Ingredients
Serves 4-6
For the lemon curd
1 and 1/4 cup caster sugar
2 teaspoons cornflour
2 whole eggs
2 egg yolks
200ml fresh lemon juice
120g unsalted butter (cut in cubes)
For the Fillo Pastry layers & shards
15 sheets Antoniou Fillo Pastry
150g butter, melted
4 tbsp rapadura sugar
For the mascarpone cream
300g mascarpone, at room temperature
300ml thickened cream
Recipe tips
Fillo shards
This no waste Fillo Pastry recipe, utilises the off cuts to make these sculptural Fillo shard decorations.
Method
Before you begin this Filo Pastry recipe, take your packet of Filo Pastry out of the fridge, still in its plastic bag and allow it to come up to room temperature.
To make the lemon curd
Place sugar and cornflour in a saucepan. Whisk well. Add whole eggs, egg yolks and lemon juice. Whisk well. Add the butter.
Place saucepan over medium heat and whisk constantly until the mixture thickens (8-10 minutes). Strain the curd through a sieve into a bowl. Cover bowl with cling wrap, so that the wrap is touching the curd, to avoid a skin forming. Refrigerate for 2 hours. (This can be made ahead and stored in a sterilised jar in the fridge).
To make the Fillo layers and shards
Preheat your oven to 200 degrees Celsius.
Lay one sheet of Filo Pastry on a clean bench with the short side facing you. Brush with melted butter. Sprinkle some rapadura sugar liberally over the Pastry.
Repeat this step with 3 more sheets of Fillo Pastry to create a neat stack, brushing with butter and sprinkling with sugar between each layer. Place a final sheet of Fillo Pastry on top of the stack (but do not butter it).
Place an 18cm round cake tin base or plate onto the Fillo Pastry and use it as a template to cut two round circles. Ensure you use a sharp knife so that you can cut all the way through the Fillo Pastry stack.
Cut the surrounding Fillo Pastry into rough triangular or rectangular shapes, these will be used to create Pastry shards. Brush the top of the cut Fillo Pastry gently with butter, sprinkle with rapadura sugar and transfer the round cut outs and shards to large baking trays.
Place in the oven and cook for 10 minutes. The Pastry should be a dark golden colour when it is ready. Repeat this process with the remaining sheets of Fillo Pastry to create 4 more round shapes and lots of shards.
Allow the circles and shards to cool completely. These can be made ahead of time and stored in an airtight container.
To make the cream filling
Place the thickened cream into a bowl. Using an electric mixer, beat the cream until it is thick. In a separate bowl, beat the mascarpone until it is smooth. Fold the mascarpone into the thickened cream until combined. Place in the fridge until you are ready to assemble the cake.
To assemble
Place a little spoonful of the cream mixture onto the centre of your serving platter (to stop the first Fillo layer from moving) and place the first Fillo layer over it.
Spread 1/6 of the cream mixture over the first layer. Spoon 1/6 of the lemon curd mixture over the cream. Repeat this step until you have used all of the layers, cream and curd. Place the Fillo shards on top of the cake.
Recipe, styling and photography by Sydney Food Sisters.
How to make a lemon curd Fillo layer cake