Lemon Cake with homemade Lemon Curd

The lovely people at Dr Oetker sent me some wafer butterflies to review.  As the weather is warming up and we are finally moving from winter to spring I decided to make a lemon cake with a homemade lemon curd filling. Initially I thought about making cupcakes but as I wanted a celebration cake, I decided a big cake would look more impressive.  If you like lemons, you'll love this cake. It's light, fresh and very zesty. The lemon curd filling and lemon buttercream on top added even more zing to the cake. 

The wafer butterflies come in a pack of 9. There are 3 different colours - blue, pink and green.  The wafer is edible and the butterflies are quite sturdy. You can shape the wings and they hold their shape well. They definitely added a 'wow' factor to the cake. I would be happy to buy these for myself and use them to decorate cakes and cupcakes. It's simple yet effective and everyone was impressed with the cake and decorations. 

 lots of lovely lemon zest 

 homemade lemon curd filling 

 piped buttercream roses

 a touch of butterflies 

For the cake
225g golden caster sugar
225g self-raising flour, sifted
1.5 teaspoons baking powder
25g cornflour
225g unsalted butter, at room temperature
4 large eggs
grated zest and juice of 2 large juicy lemons (otherwise use 3 lemons)

Lemon Buttercream icing (make a double portion if you want to cover the whole cake)
110g unsalted butter
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
Grated zest of 1-2 unwaxed lemons (you need 2 teaspoons)
300g icing sugar, sifted

Lemon curd
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
115g sugar
2 large eggs
2 large egg yolks
pinch of salt
85g butter

• Preheat the oven to 170c.
• Grease and line two 20cm cake tins.
• Cream the butter and sugar in a bowl until the mixture is smooth and pale.
• Combine the dry ingredients in a separate bowl.
• Add the eggs to the creamed mixture, one at a time, mixing for a few minutes after each addition, alternating the dry ingredients, and finally the grated zest and lemon juice. 
• Beat well after each addition, but again do not overbeat. 
• Divide the mixture evenly between the tins and bake in the oven for about 25 minutes until raised and golden brown. 
• Insert a skewer into the centre of one of those cakes - it should come out clean if it is cooked. 
• Remove from the oven and leave the cakes in their tins for about 10 minutes before turning out on to a wire rack to cool. 
• To make the lemon curd, place a fine mesh sieve over a medium bowl and set aside.
• In a medium pot, whisk together the lemon juice, sugar, egg yolks and pinch of salt.
• Place the pot over a medium-low heat and add the butter.
• Stir the mixture with a whisk. You may want to use a spatula to scrape down the edges. 
• Cook the curd until the butter is melted and the mixture is the thickness of warm hot fudge. 
• Remove from the heat and immediately pour into the fine mesh sieve over a medium bowl. 
• Press through the sieve leaving any cooked egg bits in the strainer. 
• Sandwich the cakes together with the lemon curd and pipe the buttercream on top. 
• Decorate with wafer butterflies. 

Disclaimer: I was sent a pack of wafer butterflies to review free of charge. I was not required to write a positive review, all opinions expressed are my own.