Lemony almond cake

Inspiration is everywhere I look, and in this case, I found it in the 2017 H&M Conscious exclusive collection where it was all about yellow, white, spring, freshness, and much more. It was something that led me to think about lemon cake. Not the traditional tart, but something more special for a tea party. And this almond lemon cake is all about that – about guilty pleasures and about enjoyment. So get that beautiful dress on and enjoy. And yes – you can cook in that dress too. To make it even more sexy.

Ingredients

Butter cream:
250 g butter, room temperature
230 g powdered sugar
1/2 vanilla bean seeds
2 tbsp creamy mascarpone

mascarpone cream:
135 g creamy mascarpone
2 tbsp lemon jam or curd

sponge:
4 eggs, room temperature
160 g light brown sugar
125 g almond flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 vanilla bean seeds
1 lemon zest, grated
55 g melted, slightly cooled butter

for cake and decorating:
125 g blueberries, cookies, edible gold sprinkles

Prepare

Heat the oven to 200°. Line a round cake pan (27 cm diameter) with parchment paper.

Prepare the cake base. Place the eggs in a bowl with the sugar and whip for about 5 minutes until the mass is light and airy. Add the almond flour, baking powder, butter, vanilla, and lemon zest. Pour the batter onto the pan, smooth the top, and bake in the centre of the oven for 15-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the centre of the cake comes out clean. When it is ready, remove it from the oven and cool to room temp. Place another sheet of paper on the top, turn the cake over, and carefully peel off the paper from the bottom.

Prepare the butter cream. In a bowl, whip the butter on medium speed for 5-7 minutes until it is light and airy. Add vanilla and lemon zest. Slowly whipping, add sugar in 5 stages. After each stage, turn up the speed for 10 seconds so that all the sugar is incorporated, and the lower the speed. At the end, add the food coloring and mix in. Then mix in mascarpone, whipping only a few seconds until incorporated.

Prepare mascarpone cream. Place the mascarpone in a bowl with jam. Mix until it is stiff, but still smooth. You can add more lemon zest if you wish to make it more lemony.

Cut the cake base into 12 – 14 rounds (depending on what size you want).

Assemble the cakes. On half of the sponge cakes, pipe the butter cream around the outer edge (4-5 mm piping bag). Put the mascarpone cream in the centre and fill with blueberries. Place the remaining sponges on top. Spread the butter cream on top and on the sides with a nice layer – or you can leave it slightly naked (you decide). Decorate and put in the fridge for 3-4 hours.

Remove from the fridge and let stand at room temperature for 1h, Please don’t eat it sooner, as the butter cream needs to soften up to give you maximum satisfaction.

Recipe, style and photos: Signe Meirāne
In collaboration with 2017 H&M Conscious Exclusive collection (released 20 April)
Furniture: Modernists
Photos taken with Sony alpha 7s