Circle B Kitchen
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup plain whole-milk yogurt
1 cup sugar
3 large eggs
1 teaspoon (packed) finely grated lemon peel
1 teaspoon limoncello liqueur
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup (or more) limoncello for drizzling
1/2 cup mascarpone cheese, room temperature
1 1/4 cups lemon curd (store-bought or homemade -see recipe below)
2 teaspoons of grated lemon zest
Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 350°F. Generously butter 8 1/2x4 1/2x2 1/2-inch metal loaf pan. Sift flour, baking powder, and salt into medium bowl. Combine yogurt, sugar, eggs, limoncello and lemon peel in large bowl; whisk until well blended. Gradually whisk in dry ingredients. Using rubber spatula, fold in oil. Transfer batter to prepared pan. Place pan on baking sheet.
Place cake on baking sheet in oven and bake until cake begins to pull away from sides of pan and tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 40 to 50 minutes. Cool cake in pan on rack 5 minutes. Cut around pan sides to loosen cake. Turn cake out onto rack.
While still warm, puncture holes in the top of the cake and drizzle with the limoncello. Let this soak in completely.
Mix together the mascarpone cheese and lemon curd, adjusting the amounts of each to your own tastes for how lemon-y or creamy you would like the frosting.
Slice the cake in half horizontally and spread the bottom half with a little less than half of the frosting. Replace the top half of the cake and spread with the remaining frosting and then sprinkle with the lemon zest.
Makes 8 servings.
Lemon Curd
Yields 1 1/2 cups
Recipe adapted from Martha Stewart
3 eggs
2 egg yolks
1 cup sugar
1⁄2 cup fresh lemon juice (I sometimes add another ¼ cup for extra lemony-ness)
1⁄2 cup unsalted butter
1 tablespoon lemon rind, grated
DIRECTIONS
In a heavy, medium saucepan whisk the eggs and egg yolks until well blended and then add the sugar and lemon juice and stir to combine. Cook over medium low heat, stirring constantly, for about 8-10 minutes or until the mixture is fairly thick and coats the back of a wooden spoon.
Remove from heat and immediately pour through a sieve or strainer to catch any egg bits. This also creates a smooth, curd texture.
Stir in the cold butter pieces and once the butter has melted, add the grated zest and stir to combine.
Transfer to a tightly covered storage container. At this point you can refrigerate the curd (it will last for 2-3 weeks) or you can freeze it for much longer.