Lemon, Passionfruit and Peach Cake
An easy but impressive layer cake to wow your guests. If you can’t find passionfruit curd, passionfruit syrup works well too. CAKE
300 grams butter, softened
600 grams caster sugar finely grated zest
5 lemons
9 large eggs, size 7
130ml olive oil
150ml cream
150 grams ground almonds
480 grams plain flour 1 tablespoon baking powder
SYRUP
100 grams caster sugar 100ml lemon juice
ICING
250 cheese, grams softened cream
150 grams butter, softened
320 grams icing sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
TO ASSEMBLE
300 grams lemon and passionfruit curd
2 peaches, cut into thin wedges
edible flowers
EQUIPMENT: Grease 3 x 20cm springform cake tins and fully line with baking paper.
Preheat the oven to 170°C.
CAKE: Place the butter, caster sugar and lemon zest in a bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer and beat until light and creamy. Add the eggs, olive oil and cream and mix until well incorporated. Add the ground almonds, sift in the flour and baking powder and beat for a further 2-3 minutes. Divide the batter evenly between the cake tins and bake for 35-45 minutes, or until cooked through when tested with a skewer.
SYRUP: Place the sugar and lemon juice in a small saucepan over a low heat. Once the sugar has dissolved, increase the temperature and simmer for 5 minutes, or until thickened slightly and syrupy.
While the cakes are still hot and in their tins, poke roughly 10 holes into the top of each using a skewer. Pour the syrup over each cake and set aside to cool. Be careful, excess syrup may run through the base of the cake tin.
ICING: Place the softened cream cheese and butter in a bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer. Beat for 3-4 minutes, or until smooth. Add the icing sugar and vanilla extract and beat for a further 5 minutes, or until light and fluffy.
TO ASSEMBLE: Once the cakes have cooled, remove from the tins. Place one cake on a plate or cake stand and top with one-third of the icing, one-third of the lemon and passionfruit curd and a few peach slices. Repeat twice and decorate the top layer with edible
flowers. SERVES 12-14