I had an unexpected surprise this week. I was invited to one of our Advent Teas for a friend’s special birthday. I have always loved the teas and this one was especially lovely. So beautifully and tastefully decorated for the season with rich colors, varying shades of red and burgundy with a pomegranate tucked in here and there. Just sitting in the room drinking in the beauty and listening to lovely music presented by the string players was so enjoyable that I almost forgot food was going to be served until I spotted the menu.
In addition to the plated selection of special tea sandwiches and scones, a lovely variety of choice desserts was also offered. It was a hard decision to make but after carefully surveying each of the various elegant creations, I chose the Lemon glazed sponge cake garnished with fresh raspberries and was so happy that I did…. a perfect ending to a perfect tea, and a perfect dessert to keep in mind when you may want something that’s not overly rich yet luscious and attractive for a holiday meal.
SERVINGSCHANGE SERVING SIZE |
COOK TIME35-40minutes |
PREP TIME |
READY IN |
Ingredients
- Sponge Cake
- 6 eggs white and yolk separated
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 cup flour sifted
- Lemon Curd
- 6 lemon(s) zested to equal 2 tbsp+ juice of lemons to equal 1 cup
- 1/2 cup butter softened
- 2 cups sugar
- 4 eggs
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325° Fahrenheit.
- Separate egg whites and yolks. Beat egg whites until peaks form.
- In separate bowl, beat yolks and sugar until light yellow.
- Add lemon juice to yolk mixture. Fold in sifted flour.
- Fold in egg whites just until mixed.
- Put mixture in ungreased tube pan or individual small cake or muffin tins.
- Bake 35-40 minutes for tube pan or 15-20 minutes for individual tins until golden brown or until cake springs to touch. Cool.
Lemon Curd
- Grate zest from lemons. Cut lemons in half; squeeze juice into a measuring cup.
- Beat butter and 2 cups of sugar at medium speed with an electric mixer until blended.
- Add eggs one at a time, beating just until blended after each addition.
- Gradually add lemon juice to butter mixture, beating at low speed just until blended after each addition; stir in zest. Mixture will look curdled.
- Transfer to a 3 quart microwave safe bowl. Microwave on high 5 minutes, stirring at 1 minute intervals.
- Microwave at 30 second intervals, 1 to 2 minutes or until mixture thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon and starts to mound slightly when stirred.
- Place plastic wrap on top of warm curd to keep film from developing and chill 4 hours until firm.
Garnish cake as desired with curd, whipped cream and berries.