Lime curd cake

lime curd cake

This is a simple but really lovely cake. How the idea came about is as follows: during the Christmas period I had treated myself to a jar of homemade lime curd from a local deli, which I had planned to use during my guests invasion (message to the relatives that came to stay: this comment is not meant in a derogatory way, incidentally. I LOVE having people round. Honestly!). Surprisingly (NOT!) I forgot I had bought it and when the other day I found it in my cupboard and discovered with horror it was about to expire (ok, it HAD expired, but only just), I decided to use it double quick in order to spare myself the guilt feelings associated with buying something expensive and outlandish only to chuck it in the bin later on. I found the recipe on the BBC Good Food magazine but I adapted it quite significantly as  the original one contained rhubarb (which I didn’t have) and they used lemon curd  instead, but only to make the topping. I simply sandwiched mine with the lime curd so that it oozed out from the middle, and didn’t put any topping. Much simpler ! Sadly for Candi it contains quite a large amount of butter…but hey! Give it to your cholesterol unchallenged friends, I say, and have yourself only a teeny weeny slice. You know you want to….   Anyway, it is only a matter of time before they decide that butter, far from being a baddie, it’s ACTUALLY GOOD for you. One can’t but live in hope. Needless to say you could use lemon curd instead of lime curd to make it.

INGREDIENTS

• 225g unsalted butter, softened
• 225g caster sugar
• zest 1 unwaxed lemon
• 4 medium eggs at room temperature, beaten
• 75g ground almonds
• 200g self-raising flour
• 1 tbsp demerara sugar
• half a jar of lime or lemon curd

METHOD

1. Place the butter in a large bowl and beat with an electric whisk until light and fluffy, then add the caster sugar and lemon zest and beat again. Gradually add the eggs to the mixture, beating well with each addition, until fully combined. The mixture will begin to look glossy – if at any stage the mixture curdles, beat in a spoonful of ground almonds and continue to add the egg until it is all amalgamated.
2. Stir in the ground almonds, then the flour, and fold everything carefully together using a large spoon. Transfer the mixture into the prepared cake tin and finish with the demerara sugar sprinkled on top. Bake the cake at 180 degrees for 45 mins, or until a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean.
3. Transfer to a wire rack to cool slightly in the tin, then remove from the tin. When the cake is cold cut in half and sandwich it with the lime or lemon curd. Serve it with crème fraiche or a dollop of thick double cream

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