperately wanted to lick his fingers, but I was hovering like a bird of prey, so he just talked himself down.

Anyway. It’s a moist, flavourful cake and the icing is reminiscient of cheesecake. Just delicious.

Yeah, you might want to go a bit more formal with your decoration…

but however you decorate it; do make it.

Here’s the recipe.

Orange and White Chocolate cake

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6oz unsalted butter, softened
6oz caster sugar
zest of 3 oranges and juice of 1 orange
4 eggs, separated
4oz self raising flour
1 tsp baking powder
4oz ground almonds

Icing
8oz white chocolate
200ml carton creme fraiche

Preheat oven to gas mark 4/180C/350F
Grease and line two 20cm/8″ sandwich tins

Cream the butter, sugar and zest until fluffy.
Beat in the egg yolks.
Add the flour, baking powder and ground almonds and fold in.
Add the orange juice and gently fold in.
Whisk the egg whites until just holding their shape and gently fold in in 3 additions.
Divide the batter between the two tins and bake for 30 mins.
Cool in the tins for 5 mins then turn out and cool on a wire rack completely.

For the icing, put the chocolate in a bowl on top of a saucepan of barely simmering water. Be very careful it doesn’t overheat.
Take the bowl off the saucepan and set to one side to cool to room temperature.
Using a hand whisk, beat the creme fraiche until it thickens and holds its shape.
Blend the chocolate into it.
Put the icing in the fridge to firm up a little then use to sandwich the two cakes together and ice on top. Alternatively, ice between the cakes and all over.
Decorate as you wish – sprinkles, chocolate scrolls, more orange zest, whatever tickles your fancy.