I'm making a French vanilla cake that will be 3-8" cakes, torted, with lemon, lime, and orange curds between layers, then covered with buttercream icing.

Question #1. Does this cake need to be refrigerated? (I'm pretty sure it does, but want to know for sure.)

Question #2. Should I leave out the butter in the citrus curd recipes to make them thicker?

Question #3. If the answer to the first question is yes, then how long can it sit out without refrigeration?

Thanks,
LadyMike

Anyone???

I remember reading that the amount of acid in the citrus and the recipe used were the deciding factors in whether or not the resulting curd required refrigeration. However, I can't locate that info now.

Here's Alton Brown's lemon curd recipe:

http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,,FOOD_9936_133,00.html

One from Recipezaar:

http://www.recipezaar.com/37890

Also, not using the butter might result in a congealed mess and not the smooth filling you're hoping for.

HTH

I've left curd filled cakes out for 2 days with no problems. Is it safe? I don't know, but we didn't get sick. Also, you don't want to leave the butter out of the curd! It might become "crud!" Yes, the curd is a little on the thin side, and if you do refrigerate it, it will thicken up, but even with it thin, it has an intense enough taste that a little can go a long way. IMO, anyway.

I usually refrigerate my curds to thicken them before I use them to fill with. I have left them out for a day before with no problems since the eggs are cooked and the citrus and sugar help keep it ok. Do NOT leave out the butter it is a very important ingredient.

From a scientific standpoint : The butter will actually allow it to become thicker. IE... when butter is cold it is solid -- Make sure you use real butter and not margerine (spelling sorry)

If you want thick - use perserves (I made lemon and raspberry curd and used raspberry perserves it bacame ticker than the lemon) Make sure if you use Alton Brown's recipe you follow it directly... I did not the first time and my Lemon curd ended up breaking down before I could use it, I had to make another batch. Good Luck and if you sample it, try it on Vanilla ice cream .. however you may want to make a little extra in this case, My husband tried some and the raspberry ended up all in his tummy, I had to make another batch of that as well ... LOL

Everything you ever wanted to know about lemon curd:
(The role of the individual ingredients, and the importance of the correct proportions of ingredients and cooking method.)

http://tinyurl.com/5n3onz

HTH

Thanks so much to all of you. I'll start it right now and refrigerate it overnight. It probably won't be out that long anyway. Knowing my family, it'll be gone before it has a chance to go bad.

BTW, Jan (fellow Hoosier ), thanks for the recipes, but I'm going to try a new recipe I found that can be done in the microwave. If it works, I'll definitely share it with all of you.

Thanks again!
LadyMike

Is it this highly rated microwave recipe:

http://www.recipezaar.com/61278

(Can use any citrus juice/zest.)

Thanks again Jan! That is definitely more info than I'll ever need. How do you know all this stuff??? You're a walking talking encyclopedia for all of us. We are truly blessed to have someone like you here to help us. I am in awe of your never-ending fountain of knowledge. You're great!

LadyMike

I should have known you'd know about it, but actually, this is the one I was going to use:

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Microwave-Lemon-Curd/Detail.aspx?prop31=3

But I think I may like yours even better. You are awesome!!!

Thanks again!
LadyMike