The other day my very friendly Market stall holder gave me some fruit for jam making and amongst the pile was some very nice juicy lemons.  Now I am a big fan of lemons and just love Lemon curd or Lemon Cheese spread as it is sometimes know.  It is very simple to make, tastes good and you can use it to sandwich a cake together as I did or just on some nice crusty bread.  So after I had made the lemon curd I bought some clotted cream and proceeded to make a celebration cake for my friend who needed a ‘pick me up’

For the lemon curd I used:  the rind of 3 lemons, the juice of 2 lemons, 8 oz jam sugar, 4 oz butter and 2 eggs.

Grate the rind carefully not allowing any of the white pith in as this tends to make the curd bitter.  Roll the lemons on a hard surface to soften first before squeezing the juice out.  Put the rind, sugar, butter  and lemon juice into either a double boiler or a jam pan and allow the sugar to dissolve and the butter to melt.  Remove from the heat and allow to cool slightly before adding the well beaten eggs. If you add the eggs too soon you get scrambled egg!!  Back on the heat cook until the mixture coats the back of a wooden spoon, usually about 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking or burning.   Pour into warm jars and seal immediately with a a circle of grease proof paper.  The next day you can use it.

Make one deep  or two shallow Victoria sandwich cakes (or buy two) and slice each one across and remove the top sliver from both cakes.  Place the base of one layer on a board and put lemon curd on then add another layer and spoon the clotted cream on top and then repeat by adding another layer of cake on top of the clotted cream and put lemon curd on this one then add the top layer of cake upside down and dust with icing sugar and decorate with any fruit you may have. (I only had strawberries left!)  Enjoy a slice with our ETS Brand Tea!