Lemon and blueberry cake

BUTTERY almond cake meets sharp lemon curd and vanilla whipped cream in this impressive celebration cake. The clever part is that the egg whites lighten the cake while the leftover yolks make the velvety lemon curd. SERVES 8 Per serving: Calories, 470; carbohydrates, 15g; protein, 8.3g; fat, 41g; fibre, 6.1g

FOR THE CAKE:

2 medjool dates, chopped Grated zest and juice of 1 lemon 200g ground almonds 35g coconut flour 1 tsp baking powder 75g melted butter 2 tsp vanilla extract 150ml whole milk 3 medium egg whites

FOR THE LEMON CURD:

2 medjool dates, chopped 4 tbsp of water 6 tbsp lemon juice (approx 1 lemon) Zest of 1 lemon 70g butter 4 egg yolks, beaten

TO SERVE:

180ml whipped cream 150g blueberries.

HEAT the oven to 170c/gas mark 3. Grease a baking tin and line with paper. For the cake, melt the dates in the lemon juice in a microwave for 30 seconds and set aside. Mix together the almonds, coconut flour and baking powder in a bowl. Add the melted butter, vanilla extract and lemon zest and stir through. Sieve the date puree into the bowl, then add the milk and stir. Whisk the egg

whites until they form stiff peaks. Mix some of the egg whites into the batter to loosen it, then fold the remaining whites in with a spoon. Spoon the batter into the tin and bake for 25-30 minutes, or until golden brown. Leave to cool. For the lemon curd, put the dates, water and lemon juice into a saucepan and bring to a gentle boil, mashing the dates with a fork until they dissolve. Remove from the heat and sieve into a bowl. Put the date puree back into the saucepan and stir in the zest and butter. Tip in the beaten egg yolks while stirring vigorously with a wooden spoon. When they are well combined, put the pan over a gentle heat once more and stir constantly until the curd thickens. Remove from the heat straight away and allow to cool before using. Use a spatula to spread the cake with a generous layer of lemon curd, plus the whipped cream and blueberries.