Lemon Curd Naked Sponge Cake

Looking for Summer cake inspiration?

I’ve used our “never fails” Victoria Sponge recipe as the base for this Mediterranean themed naked cake. It’s the easiest sponge recipe to make as everything goes into the bowl together and is beaten with a mixer until combined. It always rises beautifully and is the best base for a mulitude of fillings.

In this recipe the cake is filled with zingy lemon curd (homemade or good quality shop bought is fine) then the outside covered with a creamy mascarpone icing.

Instead of dividing the cake mix into the usual two sandwich tins, I’ve spread the same mix across three tins to give you a slightly thinner sponge. This is ideal for making a multi-layer cake as the sponges are flatter and tend not to topple when filled and iced.

I used a combination of fresh blueberries, whole blanched almonds and sprigs of rosemary to create the decorations which remind me of an olive grove in Greece ;-)

Victoria Sponge Ingredients

• 200g self-raising flour, sifted
• 1 tsp baking powder, sifted
• 200g caster sugar
• 200g soft butter or baking margarine, like Stork
• 4 large free range eggs, lightly beaten with a fork
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Mascarpone Icing

• 500g mascarpone
• 300g icing sugar, sifted
• 160ml double cream
• 2 tsp vanilla extract

Filling & Decorating

• Lemon curd
• Fresh blueberries, almonds & rosemary sprigs
• or any berry / edible flowers of choice

Method

1. Preheat oven to 180C, 170C fan or Gas Mark 4. Grease and line the base of THREE 20cm sandwich tins.
2. Tip all the sponge ingredients into a large bowl and using a free-standing or hand held mixer, beat together for approx 2 mins until the batter is smooth.
3. Divide the mixture between the prepared tins, leveling the mix with a spatula or palette knife. Bake on the middle shelf for 15-20 minutes until golden, well-risen and springy to touch.
4. Leave to cool in the tins on a wire rack for 5 minutes before carefully turning out onto the rack to cool completely. Do not leave the sponges with the tops facing downwards onto the rack or else you will be left with a criss-cross pattern on the sponge.
5. To make the Icing, beat the sugar and mascarpone together by hand using a spatula or wooden spoon. Fold in the cream and vanilla extract then chill until required.
6. To assemble the cake, place the first sponge on your serving platter and spread with a layer of the lemon curd then cover with a layer of the mascarpone icing. Pop the next sponge layer on top of this and repeat. Top with the third layer of sponge, making sure the three are lined up straight.
7. Cover the top of the cake and sides with the remaining icing then using a palette knife or scraper, smooth the sides of the cake and remove just enough of the icing for some of the sponge to peep through. This gives the cake the “naked look”. Smooth the top of the cake then decorate with berries and nuts as shown or your decoration of choice.