For the cake:
200g unsalted butter, at room temperature, plus more for greasing
Finely grated zest of 2 lemons
200g caster sugar
4 eggs, at room temperature
2 teaspoons baking powder
¾ teaspoon ground turmeric
¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
2 tablespoons poppy seeds (optional)
200g (1⅓ cups) plain flour
For the drizzle:
100ml (scant ½ cup) lemon juice (from about 4 lemons)
75g (⅓ cup) granulated sugar
For the filling
125g mascarpone
125g tangy lemon curd
METHOD
Grease and line two 20cm sandwich tins. Heat the oven to 190°C/170°C fan.
In a large bowl or stand mixer, beat the butter with the lemon zest and sugar until softened. Beat in all the remaining cake ingredients except the flour. Once smooth, gently fold in the flour.
Divide between the two tins and level the surfaces. Bake for 20 minutes, or until the tops are browned and springy.
Leaving the cakes in their tins, prick the surfaces all over with a cocktail stick. Mix the lemon juice and sugar together briefly then drizzle the liquid slowly over the two cakes, saving all the undissolved sugar to spoon over the top cake. Once the liquid has sunk in, remove the cakes from their tins and cool on a rack.
For the filling, swirl the mascarpone and lemon curd together. When the cakes are completely cool, sandwich them together with the lemony mixture, using the sugar-crusted cake on the top.
This cake is best eaten on the day it is made, but if keeping it for longer then store in the fridge.
SPICE SWITCH
Cardamom, lemon and ginger drizzle: substitute the turmeric and poppy seeds in the sponge with the ground seeds of 5 green cardamom pods. Sandwich the cakes with a slick of ginger marmalade and a larger quantity of lightly sweetened whipped cream.
Images and text from A Whisper
of Cardamom by Eleanor Ford,
photography by Ola O. Smit. Murdoch Books RRP $55.00.
