I honestly think this may be my favourite cake combo moving forward, beating even chocolate and salted caramel! (I know, shocking). This week's recipe consists of a classic vanilla sponge cake, a vanilla swiss meringue buttercream, and a homemade lemon curd filling. I then chose to decorate it further by adding candied lemons on the sides and crushed meringue nests on top, to truly drive the lemon meringue theme home. An important point (which I'll stress again in the ingredients list) is that technically, a classic vanilla sponge cake doesn't have any set weights, and can also be customised for bigger or smaller tins. The weight of practically all the ingredients is determined by weighing your eggs first, shell and all, and then using the same weight for the flour, caster sugar, and butter. I used 4 eggs for 2 x 8 inch cake tins.
The ingredients and method are listed in drop down lists, based on the part of the cake you're making. This is to condense the information and make it easier to make and refer to separate elements as you're baking.
Ingredients
Vanilla Sponge Cake
4 eggs (260gr, in my case)
260gr caster sugar
260gr plain flour
260gr softened unsalted butter
1tsp vanilla paste (or, 2tsp vanilla essence)
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
Swiss Meringue Buttercream
Lemon Curd
Candied Lemon (optional)
For further decoration (optional)
Method
Making the Vanilla Sponge Cake
1. Preheat your oven to 180 degrees celsius and grease and line your cake tins.
2. In a large bowl, cream together the softened butter and caster sugar until light and fluffy. Start adding the eggs one by one, whisking in between each addition.
3. Add the plain flour in 4 batches, whisking well until incorporated after each addition.
4. Add the vanilla and baking powder, whisk well until incorporated. Once the mixture is ready, separate the mixture equally into the two cake tins and bake for 30-40 minutes, or until a skewer comes out clean.
Making the Swiss Meringue Buttercream
Making the Lemon Curd
Making the Candied Lemon (optional)
Assembling the Cake
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