Diary From The Pandemic Day 51 - Tasty Things To Do With Lemon Curd

Whenever I have an event I always make a batch of lemon curd. It makes 5 of my 110g jars and a bit leftover for us to enjoy. Being curd, it has a six week shelf-life, unlike jams and marmalades, which last at least two years. As such, I don't make it unless I have an event imminent and it always sells out, expecially if I have tasters to hand.

With lockdown I don't have any events in the diary but fortunately Scone Quest have asked me to supply them with lemon curd for their lemon scones. I have, therefore, been making repeated batches of lemon curd, which results in a little bit leftover for us.

I do like having a bit of lemon curd in the fridge as it is the perfect thing to stir into some homemade natural yoghurt for a refreshing elevenses, or into some Saturday morning porridge. However, it is also lovely to use in baking. It makes the perfect filling for the middle of a lemon layer cake and it turns a plain yoghurt cake into a zingy lemon one. And today I absolutely nailed dessert with a lemon sponge pudding served with lemon frozen yoghurt.

Lemon Sponge Pudding (makes 4)

100g softened butter

100g caster sugar (blitz granulated sugar in a food processor if you can't get caster sugar)

3 eggs, beaten

Zest and juice of 1 lemon

100g self-raising flour

Pinch of salt

4 tablespoons of lemon curd

Preheat oven to 200°C and grease 4 ramekins. Cream together the butter with the sugar then stir in the eggs one at a time. Add the lemon zest and juice then stir in the flour and salt to form a smooth batter. Spoon a generous tablespoon of lemon curd into the base of each ramekin then divide the cake batter evenly between the four ramekins. Bake for 20 minutes until golden and springy. Leave to cool. When ready to serve, run a plastic knife around the edge of the sponge to release the cake from the ramekin and invert over a serving plate. Spoon the curd back on to of the cake if it remains in the ramekin. Microwave each cake for 30 seconds then serve with a scoop of frozen lemon yoghurt.

Frozen Lemon Yoghurt (serves 4-6)

250g natural yoghurt

100g lemon curd

Mix together the yoghurt and the lemon curd then place in a suitable container to freeze. After three hours, remove from the freezer and break up the ice crystals with a fork. Repeat after 2 more hours. Remove from the freezer about 20 minutes before serving to allow it to soften a little.

Lemon Layer Cake

225g margarine
225g caster sugar
4 eggs
1 lemon (zest and juice)
225g self-raising flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
115g lemon curd
125g icing sugar
1 lemon (zest and juice)

Preheat oven to 180°C and grease and line 2 circular sandwich cake tins. Cream together the margarine and sugar then add the eggs one at a time. Stir in the lemon zest and juice then add the flour and baking powder and mix well. Pour the batter equally into the two tins then bake for 20 minutes. Cool completely on a wire rack then sandwich the two cakes together using the lemon curd. Mix the icing sugar and lemon together to make the icing then drizzle this over the cake.

Lemon Yogurt Cake

This recipe is a no-weigh recipe based on using a 150g yoghurt pot as a measure, therefore the ingredients are given in measurements of pots.

1 x 150ml natural yogurt

2 x pots of self-raising flour

1 x pot of caster sugar

1/2 x pot of vegetable oil

3 x eggs

1/2 pot of lemon curd

Pinch of salt

Preheat oven to 180°C and line a 2lb loaf tin. Put all the ingredients in a bowl and stir until well combined. Spoon into the loaf tin and make for 45-50 minutes. Test with a skewer.