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Lemon and almond cake
Cooking time: 45 minutesPrep time: 15 minutesServes 8-10
150g soft butter
150g sugar
A few drops of vanilla essence
3 eggs
3 tbsp lemon curd
Zest of 2 lemons
100g ground almonds
100g rice flour
2 tsp baking powder (gluten free)To decorate
2 tbsp creme fraiche or whipped cream
Mixed berries, such as redcurrants, raspberries and strawberries
A dusting of icing sugar 1 Preheat your oven 160C/325F/gas mark 3. Grease a 20cm deep cake tin with a little butter and line with baking parchment.2 Cream together the butter and the sugar with the vanilla. Add the eggs one at a time and beat well after each addition (this can be done in a food processor).3 Add the rest of the ingredients and mix well until you have a smooth batter.4 Tip into your prepared cake tin and place in the preheated oven for about 45 minutes or until the cake is cooked through. The cake will be firm to the touch and when pierced with a skewer - it should come out clean.5 Place on a cooling rack for about 15 minutes or once it is cool enough to handle. Remove from the tin and allow it to cool completely.6 To serve, top with the creme fraiche or whipped cream, decorate with the berries and dust with the icing sugar.Recipe by Jane Baxter
What else you can do
The above cake is gluten-free, but you can use the same weight of self-raising flour and cut down the baking powder to 1 tsp. To make the cake extra lemony, pierce all over with a skewer while still warm and pour over a mixture of the juice of 2 lemons and 2 tbsp granulated sugar.General cake-baking tips
I learned to bake properly a few years back when writing a book about baking with the magnificent Claire Ptak, formerly of Chez Panisse and now of Violet Cakes in East London. She taught me loads of cake-baking tips, but there are two that have stuck in my head and I now consider to be completely invaluable.• Slow and low: If in doubt when making a cake, bake it slow and low for greater moistness throughout. The name of this method came from a Beastie Boys rap that Claire is fond of. "Slow and low - that is the tempo" is the lyric and it has become her baking mantra.• Weigh water on your scales: Measuring jugs can give you a rough idea of weight, but is not accurate enough for many recipes.Henry Dimbleby is co-founder of the natural fast-food restaurant chain Leon (@henry_leon). Get your kids cooking at cook5.co.ukPhotography: A lemon and almond cake is just the thing to make your birthday a bit more special. Jill Mead for the Guardian.
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