serves
8
prep
45 minutes
cook
1 hour
difficulty
Mid
serves
8
people
preparation
45
minutes
cooking
1
hour
difficulty
Mid
level
Ingredients
- 150 g (1 cup) plain flour
- 1 tbsp cornflour
- 80 g (⅔ cup) almond meal
- 8 eggs, separated
- 165 g (¾ cup) caster sugar
- 200 ml thickened cream
- ¼ tsp vanilla extract
- 250 g mascarpone
- 1 cup or use good-quality store-bought lemon curd
Lemon syrup
- 400 g caster sugar
- 2 lemons, thinly sliced
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 180°C. Grease and line two round 20 cm cake pans with baking paper.
Sift the flours and almond meal into a bowl, then sift again. In a separate bowl, beat yolks and 80 g sugar with electric beaters until thick and pale. Set aside.
In a clean bowl, whisk eggwhites until soft peaks form. Whisk in remaining 85 g sugar, then continue to whisk until glossy peaks form. Fold eggwhite mixture into yolk mixture. Working in 3 batches, fold in flour mixture until just combined.
Pour batter into cake pans. Bake for 25 minutes or until pale golden and thetops spring back when lightly touched. Cool in pans for 5 minutes, then transfer cakes to a wire rack to cool completely.
For the syrup, heat sugar and 400 ml water in a saucepan over low heat, stirring until sugar has dissolved. Increase heat to medium, then add lemon. Cover the surface with baking paper and simmer for 30 minutes or until the syrup has thickened and lemon is translucent. Set aside.
Lightly whip cream and vanilla with electric beaters, then add the mascarpone and beat on low speed until combined.
To assemble, cut each cake in half horizontally. Place 1 layer on a plate and brush liberally with lemon syrup. Spread with one-third of the curd and top with one-third of the cream. Repeat layers 2 more times, then top with a final layer of cake. Drizzle top with remaining syrup and decorate with the candied lemon slices.
Photography by Petrina Tinslay, styling by David Morgan and art direction by Anne Marie Cummins.
Cook's Notes
Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.
