Orange Curd and Mascarpone Cake

There's something very pleasing about a layer cake, they're indulgent but not fancy, homey but not plain.   They work for most occasions, from elevenses to an appearance as a birthday cake.  If you don't eat this right away, it really should be chilled because of the filling, which is a shame- refrigerated cakes just aren't the same. However, we just had this as a pudding for after lunch, and save a tiny slice it was gone by the end of the day. Despite the richness of the filling, this has a lightness to it, due to the tang of the curd. 

Ingredients

For the cake:

225g butter,at room tempterature

225g caster sugar

4 medium eggs, room temperature, beaten

Zest of on large orange

225g self raising flour

approx 2 tbsp orange juice

Method

Get the boring parts out of the way; preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4, grease and line 2 x 18cm/7in cake tins with baking paper. Cream the butter and sugar together in a large mixing bowl until pale and fluffy. Beat in a quarter of the egg mix with a tablespoon of the flour, repeat until all the egg is used. Stir in the orange zest. Sift the flour into the bowl and fold in with a large metal spoon until well combined. The mixture should be a soft 'dropping' consistency- i.e. it should fall off the spoon in thick lumps, add some juice if it needs some adjusting. Divide between the two cake tins, smoothing the top with a knife or spatula. Back for 20-25 minutes, until a skewer pierced in the centre comes out clean. Allow to cool on a wire rack.

For the filling:

284g mascarpone

150g orange curd

Turn the less attractive cake upside down onto a plate and spread with the mascarpone, and then the curd on top of that. Top with the other sponge, and admire.