Lemon Poppy Cake With Zesty Orange Curd Filling Recipe
A Recipe for a Zesty Lemon Poppy Cake and Orange Curd Filling. Delicious combination of flavors.
Ingredients
Cake1 cup cake all purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
2/3 cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled to slightly warm
1/3 cup heavy cream, slightly warmed
3 tablespoons finely grated lemon zest (roughly two large lemons)
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
3 tablespoons poppy seeds
4 eggs
1 cup granulated sugar
Orange Curd Filling
Makes about one cup of curd
1/2 – 3/4 cups orange juice from 2 navel oranges
zest from one orange
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 large egg
2 large yolks
1/4 cup granulated sugar
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into chunks and softened
pinch of salt
Chocolate Drizzle
1/2 cup chocolate chips
Chocolate Shavings
2 to 4ounce block of best quality chocolate
Directions
Cake
Preheat to 350 degrees F.
Butter and lightly flour a 9" x 5" loaf pan or line with parchment.
Sift together the cake flour, baking powder and salt, then set aside.
In a separate bowl, combine the melted butter, cream, lemon juice, zest and poppy seeds. The mixture needs to be warm to mix properly.
In the bowl of your mixer, beat the eggs and sugar on medium high speed for 4 to 6 minutes and it is light colored and very fluffy.
Fold the sifted flour mixture into the beaten eggs until just barely combined.
Fold in one quarter of the flour-egg batter with a rubber spatula into the lemon poppy seed mixture.
Fold in the remaining flour-egg mixture to finish the batter.
Pour the finished batter into your prepared pan, level and place into your pre-heated oven.
Bake for 35-40 minutes and check for doneness. Leave to bake until the cake is springy to the touch and a toothpick comes out clean.
Allow the cake to cool on a wire rack.
Once the cake is completely cooled, carefully slice into 3 layers.
Orange Curd
Pour the orange juice into a small sauce pan over medium-high heat.
Bring the juice to a rapid simmer and let it reduce down to approximately 1/4 cup. About 2-4 minutes.
Transfer the orange juice to a measuring cup to cool. Stir in the zest and lemon juice.
In a separate bowl, whisk together the egg, yolks, and sugar. When the orange juice has cooled to room temperature, whisk it into the egg mixture in a steady stream.
Place a clean bowl with a strainer over the top next to the stove.
Pour the egg and juice mixture back into your small sauce pan and set it over medium heat. Stir slowly but constantly until the mixture has thickened to a pudding-like consistency – about 6-8 minutes or until the mixture is 180°.
Strain the mixture into the clean bowl to remove the zest and any bits of cooked egg. Stir in the butter and the pinch of salt while the curd is still warm.
Let cool before assembling the cake.
Assembly
On a cake plate put the first sliced cake layer
Spread on a layer of orange curd
Repeat the process two more times
Garnish with chocolate shavings, a dollop of orange curd and chocolate drizzle.
Chocolate Shavings
Warm your block of white chocolate by placing it on a piece of waxed paper, then microwave on MEDIUM (50 percent) power for 10 second intervals, until the chocolate starts to soften slightly. The chocolate should soften slightly, not melt.
Line a baking sheet with waxed paper. Grip the chocolate chunk with a folded paper towel so that your hand does not melt the chocolate. Using a sharp vegetable peeler, scrape one of the edges of the chocolate chunk in a downward motion, forming loose shavings. As you form the shavings, let them fall onto the waxed paper. Continue making shavings until you have enough to garnish just the top of your cake or other dessert.
Chocolate Drizzle
Put the chocolate chips in the top of a double boiler over medium heat and melt, or melt in the microwave at 30 second intervals, stirring in between.
Scrape melted chocolate into a plastic baggie and snip a tiny piece off the corner.
Slice and drizzle the melted chocolate over the dessert.