Pina Colada Curd Cake

Curd is one of those fridge lurkers; you buy it for a recipe and then it sits there, taking up precious space (or worse, being thrown out)... but no more; this cake is a great way to use up curd leftovers.

Today's recipe uses a pretty cool curd - pina colada curd! I got given a jar of Cherry Tree curd as a Christmas present and it's delicious, but you could use any curd - lemon, passionfruit or mango would work well here.

Pina Colada Cake

Sponge Recipe
175g butter
175g caster sugar
175g self-raising flour
3 eggs, gently whisked
1 tsp vanilla essence

1. Pre-heat the oven to 190℃/375℉/Gas Mark 5 and grease two 20cm round cake tins
2. Soften the butter, then combine with the sugar and vanilla essence using an electric whisk, until pale and fluffy
3. Gradually add the eggs, whisking well between each addition
4. Sift in half of the flour and fold into the mixture using a metal spoon
5. Fold in the remaining flour
6. Divide the mixture between the two cake tins and bake in the centre of the pre-heated oven for 20-25 minutes until golden and well-risen

Leave the cakes on a wire rack to cool. Once cooled, spread a layer of pina colada curd across one of the cakes and sandwich the other on top.

Pina Colada Curd Icing
125g butter
250g sifted icing sugar
4 tbsp curd

1. Soften the butter, then whisk together with the icing sugar and curd until thick and creamy
2. Spread generously over the top of the cake.

PS Another of my favourite curd recipes is this no bake lemon cheesecake

PPS Did you know that the pina colada is the official beverage of Puerto Rico?

Lemon No-bake Cheesecake

A jar of lemon curd goes a long way and is a great thrifty way to add zing to a cheesecake. This recipe also doesn't require much butter, which tends to be what makes baking expensive. It's also super quick and easy and the results taste delicious. In my opinion, this makes it the perfect summer desert.

Lemon Curd Cheesecake Recipe

For the base:
200g digestive biscuits
70g butter
30g lemon curd

For the topping:
250g marscapone cheese
150g lemon curd
1 tbsp Lemon juice

1. Place the biscuits in a sandwich bag and seal to close. Bash with a rolling pin until crushed into fine crumbs
2. Melt the butter in a non-stick saucepan over low heat, then add the biscuits and lemon curd and stir until well combined
3. Line a round cake tin with greaseproof paper and pour the biscuit mix into the base, press down firmly with a potato masher and pop in the fridge
4. In a clean bowl, beat the marscapone, lemon curd and lemon juice until smooth
5. Remove the cake tin from the fridge and spoon the topping on, smoothing with the back of a spoon
6. Return to the fridge for a minimum of 4 hours

This is a super thrifty version, but if you wanted to make an impressive dinner party desert, you could double up the topping to make it taller!