Ingredients

Method

For the lemon-curd:
• 4 large free-range eggs
• 1 large egg yolk
• 350 g caster sugar
• 225 g butter
• 4 large lemons, juiced and zested
• 1 T good-quality cocoa, plus extra for dusting
• 200 g dark chocolate, chopped
• 200 g butter, chopped
• 4 free-range eggs
• 4 free-range egg yolks
• 1 T vanilla extract
• 100 g caster sugar
• 50 g flour

Method

Ingredients

To make the lemon curd, place a saucepan over a medium to low heat. Whisk together the eggs and egg yolk and place in the saucepan. Add the sugar, butter, lemon juice and zest. Whisk continually for 10–15 minutes, or until smooth and thick. Remove from the heat. Allow to cool and thicken further. Spoon 1 T lemon curd into 6 cavities of an ice tray and freeze.

Preheat the oven to 200°C. Grease 6 metal dariole moulds or tea cups and dust with cocoa powder. Melt the chocolate and butter in a glass bowl over a pan of simmering water. Cool for 10 minutes.

Whisk the eggs and sugar until creamy. Stir in the vanilla extract and the chocolate mixture. Sift in the flour and cocoa and fold in.

Half-fill the moulds with batter, then add a cube of frozen lemon curd to each mould and add more batter until they are two-thirds full. Bake for 15–20 minutes, or until the tops spring back when gently touched. Run a knife around the edges of the cakes and turn out onto plates.

Cook's note: Lemon curd is so easy to make yourself and I love using it in this citrusy take on a chocolate fondant. Simply double the quantity of batter if you have more guests.

Discover more recipes featuring citrus here.