Celebrate the Life: Recipe of White Chocolate & Lemon Easter Cake

For a lighter and more special alternative to traditional Easter desserts, surprise everyone at home with this lemon and white chocolate cake that will sweeten this festivity.
To prepare this cake we suggest Le Creuset Evolution Shallow Casserole. Its large, flat shape and low walls make it perfect both for preparing cakes and for browning meat and vegetables, making stews, frying, and baking. It's ideal for preparing dishes to die for.

Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 40 minutes (plus time to decorate)
Serves: 12 people
You will need: Small pyrex bowl and cling film

Ingredients:
For the cake:

• 235g unsalted butter
• 235g caster sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla essence
• 1 lemon, juice & zest
• 235g self-raising flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 4 large eggs
• 100g white chocolate, roughly chopped
• For the buttercream:
• 50g unsalted butter
• 100g lemon curd
• 250g icing sugar

For the nest:

• 100g white chocolate
• 50g vermicelli noodles
• 100g chocolate mini eggs
• To decorate:
• White chocolate curls
• Lemon zest

Preparation:

1. Preheat the oven to 190°C/ Fan 170°C/ Gas Mark 4
2. In a food mixer, beat together the butter, sugar, and vanilla until light and fluffy. Add the lemon zest and juice and beat again for 30 seconds - the mixture will split but this is okay.
3. In a bowl combine the flour and baking powder. Crack an egg into the butter lemon mixture followed by a spoonful of flour. Beat vigorously for approximately 20 seconds until completely incorporated into the mixture. Repeat with the remaining eggs.
4. Sprinkle in the remaining flour and beat just until combined. Using a metal spoon, gently fold in the white chocolate.
5. Lightly grease the shallow casserole before pouring in the cake batter. Place in the preheated oven and bake for 35 - 40 minutes until a skewer comes out clean when inserted into the centre of the cake. If the cake is browning too much and is not cooked through, simply cover with foil and return to the oven for the remaining cook time.
6. Once baked, remove the cake from the oven and allow it to fully cool in the casserole placed on a wire cooling rack.

For the cream and the nest:

1. In the meantime, make the buttercream and nest. Combine all the buttercream ingredients in a food mixer and beat until light and fluffy. Place in the fridge until ready to assemble.
2. To make the edible nest, melt the white chocolate either in a heatproof dish over a pan of simmering water, or gently in short intervals in the microwave. When the chocolate is melted, break the noodles into approximately 10cm strands and stir through the chocolate until all covered.
3. Line the inside of a small bowl with cling film. Spoon the noodles into the bowl, spreading them up the sides creating a nest shape, ensuring there is a bevel in the middle of the nest to hold the eggs. Place in the fridge until set.
4. When the cake is cooled and ready for assembly, spread the lemon buttercream over the top of the cake. Sprinkle the parameter of the cake with chocolate flakes and lemon zest.
5. Remove the set nest from the bowl and cling film. Place the nest in the middle of the cake and finish by filling with chocolate mini eggs.

Note: Make sure your cake is completely cooled before icing and decorating - this may take at least a couple of hours so make your sponge cake well in advance.

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Make your Easter sweeter!
Let's celebrate new life