Cricket Cake Recipe

Ingredients:

For the cake:

• 1 Vanilla Pod
• 250g Soft Butter
• 250g Sugar
• 5 Bantam Eggs
• 250g Plain Flour
• 2 tsp Baking Powder

For the lemon curd:

• 80ml Lemon Juice
• 80g Sugar
• 80g Butter
• 2 Bantam Eggs

For the whipped cream/ crème patissier filling:

• 100ml Milk
• 1 Bantam Egg Yolk
• 1 Vanilla Pod
• 7g Corn Flour
• 15g Sugar

Method:

To make the sponge:

• Cream the butter and sugar until white and fluffy
• Slowly add the eggs
• Sieve flour and baking powder together and fold under the butter mix (by hand)
• Split the cake mixture evenly into two 12 -inch baking tins
• Bake at 175 degrees for 20 – 25 minutes until knife comes out clean
• Leave on wire racks to cool fully

While the cakes are cooling, make the lemon curd:

• Bring the lemon juice, sugar and butter to boil
• Pour the hot liquid over the eggs
• Put on the stove and heat up until it starts to simmer, stirring constantly
• Put on ice immediately and leave to cool
• Don’t over-boil the mixture or you will end up with scrambled egg

Finally, make the whipped cream/ crème patissier filling:

• Boil the milk and the vanilla and pass through a sieve. Leave to one side
• Combine the sugar and yolks together and add the corn flour
• Stir until you have a smooth mix
• Add a little of the hot vanilla milk to the egg mix
• Bring the rest of the milk to the boil again and add the yolk mix to the pan
• Bring the whole mix back to the boil stirring constantly
• Boil for 3-4 minutes to cook out the corn flour
• Set to one side and leave to go cold
• When you are ready to assemble the cake, whisk in the 300ml of double cream

To finish the cake:

Cut each cake in half and flatten off the top on one of the cakes reserving the other, un-flattened half for the top. Between each layer of sponge add generous amounts of whipped cream, lemon curd and fresh strawberries. For the top cake add more cream generously and garnish with whole fresh strawberries. Finish with liberal amounts of icing sugar.