I was asked to do a chocolate cake with a lemon filling. This sounds awful to me. Is there a trick to this, or do I just do a basic chocolate cake with lemon curd?

What kind of frosting do you use? Basic buttercream, or chocolate, or lemon?

That doesn't sound very tasty to me either, but to each their own. You could probably use the ready made lemon filling or even lemon pudding as the filling. I think I would go with the chocolate buttercream, otherwise it might be too may flavors going on in that cake. Just my opinion though!

If you've already made this..what did you use and how was it? Thanks!

Might sound silly, but is lemon 'curd' and lemon 'pie filling' the same thing??

I always thought they were different but there may only be slight differences. I usually make my curd so I'm not sure what's in the store-bought fillings.

I think lemon curd is more of an opaque, pudding-LIKE filling...not as thick as pudding though and more tart in flavor.

To me, lemon (or any other flavor) pie filling is more semi-transparent and almost jelly like in its consistency.

I think lemon curd (from scratch) uses flour as a thickening agent and pie filling generally calls for cornstarch....if I'm not mistaken.

You've made me curious....have to go look it up in one of my cookbooks!!! lol

Hope that helps....

Jenn

Well, I was close on the curd description, but not exactly right.....here's a link with some great info on lemon curd....

http://www.joyofbaking.com/LemonCurd.html

The lemon curd actually holds up better and can keep at room temperature or be made up ahead and frozen. Martha Stewart's site has a few different recipes. The Wilton site has an easy lemon filling recipe that doesn't require refridgeration either. Using a gelatin based pie filling may get you some separation issues. The Jello Lemon Pie Filling that you cook, definitely will not hold up at room temperature and has a tendency to separate.
Jenn T you did make a good comparison of the two as far as I am concerned!
Hugs Squirrelly Cakes

Great! Thanks everyone for clarifying that. I've got to try a curd for my fillings now.

Can that be mixed with a bit of buttercream for filling?

Thanks!

Hhmn, possibly, how is that for an answer, haha! You know, I haven't tried it. I always tend to think of lemon souring things and causing them to curdle but that is usually just when you add the actual fresh lemon to things. I would try a bit mixed in a bit of buttercream and see how well it blends. Check out Martha's site, there is more than one lemon curd recipe there, sometimes as part of a cake or pie or tart recipe.
Hugs SQuirrelly

Thanks!! I'll do that.