AMALFI CAKE

ALMOND SPONGE LAYERS, LIMONCELLO LEMON CURD & RASPBERRY SAUCE

Here we have four layers of the most delicious almond and lemon curd cake, inspired by my mentor Gennaro Contaldo, who lives and breathes lemons in all that he does. Great as a tea cake, special treat or beautiful dessert – enjoy!

SERVES 16-20

1 HOUR PLUS COOLING

SPONGE

340g unsalted butter (at room temperature), plus extra for greasing 340g golden caster sugar 6 large free-range eggs 3 lemons 250g self-raising flour 150g ground almonds 2 teaspoons baking powder

FILLING & TOPPING

150g frozen raspberries 1 teaspoon runny honey ½ lemon 300g unsalted butter (at room temperature) 500g icing sugar semi-skimmed milk limoncello, for drizzling 200g lemon curd (for homemade, see the book) ♥ Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/gas 4. Grease two 20cm springform cake tins and line the bases with greaseproof paper circles. For the sponge, by hand or with an electric mixer, beat the butter and sugar together until super-light and fluffy. One-by-one, beat in the eggs, then finely grate in the lemon zest and fold in the flour, ground almonds, baking powder and a good pinch of sea salt. Divide between the prepared tins and spread out evenly. Bake for 40-45 minutes, or until golden, risen and an inserted skewer comes out clean. Cool a little in the tins, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. ♥ Mix the raspberries with the honey and lemon juice and leave to macerate for 30 minutes, mashing occasionally, then push through a sieve to make a smooth sauce. For the buttercream, beat the butter by hand or with an electric mixer until pale. Sift in half the icing sugar and beat for 1 minute, then sift in the rest. Add a splash of milk and beat for 3-4 minutes, or until pale and creamy. ♥ To assemble the cake, start by very carefully cutting each sponge in half so you end up with four rounds. Place one sponge on a cake stand, add a few drips of limoncello to the sponge, top with a thin, even layer of buttercream, then one of lemon curd, and repeat until you’ve got all four sponges stacked on top of each other. Spread the rest of the buttercream all over the top and sides of the cake, smoothing it out nice and evenly. Rotate the stand as you go to help you, but try not to overwork the buttercream. Gently spoon the remaining lemon curd on top, letting it drizzle artfully down the sides. Serve the raspberry sauce in a little jug on the side, ready to drizzle over each slice at the table.

NUTRITION PER SERVING

564 kcal; 34.4g fat (18.8g saturated); 5.7g protein; 61.2g carbs; 50.7g sugars; 0.4g salt; 0.6g fibre.