Citrus cake for Jacqui

By Clare

Cakes and biscuits Recipes Type Uncategorized

We made this cake as a birthday cake for a friend, but our senior management team ate most of it by mistake (they said) the day before. This was just as well as, although we loved the mix of the lemon curd and the toasted pinenuts we still thought the whole thing needed further improvements.

Now we think we have this citrusy cake just where we want it, with added orange and Grand Marnier, and the soft, creamy centre.

You’ll need a 23 cm/9” loose-bottomed cake tin.

If you want an alternative to this cake, try Claire Walker’s Really Exceptional Whole Lemon Cake.

A citrus cake for Jacqui

Serves 8-10

Ingredients

250g/8 oz butter
250g/1¼ cups/8 oz golden caster sugar
250g/2½ cups/8 oz ground almonds
3 eggs
2 lemons, zest and juice
140g/1 cup plain flour
1½ tsp baking powder
Salt
Lemon curd
160 ml/⅔ cup double cream
1 orange
1½ Grand Marnier or Cointreau
90g/⅔ cup toasted pine nuts (or dry fry untoasted ones)

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 180°
Mix the butter and sugar together until frothier and cream-coloured.
Stir in the ground almonds, and then beat in the eggs, one at a time. Zest the lemons straight into the mix, then juice the lemons and add the juice.
Add the flour, the baking powder and the salt.
Bake for 30 minutes, or until a metal skewer comes out clean. Take it out of the oven, get it out of the tin, and leave to cool on a wire rack.
Cut the peel and pith off the orange with a serrated knife, and chop it into small segments, removing any pips as you go.
Spread the lemon curd over the cake, and scatter over the toasted pine nuts.
If you are planning to serve this later, you should skip the next two steps, and fill the cake just before serving.
Whip the cream, and whip in the Gran Marnier.
By this stage the cake will probably be cool. Cut it horizontally, using a bread knife. Spread the orange pieces over the bottom half of the cake, and fill with the flavoured cream.
Serve with a flourish!