Courgette Cake With Lemon Curd Cream Cheese Icing Food

FROSTED COURGETTE & LEMON CAKE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Butter 2 x 20cm sandwich tins and line the bases with baking parchment. Zest 2 lemons, then squeeze their juice into a separate bowl. Put 200g butter, the caster sugar, eggs, courgettes, poppy seeds, vanilla and lemon zest into a mixing bowl. Beat to a creamy batter. Stir in 1 tbsp lemon juice, the flours, baking powder and ¼ tsp salt. Spoon the mix into the tins, then bake for 25 mins or until risen, golden and springy in the middle.
• Make a drizzle by mixing another tbsp lemon juice with 25g icing sugar. Put the remaining icing sugar and butter into a bowl, add the soft cheese, remaining lemon juice (about 2 tbsp) and grate in the final lemon's zest. Beat to make a creamy, smooth frosting.
• When the cakes are ready, cool for 15 mins in their tins, then turn onto a cooling rack. Prick several times with a cocktail stick, spoon over the drizzle and cool completely. Can be frozen at this stage for up to 1 month. Put one cake onto a serving plate and spread with just under half the frosting. Spread over the lemon curd, if using. Top with the second cake, spread the remaining frosting over the top and sprinkle with poppy seeds.

COURGETTE & ORANGE CAKE WITH CREAM CHEESE FROSTING

Steps:

• Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Lightly oil and line a 1kg loaf tin with a strip of baking parchment. Finely grate the courgettes, then squeeze out as much liquid as you can with your hands (too much will make the cake soggy).
• Stir the courgettes with the sugar, sunflower oil, eggs, orange zest, vanilla and sultanas, then fold in the flour and baking powder until they disappear, but don't overmix.
• Scrape the mixture into the tin and bake for 50 mins until a skewer inserted into the cake comes out clean. Remove from the tin and cool on a wire rack.
• Meanwhile, beat the cream cheese with the icing sugar (don't overbeat as this can make the mixture too soft), then chill. Spread over the cooled cake, scatter with the zest and chill until ready to serve. Will keep for a week in the fridge.

LEMON CREAM CHEESE FROSTING

Steps:

• Using electric mixer, beat cream cheese and curd in large bowl until smooth. Add remaining ingredients and beat until well blended, about 2 minutes.

EASY LEMON LAYER CAKE

Steps:

• Heat the oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4 and line the base of two 20cm sandwich tins with baking parchment. Beat the butter and sugar together for 3 mins using an electric whisk until smooth and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well between each addition and scraping down the sides of the bowl. Fold in the flour and baking powder until well incorporated, then fold in the yogurt, vanilla and lemon zest. Divide between the tins and bake for 30-35 mins until golden and a skewer inserted into the middles comes out clean.
• Meanwhile, make the drizzle. Tip the sugar, lemon juice and 100ml water into a small pan set over a medium heat and stir until dissolved. Add the lemon zest, bring to the boil and simmer for 2-3 mins until the zest has softened and the liquid is syrupy. Remove the zest to a sheet of baking parchment using a slotted spoon, and remove the syrup from the heat.
• Leave the sponges to cool for 10 mins in the tins, then pour over the warm drizzle. Leave to cool completely.
• For the icing, beat the butter and icing sugar together using an electric whisk for 4-5 mins until smooth, scraping down the sides of the bowl as you go. Add the vanilla and soft cheese and beat for 4 mins more until thick and creamy. Don't worry if it doesn't look thick at first - it will loosen, then thicken again as you beat it.
• Remove the cooled sponges from the tins. Spoon the icing into a piping bag fitted with a star nozzle. Put one sponge on a cake stand or serving plate, and pipe just under half the icing around the edge using a circular motion for a wavy effect. Pipe a little more icing over the empty middle (this doesn't need to be neat) and smooth with the back of a spoon. Chill for 45 mins-1 hr until set. Top with the second sponge, then pipe eight blobs of icing around the edge at regular intervals, leaving a gap between each. Spoon the candied lemon zest into each gap, then serve.