Lemon syrup cake with mascarpone elderflower icing

Use a tart variety of lemon to give this cake a good citrus flavour. Elderflower cordial has a distinctive flavour which I really enjoy, but you could substitute with 1 teaspoon vanilla extract.

Serves 8–10

Cake

350g caster sugar

2 free-range eggs

250g natural, unsweetened yoghurt 200ml sunflower oil

Finely grated zest of 3 lemons 250g self-raising flour

Lemon syrup 4 Tbsp caster sugar 4 Tbsp lemon juice Mascarpone elderflower icing

250g mascarpone, at room temperature 125g traditional cream cheese, softened 50g icing sugar, sifted

2 Tbsp elderflower cordial

1 lemon

1 Heat the oven to 180C. Line a 22cm or 23cm round cake tin with baking paper.

2 Place the caster sugar, eggs, yoghurt, oil and lemon zest in the bowl of an electric mixer. Mix on low speed until just combined. Sift in the self-raising flour, then mix until just combined. Pour the cake mixture into the prepared tin and place in the oven to bake for 40–45 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the centre of the cake comes out clean. Remove from the oven.

3 For the lemon syrup, in a small bowl, mix together the caster sugar and lemon juice until the sugar dissolves. Spoon the syrup over the hot cake and leave to cool in the tin. 4 For the icing, place the mascarpone, cream cheese and icing sugar in a bowl and mix gently using a wooden spoon or spatula to combine. Add the elderflower cordial and gently stir through.

5 To serve, remove the cooled cake from its tin and place on a serving plate. Spread the mascarpone icing over the top of the cake, or alternatively get a little creative and pipe rosettes of icing on top. Finish by finely grating the zest of the lemon over the iced cake.