Citrus Curd Layer Cake
Layered with homemade citrus curd, and cream whipped with sparkling wine, this cake is a fabulous way to celebrate Mum this Mother’s Day. The curd can be made ahead of time and stored in a sterilised jar in the refrigerator.
How long will it take?
1 ½ hours, plus cooling time
What’s the serving size?
Serves 12
What do I need?
For the Citrus Curd
- Zest and 60ml juice from 2 mandarins
- 1 lemon, zested
- 100 g caster sugar
- 2 large free-range eggs
- 100 g unsalted butter, softened
For the Cake
- 500g unsalted butter
- 500g caster sugar
- 6 mandarins, zested
- 8 large free-range eggs
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 500g self-raising flour, sifted
- ½ tsp salt
For the Whipped Cream
- 600 mL thickened cream
- 2 tbsp icing sugar
- 50 mL sparkling wine, optional
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- Edible flowers, to garnish
How do I make it?
- Start by making the cakes. Preheat oven to 180C and grease and line two 20-centimetre springform pans.
- Beat the butter, sugar and zest in an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well between each addition and scraping down the sides of the mixer as needed. Add vanilla, flour and salt and fold into the mixture until smooth. Divide mixture between the pans and bake for 40 minutes, or until a skewer inserted comes out clean. Cool cakes in tins for 5 minutes before turning out onto cooling racks.
- Meanwhile make the citrus curd. Whisk together the mandarin zest and juice, lemon zest, sugar and eggs in a saucepan and place on low heat. Cook, whisking continuously, until the mixture is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. Remove from the heat and slowly whisk in the butter until melted. Place a piece of clingfilm directly on top of the curd to prevent a skin forming and set aside to cool.
- Whip the whipped cream ingredients together using an electric mixer until firm peaks form.
- If needed, trim the top of the cakes to make them level. Carefully cut each cake in half horizontally. Put one layer of cake on a serving plate and spread with one-quarter of the cream. Add one-third of the cooled citrus curd over the cream, allowing it to slightly overflow down the side of the cake. Repeat for the next two layers and finish with the final layer of cake. Spread the top with the remaining cream and decorate with mandarin pieces and edible flowers. Refrigerate until serving.
