A rich, lemony cake that makes a perfect entertaining dessert. Serve at a special occasion or a summer dinner party.
Ingredients
- 330g butter, softened, plus extra
- for greasing
- 130g fine polenta, plus extra for dusting
- 300g caster sugar
- 4 large free-range eggs
- 300g ground almonds
- 1½ tsp baking powder
- 4 tsp plain flour
- Grated zest of 4 large lemons and juice of 2
For the syrup
- 100g caster sugar
- Juice of 1 large lemon
- 2 tbsp limoncello liqueur (from major supermarkets)
For the icing
- 250g mascarpone
- 150ml double cream
- 2 tbsp icing sugar
- 4-5 tbsp lemon curd
- Handful toasted flaked almonds,
- to decorate
Method
- 1. Preheat the oven to 160°C/fan140°C/gas 3. Butter a 23cm springform cake tin, line the base with baking paper, butter again and dust all over with a little polenta. In a bowl, beat the softened butter and caster sugar together until light and fluffy, then gradually whisk in the eggs, one at a time.
- 2. Fold in the polenta, almonds, baking powder and plain flour. Add the lemon zest and juice, and mix well. Spoon into the cake tin and smooth over using a palette knife.
- 3. Bake for 1¼ hours until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean (cover the cake loosely with foil if it starts to colour too much).
- 4. Meanwhile, make the syrup by heating the sugar, lemon juice and limoncello in a small pan.
- 5. When the cake is ready, remove from the oven and pierce the top all over with a skewer. Spoon the warm syrup over the warm cake and leave to cool in the tin for 15 minutes. Carefully remove the cake from the tin and cool on a wire rack.
- 6. Make the icing. Beat together the mascarpone, cream and icing sugar in a bowl until smooth. Place the cake on a serving plate and spread with the icing. Drizzle with the lemon curd, swirling it into the icing with the end of a skewer. Decorate with the toasted almonds.
Nutritional info
Per serving: 906kcals, 66.9g fat (31.7g saturated), 12.8g protein, 65.5g carbs, 49.2g sugar, 0.8g salt
Chef's tip
To freeze: make up to the end of step 3. Wrap in cling film, then foil, and freeze for up to 1 month. Defrost overnight in the fridge and continue with the recipe.