Catholic Recipe: St. Patrick's Day Cake

Recipe from Darina Allen for a simple sponge cake with lemon curd filling for St. Patrick's Day. The most complicated part of this recipe is the crystallized flowers, which is completely optional.

DIRECTIONS

*Caster sugar is finer than granulated sugar, but not the same as confectioner's sugar which contains cornstarch. To make your own caster sugar, add granulated sugar in the food processor and grind until a superfine consistency, but not powdered. The sugar may scratch the plastic of the processor, so another option is to use a spice grinder or coffee mill.

1. Preheat the oven to 375º F..

2. Grease the cake tins with a little melted butter, put a round of greaseproof paper on the bottom of the tins and dust with flour.

3. Cream the butter; add the caster sugar and the lemon zest. Beat until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time, each time with a tablespoon of flour. Beat very well, then fold in the remaining flour.

4. Divide the mixture evenly between the two tins. Bake for 35 -40 minutes or until the cakes are well risen, golden and feel spongy to the finger tips.

5. Allow the cakes to cool for a few minutes in the tins and then turn out on to a wire rack to cool completely.

Lemon Curd Filling

Split the cakes in half with a sharp serrated knife. Spread lemon curd (see recipe) over the base of one cake, top with the other, sandwiching the bases together.

Icing

Sieve the icing sugar into a bowl; add enough boiling water to mix to a fairly stiff coating consistency. The icing should hold a trail when dropped from a spoon but gradually find its own level.

Decorate the iced cake with crystallized primroses and/or violets (see recipe) or even fondant shamrocks.