Lemon cake with lemon curd buttercream

Found this recipe in Woman's Weekly. Tried and tasted, this light lemon cake with lemon curd buttercream is sweet and citrusy and most important only takes 35 minutes to bake. With a sweet syrup glaze and a creamy lemon buttercream topping, this cake is delicious. The sponge is soft and moist, even more so with the syrup and is full of grated lemon zest which gives it a natural lemon flavour throughout. Decorate with drizzles of lemon curd and it's ready to enjoyed.

Ingredients:
For the cake:

• 250g butter , softened
• 250g caster sugar
• 250g self raising flour
• 4 medium eggs
• 2 tbsp milk
• finely zested rind of 2 lemons

For the syrup:

• 4 level tbsp caster sugar
• juice of 2 lemon juice

For the filling:

• 2 tbsp lemon curd

For the frosting:

• 125g unsalted butter
• 250g icing sugar
• 4 level tbsp lemon curd

For the decoration:

• 3-4 tbsp lemon curd

Method:

Greased and line 2 x 18cm sandwich tins. Set the oven to 180C/160C for fan assist oven.

To make the cake: Beat the butter, add to the remaining ingredients and beat until smooth. Divide the mix between the 2 tins and level the surface. Bake in the centre of the oven for about 30-35 minutes, until they are just firm to the touch in the centre then remove them from the oven.

To make the syrup: Pour 4 tbsp water into a small pan and add the caster sugar. Place on a low fire and stir until the sugar dissolves. Increase the heat and bring the mixture to the boil. Allow it to rapidly for 1 minutes, then remove the panfrom the heat and add the lemon juice.

Remove the cakes from the oven and immediately pour over the syrup, half over each cake. Leave in the tins for about 10 minutes, until all the syrup has soaked in, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Sandwich the 2 cakes together with the lemon curd filling.

To make the frosting: Beat the butter until very soft, then add remaining ingredients and beat until the mixture is smooth and fluffy. Spread the frosting over the top and sides of the cake.

To decorate, spoon lemon curd into a pipping bag, cut off the end to create a small hole and drizzle in a zigzag over the top of the cake