Lemon Curd Cake

My Lemon Curd Cake is a simple, easily made cake, which is certain to become one of your favourites. It has a sweet, crispy crust that perfectly contrasts, yet complements, the luscious richness of the creamy lemon curd filling. I don’t know many people who could resist that combination of flavour and texture! Enjoy on its own, or with some whipped cream for dessert. This delicious cake can also be made gluten-free.

Course Afternoon Tea, Dessert, Morning Tea

Cuisine European

Prep Time 20

Cook Time 30

Cooling Time 2

Total Time 2 50

Servings people

Calories 360kcal

Author Alexandra Cook - It's Not Complicated Recipes

Ingredients

For the Cake:

1 cup (150 g) gluten-free all-purpose/plain flour See Note 1
2 teaspoon baking powder
½ cup (115 g) caster/superfine sugar
¼ cup (60 g) unsalted butter - at cool room temperature
1 large egg - lightly beaten, at room temperature
icing/powdered sugar - for dusting

For the Lemon Curd Filling:

½ cup (120 ml) lemon juice - strained
½ cup (115 g) caster/superfine sugar
1 large egg - lightly beaten
¼ cup (60 g) unsalted butter - cut into cubes

Instructions

For the Cake:

Preheat your oven to 180 Degrees C (355 F).
Grease and line the base and sides of a 17 cm (6.5”) spring-form tin with non-stick baking paper.
Add flour, baking powder, sugar, butter and lightly beaten egg to the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade.
Pulse until the mixture just starts to come together.
Don’t process until the mixture forms a ball of dough, you want it to still be a little crumbly.
Tip the mixture onto some cling wrap. Gently bring it together then divide the mixture and press ⅔ into the base of the prepared tin, reserving the remaining ⅓ for the topping.
To be accurate, I weighed the mixture. You can estimate it if you prefer.
Make the lemon curd as per the instructions below. Pour the hot lemon curd onto the cake base.
As evenly as possible, crumble the remaining mixture over the top of the curd. It will spread a little during baking.
Bake until lightly golden brown - about 30 minutes.
Remove from the oven and cool completely in the pan.
Gluten-free baked goods are often fragile, so it is important that the cake is cooled before removing from the tin.
Gently remove the side of the spring-form tin. Remove the baking paper, place the cake on a serving platter and dust the cake with icing/powdered sugar.
The Lemon Curd Tea Cake is lovely served on its own, with a dollop of cream or Vanilla Ice Cream.

Lemon Curd Filling:

Place all filling ingredients in a saucepan. (See Note 2)
Over a low heat, stir until the butter has melted and the curd thickens, just below boiling point.
Don’t be tempted to use high heat to make the process quicker; you will end up with scrambled egg.
Remove from the heat and top the cake base.

Video

Notes

Flour: we use a commercial all-purpose flour, made from a blend of naturally occurring gluten-free flours. Our gluten-free flour blends contain either xanthan or guar gum to stabilise and provide structure to our recipes. Regular all-purpose flour can be used if you do not require the recipe to be gluten-free. You can also make this recipe with self-raising flour and omit the baking powder.
Making the curd: the curd is very simple to make. This curd does not require a double boiler as many recipes do. However, it does mean that you must cook it over a low heat. When making curd, the sweetness can vary depending on the acidity of the fruit. Before adding to the cake, taste your curd. If you find it too tart, add a little extra sugar.
Lemon curd: I have also on occasion used my Homemade Lemon Curd in this recipe. You'll need about ⅔ cup of curd.
Serving: the cake is delicious served on its own, with some whipped cream or our No-Churn Vanilla Ice Cream.
Storage: like many gluten-free baking recipes, the cake is best on the day it is baked. However, it will keep for up to 3 days stored in the fridge in an airtight container. If you prefer to freeze it, allow it to cool completely, and then wrap it twice in clingfilm to ensure it doesn’t suffer from freezer burn. The cake can be frozen for up to 2 months.

Nutrition