Author: Amy

Dark Chocolate Cupcakes with Raspberry Buttercream

dark choc with rasp buttercreamRaspberries are my second favorite fruit, following the blackberry. In addition to being adorable and delicious, they’re are nutritional powerhouses that are loaded with fiber, vitamins, and minerals. Through a bit of internet research, I’ve just learned that raspberries are members of the rose family, and that raspberry flowers are an excellent source of nectar for honeybees. Neither of those facts have anything to do with baking, but they’re fun nonetheless, eh?

I hope to cultivate raspberries someday, alongside the prolific blackberry bushes in our backyard garden, but you won’t need fresh or even frozen raspberries for these cupcakes. Today’s raspberry buttercream was made with raspberry jam, which can be found year-round in your local grocery store (and my refrigerator). These cupcakes were a trial run for another paying baking gig, and according to Mike they are quite delicious. Since I’m observing a sweets fast for the next couple of months, I’ll have to take his word for it.

Note: this recipe yields enough for 24 miniature and 10 regular-sized cupcakes, but you could bake them all in miniature if you like. I’m not sure if the recipe would yield 4 dozen miniature cupcakes, but I believe it would come very close.

Dark Chocolate Cupcakes

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 cups flour
  • 3 tablespoons cocoa powder
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 tablespoon vinegar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
  • 1 cup water

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line cupcake pans with paper liners.

In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, cocoa powder, sugar, baking soda, and salt. Mix until well-blended, then make three wells for the wet ingredients.

Place vinegar, vanilla, and vegetable oil into the wells; add water and mix until the batter is smooth. The mixture will bubble up slightly when you add the water, so just keep mixing until you get a smooth consistency in the batter, which will be fairly thin.

Using a one-inch cookie scoop, fill miniature liners to about half-full; you can use a 1/4 cup measure for the regular-sized cupcakes to fill the liners.

Bake miniature cupcakes for 8-10 minutes, until a cake tester comes out clean. Cool in pan for a few minutes, then remove from pan and cool completely on wire racks. Regular-sized cupcakes bake for about 13-15 minutes.

Raspberry Buttercream

Ingredients

  • 8 tablespoons butter, room temperature
  • 1/4 cup seedless raspberry jam
  • 3 cups powdered sugar, sifted

Preparation

In a mixing bowl, beat butter and jam until very well-combined, about two minutes; the mixture will be lumpy, but that’s okay.

Add powdered sugar, one cup at a time, beating for about 2 minutes between each addition and scraping the sides of the bowl frequently. Continue to beat until frosting is very smooth.

Transfer frosting to a pastry bag fitted with a plain tip and pipe onto cupcakes. Store frosted cupcakes in the refrigerator, but bring to room temperature before serving.

Spice Cupcakes with Maple Cream Cheese Frosting

spice cupcakesSometimes I bake something that transcends what I believe about my own baking abilities. My friend Carla, who is also a baker, understands what I mean by this. We know we can bake, and other people clearly enjoy our treats. If we each had a nickel for every time we’ve been told we should really be baking for a living, we could…well, open our own bakery.

Perhaps it’s the recipe, which I adapted from the Better Homes & Gardens Cookbook spice cake recipe to have an even distribution of cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and cloves. Perhaps it’s the maple cream cheese frosting, which I invented based on a few other recipes to my own taste preference. Perhaps it’s the combination of the two. I don’t know what makes these cupcakes so delicious, but they truly are. I mean, dee-lish-us. So if Carla and I do finally get to open our own bakery someday, you can bet they’ll be on the menu.

Note: this recipe yields 24 regular-sized cupcakes and 16 miniature cupcakes. And seriously, folks, use pure maple syrup, not pancake syrup or maple flavoring, for the frosting. You’ll thank me later.

Spice Cupcakes

Ingredients

  • 2 cups flour
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • heaping 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
  • heaping 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
  • heaping 1/4 teaspoon ginger
  • heaping 1/4 teaspoon cloves
  • 4 tablespoons butter, softened
  • 1/4 cup shortening
  • 1 1/2 cups sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 1/4 cups buttermilk

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line cupcake pans with paper liners.

In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and cloves. You’ll note that the measurements for the spices are heaping, so seriously, don’t hold back.

In a mixing bowl, beat butter and shortening on medium speed for about 1 minute. Add sugar and vanilla and cream together until well-combined, scraping the sides of the bowl as necessary.

Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.

Add flour mixture and buttermilk alternatively, beginning and ending with the flour and beating until just combined after each addition.

Using a 2-inch cookie scoop, scoop batter into regular-sized cupcake pans, filling about halfway full; use a 1-inch cookie scoop to fill miniature cupcake pan.

Bake regular-sized cupcakes for 18-20 minutes, until a cake tester comes out clean. Bake miniature cupcakes for 8-10 minutes, also until a cake tester comes out clean.

Cool in pans for a few minutes, then remove from pans and cool completely on wire racks before frosting.

Maple Cream Cheese Frosting

Ingredients

  • 8 tablespoons butter, at room temperature
  • 4 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
  • 3 cups powdered sugar, sifted
  • 5 tablespoons pure maple syrup

Preparation

In a mixing bowl fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter and cream cheese for 2-3 minutes, until very smooth and well-blended.

Add one cup powdered sugar, beating until combined, followed by 2 tablespoons maple syrup, again beating until well-combined. Add additional cups powdered sugar and remaining tablespoons of maple syrup alternatively, beating until frosting is very smooth.

Transfer frosting to a pastry bag fitted with a large plain tip and pipe frosting onto cupcakes. Store in the refrigerator, but bring to room temperature before serving.

 

 

Pumpkin Donuts

pumpkin donutsPumpkin is my favorite vegetable. Yes…I have a favorite vegetable! Even if pumpkin is on the fringe of the vegetable world, being a squash and all, I still love it.

Pumpkin contains the antioxidant beta-carotene, which is very good for you and has been linked to a reduced risk of cancer and heart disease. Naturally, pumpkin is at its nutritional height when not consumed in donut form, but still…some of us have to sneak our veggies into food in any way we can.

These donuts are among the last treats I’ll have before beginning a two-month sugar fast, during which I’ll avoid baked goods and dessert-like foods and beverages. This is partially because of Lent, but more so because I’m working hard to transform my diet and sugar really is the final frontier. I like to think that my health coach, Kate, would be glad that I chose not just any donut today, but one with pumpkin in it.

This recipe is adapted slightly from the King Arthur Flour pumpkin donut recipe; I changed the spice ratios a bit because I’m a fan of nutmeg and I wanted it to have more of a role in the flavor profile here. There are three options listed below for topping these donuts, and the sugar & spice topping was my favorite.

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup vegetable oil
  • 3 eggs
  • 1 1/2 cups canned pumpkin
  • 3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1/4 teaspoon ginger
  • 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1 3/4 cups flour

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly spray two regular (6-count) donut pans and one mini donut pan with baking spray. Alternatively, you can bake all of the donuts in the full-size pans; it’ll just take a bit longer.

In a mixing bowl, combine vegetable oil, eggs, pumpkin, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, salt, and baking powder. Beat on low speed until combined.

Add flour and stir with a wooden spoon until just combined; batter will be slightly lumpy but that is fine.

Fill wells in pans about 3/4 full; I used a teaspoon from my tableware to fill the large pans and put the rest of the batter into a pastry bag to fill the small pans, but you could very easily pipe all of the batter for these as it flows very well.

Bake full-size donuts for 18 minutes, until a cake tester comes out clean; when finished, baked the mini donuts for 8-10 minutes.

Cool donuts in pans for 5 minutes before removing to a cooling rack. Top as desired.

Topping Options

Sugar & Spice

  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
  • 1 tablespoon melted butter

In a small bowl, blend sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg. While donuts are still warm, dip in the mixture, then brush tops with melted butter and dip again.

Alternatively, place sugar and spices in a brown paper bag and toss the donuts in the bag to coat. You don’t need the butter for this version, but I find that brushing the donuts with melted butter then dipping them in the sugar and spice mixture again creates a nice crunch.

Powdered Sugar

  • About 1 cup powdered sugar

Lightly dust donuts with powdered sugar using a fine sieve. The quantity you’ll need depends on how thick you’d like your coating to be.

Spicy Glaze

  • About 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
  • About 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
  • About 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
  • 1 tablespoon water
  • 1/2 – 1 teaspoons vanilla

Note: all of the quantities for the dry ingredients are approximate; I experimented here and my measurements were really done by sight and smell, then by taste. Remember, you can always add more liquid, but you can’t take it out, so it’s best to start with a smaller quantity and increase from there.

In a small bowl, combine dry ingredients. Add vanilla and water, stirring to combine until a glaze forms; you want the consistency to be honey-like, easy to dip but not too thick. Once you’ve reached your desired consistency and flavor, dip tops of donuts into the glaze, then allow to set.

Oreo Truffles

oreo trufflesCould crushed-up Oreo cookies mixed with cream cheese possibly taste like real chocolate truffles? I wasn’t so sure until last night, when I whipped up a batch of these treats. I do enjoy a good truffle now and then, so I was a bit skeptical…but the answer is yes, they really do taste like real chocolate truffles.

If the truth be told, these treats are almost too chocolately for my taste…one certainly goes a very long way. Next time, I’ll use vanilla candy coating to mellow out the flavor a bit. You could also use white chocolate chips instead of semisweet for the coating, but I’m not a white chocolate fan. And, some recipes call for reserving a bit of the crushed-up cookies to sprinkle on the tops of the truffles once they’re dipped for added texture, but I chose to omit that step.

These treats are incredibly easy to make, so I’d recommend them for anyone who wants to whip up fancy-looking candies for a party or those looking to make something fun with their kids. Be sure to keep the finished product in the fridge, though, and only set them out right before they’ll be eaten…they do contain cream cheese, after all. And, it’s important to note that I only made a half-batch of these…you can easily double the recipe for a full batch.

Ingredients

  • 18 Oreo cookies, crushed to find crumbs
  • 4 ounces cream cheese, cut into chunks and softened
  • 1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips
  • 1 tablespoon shortening

Preparation

Line a baking sheet with waxed paper; set aside.

In a mixing bowl, combine Oreo crumbs and cream cheese; mix with your hands (a spoon just doesn’t seem to blend the ingredients as thoroughly as necessary) until cream cheese is fully incorporated.

Using a 1-inch cookie scoop, scoop out dough and roll into balls. Place on the prepared baking sheet and refrigerate for 1-2 hours, until very firm.

In a small saucepan, melt chocolate chips and shortening together on low heat, stirring constantly to combine until fully melted.

Working quickly, dip each truffle into the chocolate and coat completely; return to waxed paper-lined baking sheet and chill until chocolate is firm. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

Red Velvet Cupcakes

red velvet cupcakesI’ve been known to eat my fair share of cupcakes on Super Bowl Sunday.

Mike likes to tell the story of how, when the Steelers lost to the Green Bay Packers a few years ago, I ate six cupcakes. Though he makes it sound as if I tucked in to a half-dozen cupcakes at once, the truth is that I did eat six cupcakes. Throughout the day. Not all at once. And it’s not like I make a habit of such things. Anyway…

Red velvet cake is often thought of as Southern, perhaps due to the red velvet armadillo groom’s cake in Steel Magnolias, but its origins are debatable. Some say it was invented at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York, while others believe it to be a concoction by Lady Eaton, wife of Canadian department store magnate Sir John Craig Eaton. In any case, most traditional American cookbooks feature a recipe for it. This one is an adaptation from the Back in the Day Bakery cookbook.

Red Velvet Cake

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 cups cake flour
  • 3/4 cup Dutch-process cocoa powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 4 tablespoons butter, at room temperature
  • 1/2 cup vegetable oil
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 2 eggs, at room temperature
  • 1/2 ounce liquid red food coloring*
  • 1/2 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1/2 cup buttermilk, at room temperature

*I used 1 2/3 bottles of red food coloring, the kind that come in the four-pack of red, green, blue, and yellow. Nearly every recipe I found called for liquid, not gel food coloring.

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line two 12-cup muffin tins with paper liners.

In a medium bowl, sift together cake flour, cocoa powder, and baking soda; set aside.

In a mixing bowl, cream together butter, vegetable oil, and sugar on medium speed for 5 minutes, until very thick and light in color.

Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each.

Add food coloring, cider vinegar, and vanilla and beat on medium speed for 2 minutes.

Add flour mixture and buttermilk alternatively, starting and ending with the flour mixture and beating on medium speed, scraping the sides of the bowl as necessary, until combined. Once the last addition of the flour mixture is added, beat on medium speed for another 2 minutes.

Using a 2-inch cookie scoop, scoop batter into prepared tins, filling about half full.

Bake for 18-20 minutes, until a cake tester comes out clean.

Cool completely before frosting.

Cream Cheese Frosting II

Ingredients

  • 4 tablespoons butter, softened
  • 8 ounces cream cheese, softened
  • 1/2 tablespoon vanilla extract
  • 3 to 3 1/2 cups powdered sugar

Preparation

In a mixing bowl, cream together butter and cream cheese for 1-2 minutes, until combined. Add vanilla and beat on medium speed for 5 minutes.

Add powdered sugar, one cup at a time, mixing well after each addition. If you’d like your frosting to be a bit sweeter, add the remaining 1/2 cup of powdered sugar.

Fit a piping bag with a large plain tip and pipe frosting onto cupcakes.

Store in the refrigerator, but bring to room temperature before serving.

Poppy Seed Rugelach

poppyseed rugelachYiddish is full of fun words like chutzpah, shlep, kvetch, maven, schmooze, nosh, and…rugelach. Rugelach translates to “little twists” or “rolled things” in Yiddish, and they can be filled with any number of tasty ingredients like nuts, fruit, chocolate, and of course, poppy seeds, which have been wildly popular in Central and Eastern European baking for a long time.

Rugelach begins with cream cheese dough, which is very simple to make. Because the dough employs both butter and cream cheese, it’s very soft when first prepared, so you’ll need to give it at least an hour or so to chill in your fridge before you use it. For the filling in these rugelach, I plan to use honey instead of sugar the next time I make this, and way more lemon zest to pump up the lemon-poppy seed flavor pairing.

Ingredients

For the dough

  • 8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
  • 1 cup butter, at room temperature
  • 1/4 cup sugar
  • zest of half a medium-sized lemon
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 2 cups flour

For the filling

  • 10 ounces poppy seed filling
  • 2 tablespoons sugar
  • zest of half a medium-sized lemon

You will also need powdered sugar for sprinkling on cookies prior to baking.

Preparation

In a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together butter, cream cheese, and sugar until light and fluffy. Add lemon zest, vanilla, and salt and beat until combined, scraping the sides of the bowl a few times.

Add flour, one cup at a time, beating until combined. Divide dough into four equal portions, flatten into discs, and refrigerate at least one hour, until firm but easy to handle.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

In a medium bowl combine poppy seeds, sugar, and lemon zest and mix well.

On a lightly floured surface, roll out one portion of dough at a time and spread with 1/4 of the poppy seed mixture. Cut into 12 wedges, then roll up each wedge starting from the outside edge.

Place rugelach on baking sheets and sprinkle generously with powdered sugar.

Bake for 18-20 minutes, until light golden brown. Cool completely before serving; the filling will be too hot to serve them right away.

Peanut Butter Banana Muffins

pb banana muffinsWhat’s the difference between a muffin and cupcake? A sweet treat like this one might hover on the border of being a cupcake flavor-wise, but what really divides muffins from cupcakes is their chemical makeup and preparation style.

Muffins, which are small quick breads, tend to rely on vegetable oil for their fat content. Their dry ingredients and wet ingredients are mixed separately, then incorporated all at once until they’re just blended to avoid gluten activation so they have a crumbly texture. Muffins can be sweet or savory, ranging from chocolate chip to bacon cornbread.

Cupcakes, which are small cakes, rely mostly on butter for their fat content. Cupcake batter is normally prepared by creaming butter and sugar together, then adding other wet ingredients like eggs and flavorings before finally incorporating the flour to activate the gluten and yield a fluffier, less crumbly texture. While cupcakes tend to be sweet, anyone who’s watched an episode of Cupcake Wars on Food Network knows that all sorts of savory ingredients have appeared in cupcakes in more recent years.

These muffins combine the great flavor friends of peanut butter, banana, and chocolate. They’d be perfect with a bit of peanut butter smeared on them, but they’re also delicious without any further enhancements.

Ingredients

  • 2 cups flour
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 tablespoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup very ripe mashed bananas (about 3 small bananas)
  • 1/3 cup milk
  • 1/3 cup peanut butter
  • 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
  • 1 egg
  • 3/4 cup milk chocolate chips

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line two muffin tins with paper liners; this recipe yields about 20 muffins.

In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.

Add the bananas, milk, peanut butter, vegetable oil, and egg all at once, using a fork to mix until combined. Stir in chocolate chips.

Using a two-inch cookie scoop, drop scoops of batter into prepared muffin tins, filling about 1/2 to 3/4 full.

Bake for 20-25 minutes, until tops are light golden and a cake tester comes out clean.

Serve warm or cool.

 

Basic Dog Treats

basic dog treatsThere are many kinds of dog treats out there, but it’s very easy to make your own with some of the most basic ingredients you’re likely to have in your pantry. In most cases, you’ll just need some flour – usually whole wheat – and other dog-friendly items like peanut butter (make sure it doesn’t contain xylitol), broth, pumpkin, banana, and so forth.

Dog treats bake for a while so they can harden, which helps them keep for longer than a traditional cookie. But since these are homemade, keep an eye on them to make sure they don’t look or smell like they shouldn’t.

Ingredients

  • 2 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 egg
  • 1/2 to 3/4 cups chicken broth

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with foil.

In a mixing bowl, combine all ingredients and stir together, then knead with your hands until a sturdy dough forms; I recommend starting with 1/2 cup of chicken broth and adding more to make the dough easier to handle as you go along.

Roll out on a very lightly floured surface and cut into desired shapes. Bake for 30-35 minutes, until golden. Cool completely on a wire rack.

Crazy Chocolate Cupcakes (Vegan!)

mo cupcakesMy goddaughter Maureen, also known as Mo, just turned three. Mike and I traveled to Maryland this weekend for her party and Mo and I baked these cupcakes together, which was great fun. She’s very good at mixing, but even better at eating. At the end of her party, she sat down by herself at the table and proceeded to eat all of the icing off of two cupcakes…a girl after my own heart.

Mo’s mom, my cousin Barb, sought a recipe that was both dairy-free and egg-free to accommodate some guests with food allergies, and she got this recipe from a friend whose sons can’t have milk or eggs. Cakes like these are also known as Depression Cakes, given the scarcity of dairy products and eggs during the Great Depression. As always, the resourcefulness of bakers never ceases to amaze me; the end result of this recipe is a delicious, moist cake that reminds me somewhat of devil’s food, but better. And, because there are no animal products in either the cake or frosting recipes, these treats are vegan! 

Note: the recipe below yields 36 cupcakes with enough frosting for generous portions on each cupcake. 

Crazy Chocolate Cupcakes

Ingredients

  • 4 1/2 cups flour
  • 9 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 3 cups sugar
  • 3 teaspoons baking soda
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
  • 3 tablespoons vinegar
  • 3 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 15 tablespoons vegetable oil (7.5 ounces, just shy of one cup)
  • 3 cups water

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line muffin tins with paper liners.

In a large bowl, combine flour, cocoa powder, sugar, baking soda, and salt. Mix until well-blended, then make three wells for the wet ingredients.

Place vinegar, vanilla, and vegetable oil in the wells; add water and mix until batter is smooth. The mixture will bubble slightly when you add the water; just keep mixing until you get a smooth consistency in the batter, which will be fairly thin.

Using a 1/4 cup measure, fill each cupcake about half-full. Bake for 13-15 minutes, until a cake tester comes out clean.

Cool completely before frosting.

Vanilla Frosting

Ingredients

  • 1 cup shortening
  • 3 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 1/2 cup water
  • 8 cups powdered sugar

Preparation

In a mixing bowl, combine shortening, 1 teaspoon vanilla, water, and 4 cups powdered sugar. Mix on low speed, then increase to medium-high and beat for 10 minutes, until smooth. Add remaining powdered sugar and additional teaspoons of vanilla extract, beating until smooth.

About Maureen

mo bakingMo is an active three-year old who loves her parents, her dog Sukey, making messes, and referring to herself in third-person. She’s an avid fan of bacon, enjoys watching Octonauts, and has been known to wear tutus over skinny jeans.

 

White Cake with Sweet Lemon Frosting

white cake with lemonLast week’s cookie-baking extravaganza left me with six egg yolks, which of course I turned into lemon curd, which I then needed to use up in some creative way. Hence, white cake with lemon curd filling and sweet lemon frosting.

Recipes for single-layer cakes like this one are quite useful, especially if you’re baking for a date night or a small gathering. Tonight, Mike and I will celebrate New Year’s Eve, and this little treat will be perfect for our dessert.

Just a few items to note: my sweet lemon frosting is similar to lemon cream cheese frosting, and it’s based on another lemon frosting recipe I saw recently, with different ratios to increase the sweetness. Appearance-wise, don’t worry if your lemon curd filling and frosting drip over the sides of your cake; this just makes the end result a more charming, old-fashioned-looking dessert.

White Cake

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 cups flour
  • 1/2 tablespoon baking powder
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 cup shortening
  • 1 egg
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
  • 3/4 cup milk

Preparation

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spray a 9-inch round cake pan with baking spray; line with a parchment circle and spray the parchment.

In a small bowl, combine flour and baking powder; set aside.

In a mixing bowl, cream together sugar, shortening, and salt until fluffy.

Add egg and vanilla; beat until combined.

Add flour mixture and milk in alternating batches, starting and ending with the flour and beating until just combined.

Pour batter into prepared pan; bake for 25 minutes, until top is golden and a cake tester comes out clean.

Cool cake completely before filling and frosting.

Lemon Curd Filling

  • 1 recipe lemon curd, prepared in advance. Reserve about 2 tablespoons prior to filling the cake for the frosting.

Sweet Lemon Frosting

Ingredients

  • 4 tablespoons butter
  • 2 ounces cream cheese
  • 2 tablespoons lemon curd
  • About 2 1/4 cups powdered sugar

Preparation

In a mixing bowl, beat butter and cream cheese until very well blended, about 3 minutes.

Add 1 cup powdered sugar and 1 tablespoon lemon curd; beat on low to begin, then increase speed and beat on medium until well-blended. Add additional cup powdered sugar and additional tablespoon lemon curd; beat on low to begin, then increase speed to medium and beat until very well-blended. Taste; add another 1/4 cup powdered sugar if desired.

To assemble the cake:

Using a very sharp knife, cut cake in half horizontally. Flip top half onto a cake platter top-side down and spread lemon curd in an even layer. Lemon curd will drip over the sides; this is fine.

Top with the remaining cake half and frost the top of the cake only, so you’ll be able to see the sides. Store in the fridge.