afternoon tea cake

Indulge in a slice of lemon cake for afternoon tea. With lovely light sponge layers, a citrus zing offsets the rich and creamy soft cheese icing

Easy lemon layer cake

unsalted butter, softened

caster sugar

eggs

self-raising flour

tsp baking powder

natural yogurt

vanilla bean paste

lemons, zested

granulated sugar

icing sugar, sieved

full-fat soft cheese

Heat the oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4 and line the base of two 20cm sandwich tins with baking parchment. Beat the butter and sugar together for 3 mins using an electric <a href="https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/content/top-five-whisks">whisk</a> until smooth and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well between each addition and scraping down the sides of the bowl. Fold in the flour and baking powder until well incorporated, then fold in the yogurt, vanilla and lemon zest. Divide between the tins and bake for 30-35 mins until golden and a skewer inserted into the middles comes out clean.

Meanwhile, make the drizzle. Tip the sugar, lemon juice and 100ml water into a small pan set over a medium heat and stir until dissolved. Add the lemon zest, bring to the boil and simmer for 2-3 mins until the zest has softened and the liquid is syrupy. Remove the zest to a sheet of baking parchment using a slotted spoon, and remove the syrup from the heat.

Leave the sponges to cool for 10 mins in the tins, then pour over the warm drizzle. Leave to cool completely.

For the icing, beat the butter and icing sugar together using an electric whisk for 4-5 mins until smooth, scraping down the sides of the bowl as you go. Add the vanilla and soft cheese and beat for 4 mins more until thick and creamy. Don’t worry if it doesn’t look thick at first – it will loosen, then thicken again as you beat it.

Remove the cooled sponges from the tins. Spoon the icing into a <a href="https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/content/kimberley-wilsons-top-five-piping-bags">piping bag</a> fitted with a star nozzle. Put one sponge on a cake stand or serving plate, and pipe just under half the icing around the edge using a circular motion for a wavy effect. Pipe a little more icing over the empty middle (this doesn’t need to be neat) and smooth with the back of a spoon. Chill for 45 mins-1 hr until set. Top with the second sponge, then pipe eight blobs of icing around the edge at regular intervals, leaving a gap between each. Spoon the candied lemon zest into each gap, then serve.

How to make Rock Cakes, using simple ingredients. Inside the crispy sugary shell of British rock cakes is a marvellous crumbly texture with an even scattering of your chosen dried fruit.These simple English cakes make a great addition to an afternoon tea stand. Perfect kids snack for their lunch box or school fete.US &amp; UK measurements given

Rock Cakes Old Fashioned Recipe

Plain Flour

½ tsp Baking Powder

White Sugar (+ extra to sprinkle on

Salt

½ tsp Mixed Spice

Butter

Sultanas (Can use any dried fruits)

Large Egg

Milk

Preheat

Preheat Oven to 190°C /170°C fan/ 375°F.Add flour, salt, baking soda and mixed spices into a bowl

Add butter and rub together using fingertips into the dry cake mix

Breadcrumbs

Sultanas

Stir

Whisk

Whisk milk and egg together in a separate bowl

Add the whisked egg and milk to the rock cake mixture

Moist

Use a fork to mix well together until moist and sticky

Seperate

Separate into 9 even-sized cakes use a fork to rough up the cakes a little.

Oven

Leave space between each rock cake as they will grow during cooking! Cook in preheated 190°C /170°C fan/ 375°F oven for 15-20 minutes until golden.

Remove

Remove from oven, it is normal for them to still feel a bit soft at this point. They will firm up whilst cooling!

Cool

Once cool enough to touch with hands, transfer to a wire rack to allow to cool further.

Sugar

Serve

Eat whilst still warm, or allow to cool then store in an airtight container until ready to eat.

https://mediavine-res.cloudinary.com/video/upload/t_original/v1629462254/xjdohafoyads2u9dlosy.mp4

How to make Rock Cakes, using simple ingredients.
Inside the crispy sugary shell of British rock cakes is a marvellous crumbly texture with an even scattering of your chosen dried fruit.
These simple English cakes make a great addition to an afternoon tea stand.
Perfect kids snack for their lunch box or school fete.
US & UK measurements given

Top 2 afternoon tea cake recipes from across the web

The most viewed afternoon tea cake recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 20,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engine

Top Tags

Easy lemon layer cake

Rock Cakes Old Fashioned Recipe

Top 2 afternoon tea cake recipes from across the web

The most viewed afternoon tea cake recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 20,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engineic_arrow_forward_48px

Top Tags

Easy lemon layer cake

Rock Cakes Old Fashioned Recipe

The most viewed afternoon tea cake recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 20,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engine