Avoca Cafés and restaurants, with 14 locations throughout Ireland from Mount Usher in County Wicklow to Moll’s Gap in County Kerry, serve luscious lunches, dreamy confections, and sweet treats to eat-in or to take- away. Even some of the best cooks in the country supplement their own baked goods with offerings from Avoca, especially when the holiday season rolls around. This lemon curd cake (photographed at their Suffolk Street, Dublin loation) comes beautifully embellished with seasonal berries and a glacé icing if you buy it there, but the good news is they shared the recipe with me for my Teatime in Ireland cookbook so you can bake it at home and use a simple buttercream icing. Sprinkle with lemon zest and top it with berries for a yummy Easter dessert.

LEMON CURD LAYER CAKE

Serves 8 to 10         

For the cake

8 ounces butter, at room temperature

1 cup sugar

4 large eggs

2 cups self-rising flour, sifted

1 teaspoon baking powder, sifted

Grated zest of 1 lemon, plus more for topping

1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Lemon curd, for filling

1. Preheat the oven to 325º F. Coat an 8-inch springform pan with no-stick baking spray with flour; line with parchment paper.
2. In a large bowl, beat the butter and sugar with an electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs, alternating with flour and baking powder; add lemon zest and juice. Transfer to the prepared pan.

3. Bake the cake for 45 to 50 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack for 15 minutes.
4. Remove sides of pan; let cake cool completely. Invert cake onto a serving plate; return to upright. With a serrated knife, cut the cake in half horizontally. Spread the bottom half with lemon curd; replace the top half of the cake.

For the icing

4 ounces butter, at room temperature

1 cup confectioners’ sugar

2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice

4 to 5 tablespoons heavy cream

Lemon zest, for sprinkling

Fresh berries, for garnish

1. In a medium bowl, beat the butter, sugar, lemon juice, and cream with an electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy. With an offset spatula, spread the icing over the sides and top of cake. Sprinkle with lemon zest; top with fresh berries. Refrigerate for 1 hour before cutting into slices.

Margaret Johnson is the author of 14 cookbooks, most recently Delicious Ireland: Forty Years of Fabulous Food. To order a signed copy, visit irishcook.com