Queen Raspberry Birthday Cake
By: Holly Smith-Williams
Published: Thursday, January 19, 2012 - 12:22pm

Ingredients




It's best to make the lemon curd the day before so it has plenty of time to cool. You may also want to make the sponge the day before, then all you have to do is assemble the cake on the day. You will need two punnets of raspberries to make the cake.
For the lemon curd:
Makes about 560g
125g unsalted butter, softened
225g caster sugar
finely grated zest and juice of 3 unwaxed lemons
3 large eggs, at room temperature, beaten
For the sponge:
225g self raising flour (I use a sponge flour)
125g unsalted butter, softened
225g caster sugar
1.5 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 large eggs
100ml milk
For the Vanilla Cream
300ml double (heavy) cream
1 tablespoon icing sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preparation

1 For the lemon curd: 2 Put the butter, sugar, and lemon zest and juice into a heatproof bowl. Set over a pan of simmering water (the base of the bowl should not touch the hot water) and stir gently with a wooden spoon until the mixture is smooth and melted, and you can no longer see or feel any grains of sugar. 3 Remove the bowl from the pan. Strain the eggs into the mixture (straining removes any membranes or pieces of shell) and stir well. Replace the bowl over the simmering water and stir until the mixture becomes very thick and opaque. Take your time and don't turn up the heat. The lemon curd is ready when you can draw your finger through the mixture on the wooden spoon and see a clear path. 4 Immediately remove the bowl from the heat and transfer the lemon curd to a clean bowl or screw-topped jar. Leave to cool, then chill. The lemon curd can be stored in the fridge for two weeks - mine lasted about two days! 5 For the sponge: 6 Grease and line two cake sandwich tins with baking parchment. Cream the butter and the sugar together until pale and fluffy, add the vanilla and the eggs - one at a time. Add the sieved dry ingredients alternating with the milk until you have a smooth batter. Smooth equally into the tins and bake at 180ºC for 20-25 minutes. Remove from oven and cool on a wire rack. 7 For the vanilla cream: 8 Place all the ingredients in a large bowl and whip until the cream forms soft peaks. 9 HOW TO ASSEMBLE: 10 Place the first sponge layer on your cake stand. Spread a layer of lemon curd and then a layer of cream. Add your next sponge layer and spread a layer of lemon curd and cream. Place the raspberries around the edge of the cake. Place the next layer of sponge on top of the raspberries and spread another layer of the lemon curd and then the cream. Place your final layer of sponge on top of the cream. Now dot a little of the lemon curd around the edge so you can stick the final raspberries in place to create a crown effect. Dust with icing sugar and enjoy!

About

If you want a scrummy cake to make for a special occasion - this one seems to tick all the boxes! I made this layered cake from a half-fat sponge made in two sandwich tins. Once the sponge is cold, carefully slice both cakes in half to make four layers. Then you can start to assemble the cake. There is a layer of sponge, followed by a layer of lemon curd, then whipped vanilla cream, then sponge, then raspberries...