Last week, I was really craving some cake. I don’t believe in occasions for eating cake, but I’ve been trying to eat healthier, so I jumped on the idea of celebrating the Justice League trailer and making dessert because my parents were having people over. I have no idea why, but I wanted something lemony, and I had a very specific idea in my head of the look and taste of what I wanted. It would be a light, fluffy layered cake with a lemon curd filling and an icing glaze. That’s…not what I made.

I mixed up my cake batter. Pretty standard stuff, but I added a bit of lemon zest and lemon juice to it. I don’t exactly know why – not enough baking powder? Old baking powder? – but when I baked it, it came out much denser than I was anticipating.

The cakes came out of the pans cleanly, and they held up very well, even after being cut, but consistency-wise, I was imagining something much lighter. It didn’t taste bad, but I’d have preferred something else. Next time I try it, I’ll add more baking powder.

Lemon juice, lemon zest, egg yolks, butter, sugar, and a little bit of cream – this curd was delicious. Without it, the cake would have been completely unmemorable, but it was incredibly tasty – both sweet and tart, rich without being heavy. I didn’t quite let it cool long enough before using it, so it didn’t quite thicken, but I stuck it in the fridge afterwards, and it was fine.

I made too much of the curd, so instead of just using it as a filling between the layers, I covered the entire cake in it and skipped the glaze. It wasn’t what I intended to make, but I can’t complain about the results – using the lemon curd made something ridiculously indulgent and, if I do say so myself, fantastic.