Recipes

Almond and Lemon Cake

Another cake using the one-bowl method that is quick to make and tasty to eat. Almonds always add a moistness and depth of flavour to a cake. It also creates a lovely crumb. This cake can be made and eaten as is without a filling. Simply beat all the ingredients together and add to a large round 23cm baking pan and bake. 
It can also be made into 2 or 3 layers of cake. As you increase the layers, the pan size gets smaller. 2 x 20cm pans or 3 x 18cm pans will work well.

The same variety applies with the frostings. Anything will work from vanilla buttercream to chocolate ganache to cream cheese frosting. (see frostings and fillings)
I turned this cake into a dessert cake by baking 5 very thin layers baked in 20cm round pans, sandwiched with a maple infused whipped cream, topped with whole strawberries glazed with maple syrup. The addition of cream cheese to the whipped cream gives the frosting a lovely mild tangy flavour as well as stability when piping.

For a lovely tea or get together, I would bake one or 2 layers at the most. For a very special occasion I would use the 5 layer method. This cake recipe could just as easily make 15-18 cupcakes. 

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Ingredients for cake

  • 225 g softened butter
  • 225 g castor sugar
  • 225 g self-raising flour
  • 70g ground almonds
  • 4 large eggs
  • zest of 1 large lemon

Method to make cake

  • Preheat oven to 180 degrees celsius.
  • Grease and line the bottom of 2 x 20cm round cake pans.
  • Add all ingredients to a mixing bowl and beat with an electric beater.
  • Beat until all ingredients are well combined and the mixture is smooth, creamy and very pale in colour.
  • Turn batter into baking pans and bake for 25-30 minutes if using 2 pans and 45-50 minutes if baking with one large 23 cm pan.
  • Cake is done when well risen, light golden in colour, spongy to the touch and coming away from the sides of the pan.
  • Cool in pan for 5 minutes before turning onto a wire rack to completely cool.

Maple-infused whipped cream

  • 125g full-fat cream cheese
  • 250 ml whipping cream
  • 2 TB maple syrup
  • 2 TB icing sugar
  • Beat cream cheese until smooth.
  • Add very cold whipped cream, maple syrup and icing sugar and beat till voluminous and thick, till there is medium-stiff peaks.
  • Sandwich cake layers with the cream.
  • Decorate with lush strawberries.
  • Glaze the strawberries with some maple syrup.

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