LEMON AND ROSEMARY ALMOND CAKE

There are countless recipes for lemon drizzle cake, each with their own twist, but when baked with rosemary it’s particularly delicious. I first tried this combination at the E5 Bakehouse in London and I just had to make a version of my own. In the event that there are leftovers (as if!), this will last a good week or so in an airtight tin. Serves 8 Butter, for greasing 6 large eggs 400g (14oz) caster sugar Zest, finely grated, and juice of 3 large lemons 300g (10½oz) ground almonds 2 sprigs of rosemary Preheat the oven to 170°C/fan 150°C/gas 3. Grease and line a 23cm (9in) loose-bottomed cake tin with baking parchment. Separate 5 of the eggs, placing the whites in one bowl and the yolks into another. Crack the remaining whole egg into the bowl with the yolks and add 300g (10½oz) of the caster sugar and the zest of the lemons. Whisk the yolks and sugar until the sugar more or less dissolves, then beat in the almonds. This will be an almost impossibly thick batter, but that is normal.

Using a clean whisk or handheld electric mixer, whisk the egg whites until they form fairly stiff peaks. Scoop one-third of the egg white into the yolk mixture and beat vigorously, then gently fold the remaining egg white into the batter using a spatula or large metal spoon, being careful not to deflate the whites. Pour the batter into the prepared cake tin and bake in the oven for 45-50 minutes until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out fairly clean – there may be the odd moist crumb on there – then remove from the oven.

While the cake is baking, make the syrup. Put the remaining 100g (3½oz) caster sugar in a saucepan with the lemon juice, 50ml (2fl oz) water and the sprigs of rosemary. Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. Boil for 1 minute, then set aside until the cake is baked. As soon as the cake comes out of the oven, pierce it repeatedly with a skewer, then pour the syrup over the top and leave it to soak in while the cake cools completely in the tin. Remove from the tin to serve.