Jo Wheatley's lemon drizzle layer cake

Serves: 8

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Total Time: 50 minutes, plus cooling

Why not celebrate the end of gloomy January with a freshly baked lemon drizzle layer cake by Great British Bake off star Jo Wheatley? Go on, put the kettle on.

Ingredients

• 250g unsalted butter, softened, plus extra for greasing
• 300g caster sugar
• 4 large eggs, beaten
• 300g self-raising flour
• 2 tbsp lemon curd
• FOR THE TOPPING:
• juice of a lemon
• 4 tbsp granulated sugar
• FOR THE FILLING:
• 300g full fat cream cheese
• 2 tbsp lemon curd

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180C, fan 160C, gas 4. Lightly grease 2 x 20cm loose-bottomed sandwich tins and line the bases with baking paper.
2. Cream the butter and caster sugar together until pale, light and fluffy, this is easiest in a free-standing mixer or by using an electric hand-whisk. Gradually add the beaten eggs, mixing well between each addition.
3. Sift in the flour and mix to combine. Add the lemon curd and mix again until smooth.
4. Spoon the mixture into the prepared tins and level using a palette knife. Bake on the middle shelf of the preheated oven for 25-30 minutes, or until well risen and a wooden skewer inserted into the middle of the cakes comes out clean.
5. Remove the cakes from the oven. Mix the lemon juice with the granulated sugar and slowly spoon over the top of the warm cakes. Leave the cakes to cool in the tins.
6. For the filling, mix together the cream cheese and the lemon curd until well combined, spread onto one of the cakes with a palette knife, then sandwich together with the top cake.

Tip

Jo says, 'Once you've spooned the cake mixture into the tins, tap them sharply on a work surface to get rid of air bubbles for a nice even rise.'