Since Easter is fast approaching, I thought I’d share a recipe for a cake that would work perfectly for an Easter celebration. I made this cake recently for a colleague’s birthday, and everyone enjoyed it immensely. Mary Berry’s lemon Victoria sponge is a zingy twist on the traditional strawberry version. For some reason I always think of lemon for Easter… maybe because it’s yellow and yellow = chicks? Who knows.
See my posts on Italian Easter Bread and Orange Carrot Cake for additional inspiration!
I decorated the cake simply with a layer of buttercream in the middle and dusted it with powdered sugar and lemon zest twists in the centre. You can jazz it up with piped flowers, fresh edible flowers, or even some Easter cake toppers! I had never seen this before moving to the UK, but apparently putting little fuzzy chicks on Easter cakes is THE thing to do.
Adapted from Mary Berry’s recipe
Ingredients
- 225 g. butter, room temperature
- 225 g. caster sugar
- 4 eggs, room temperature
- 225 g. self-raising flour
- 2 tsp. baking powder
- Lemon curd (about 3 tbsp.)
- Finely grated lemon zest of half a lemon
- Lemon zest twists (optional)
- Powdered sugar (optional)
Instructions
Grease and line two 8 inch cake tins. I line my tins with reusable liners (affiliate link).
Preheat the oven to 180ºC.
Cream together the butter and sugar in a large bowl. Beat in the eggs and add the grated lemon zest.
Sift the flour and baking powder and combine in a separate bowl. Add the dry ingredients to the wet a little at a time, mixing on low speed.
Divide the mixture evenly between the two tins and level with a spoon. Bake for 25-30 minutes until golden brown. Because this is an egg-based sponge, try not to remove the cake from the oven before it is baked fully, otherwise it will collapse!
Let the sponges cool five minutes in the tins before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
Buttercream
Ingredients
- icing sugar (sifted)
- 80 g. butter, room temperature
- 25 ml. milk
- zest of half a lemon
Instructions
Beat the butter on medium speed until light and creamy (around 2 minutes). Slowly add the sifted icing sugar and beat until well incorporated. Add the milk and lemon zest and beat until combined.
To Assemble the Cake
Add a layer of buttercream to the bottom sponge, then add a generous layer of lemon curd on top. Add the top layer of sponge and then dust the top of the cake with powdered sugar. Garnish as desired.
Are you doing any baking for Easter? If so, let me know what you’re making in the comments!
