Luscious Lemon Curd Victoria Sponge

For all my fabulous followers! This is a twist of the normal Victoria sponge recipe and has a lemon curd layer between the sponges as well as lemon frosting! The lemon in the cake mix makes the sponge nice and light and moist, and the tartness of the curd balances out the sweetness of the frosting.


Ingredients 
 
For the sponge

• 200g  Caster sugar
• 200g Soft butter
• 200g Self raising flour (try Doves Farm and Glutafin)
• 1/2 Tsp vanilla essence
• Grated zest of two small lemons
  

For the lemon curd

• 50g Butter
• 1 Large Egg
• 2 Heaped tsps of cornflour or potato flour
• Juice and zest of a large lemon
• 2oz Caster sugar  

For the lemon frosting

• 8og Butter
• 250g Icing sugar
• Rind of 1 lemon 
• A few drops of yellow colouring (optional)
• 25ml Milk

Method

• Pre-heat the oven at gas 5 and grease and flour 2 cake tins. If your the patron saint of baking parchment as I am the thought of not lining the tins will be enough to make you feel sick but after trying the grease and flour method I must say it was pretty good and the sponge didn't stick, so give it a go!
• For the sponge whizz the butter and sugar in a blender or by hand until fluffy and well mixed.
• Next add the eggs one by one and mix well, before adding the vanilla essence, lemon rind and then the flour mixing well until all the ingredients are blended and the mixture is smooth.
• Divide the mixture between the between the 2 tins and bake in the oven for 20-25minutes. Resist the urge to open the oven door before time. The top of the cakes should be golden brown and will pop back if you give them a poke.
• While your sponge is in the oven you can get on with making the frosting and curd.
• Whack all the ingredients for the frosting bar the milk into a mixer (or work your gun's and mix in a bowl with a wooden spoon). Pop the milk in last and mix through until the mixture is smooth and lump free. Cover over with cling film and put in the fridge until your sponge is cool and ready to ice.
• When your sponge is out of the oven and well on its way to cooling you can start making your curd.
• Whisk the egg in a small pan, add the rest of the ingredients and whisk over a medium heat for about 3-4 minutes until the mixture starts to thicken. When it reaches this stage turn the heat down to the lowest heat and simmer for about a minute. Take off the heat and let it cool for a few minutes, don't let it cool down too much or it wont spread when you come to cover your cake.
• When your cakes are cool spread the lemon curd over the top of one of the sponges. When the curd has cooled right down you can then spread the frosting over the top and then finally lay the other sponge (carefully!) on the top of the frosting/curd layers. Lastly dust a little icing sugar over the top and keep in cake tin or air tight container until your ready to unveil to your guests!