One of my favorite treats is lemon curd. It sounds terrible but in fact, the intense smooth lemon spread is great on biscuits, scones, or English muffins.

Once when I was entertaining and needed to save time I concocted a quick dessert that pleased everyone. I took a pound cake out of the freezer along with a container of Cool Whip. I spread a layer of lemon curd on a thin slice of cake, then topped it with a spoonful of Cool Whip.

Recipe (serves 4)

4 small slices of pound cake (I buy the frozen Sara Lee brand)
4 Tablespoons of lemon curd (find a jar of lemon curd where jellies and jams are stocked)
1 1/2 cups of Cool Whip (or some other non-dairy whipped topping) or freshly whipped cream

Place a piece of cake on a plate, spread about 1 tablespoon of lemon curd on top, and about 1/3 cup of whipped topping on top of the lemon curd.

Otpional: Use some other spread like rasberry jam or fig spread instead of lemon curd. Top with thinly sliced almonds.

To make a fancier version of this recipe, you could use home-made cake and real whipped cream.

This recipe may not be as healthy as our other recipes, but it is a great evening dessert, and because it does not contain caffeine (like chocolate) it won’t keep you awake at night. The fact that it is so quick and easy may help relieve a little stress when you’re in a hurry — especially during the holidays.