Passionfruit Cake

I arrived home from university the other evening and was immediately faced with a baking urge. I simply cannot sit in our kitchen without eyeing up my baking books on the shelf.. I swear they tease me.

Luckily however, I had an excuse! My Nan currently has relatives over, and despite the fact that she is the wonderful lady I got my baking genes from, she sadly has "lost her magic touch." (Her words, not mine!) So the whisk has been officially passed down to me, and I whipped up this fruity treat from the Clandestine Cake Club Book:

Ingredients:
225g butter
225g caster sugar
2 heaped tbsp passionfruit curd (See below)
4 eggs
225g plain flour
1 heaped tsp baking powder
2 tbsp milk
1 tbsp lemon juice

For the filling:
150g butter
350g icing sugar
3 heaped tbsp passionfruit curd

Passionfruit Curd:
3 passionfruit
1 large egg
40g caster sugar
25g butter

First you will need to make the passionfruit curd. Cut the passionfruit in half and strain the pulp through a sieve, to get rid of the seeds. Place the passionfruit juice, sugar and egg in a heatproof bowl and whisk together. Place over a pan of simmering water and whisk often for about 20 minutes. The curd will slowly thicken until it is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. Place in the fridge to cool while you make the cake.

Lemon curd cooking

For the cake, preheat the oven to 190 degrees Celsius (170 fan) and grease/line two 20cm cake tins. Beat the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy, then beat in the curd. 

Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Sieve in the flour and baking powder and mix until well incorporated. Combine the milk and the lemon juice and stir into the mixture.

Divide the mixture between the two cake tins and spread evenly. Bake in the preheated oven for 25 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the cakes comes out clean. Leave to cool in the tins for a few minutes before turning out onto a wire rack to cool completely. 

Meanwhile, make the filling. Combine the butter and sugar and beat well to form a thick buttercream. Stir in the passionfruit curd. Spread evenly over one sponge and place the other one on top, and then spread over the top of the cake.

Do not eat all the icing out of the bowl. DO NOT DO IT.

Finally, put the kettle on, make a cuppa, and devour :) If you enjoy the light, refreshing taste of this cake you'll probably also like my delicious Lemon and Poppyseed Cake or this Orange and Sultana traybake!