Lemon and almond cake

Ingredients for 1 servings:

• 6 m.-sized eggs
• 170 g sugar, fine
• 150 g flour
• 110 g almond(s), ground
• 1 lemon(s), untreated, zest
• 90 g butter, melted, still lukewarm
• 1 pinch of salt
• 1 lemon(s)
• 125 ml water
• 20 g sugar
• 75 g gelling sugar, 3:1
• 200 g white chocolate coating
• 60 ml cream
• some flavoring (lemon oil)
• Butter, for the mold
• Almond(s), ground, for sprinkling
• optionally almond flakes, roasted
• possibly brittle (almond brittle)

Instructions

Working time approx. 1 hour 30 minutes; Cooking/baking time approx. 40 minutes; Total time approx. 2 hours 10 minutes

fine sponge cake, fresh lemon jam and white chocolate icing

Preheat the oven to approximately 180°C. Grease a 22-24 cm cake tin thoroughly with butter and sprinkle with ground almonds. Separate the eggs, take 2 tablespoons of the sugar, and beat the rest with the egg yolks over steam until creamy white. Remove from the steam and continue beating until the mixture has cooled. Stir in the grated lemon zest (you’ll still need the rest of the lemon!) and the almonds. Beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form, adding a pinch of salt and, at the end, gradually beating in the remaining sugar. Sift the flour onto the yolk mixture, pour in the melted butter, and add one-third of the beaten egg whites. Only now carefully mix these last three ingredients together, then fold in the remaining beaten egg whites. Pour the mixture into the cake tin, smooth it down, and bake for approximately 40 minutes (use a skewer to check it’s firm!). Cool completely on a wire rack. Peel the zest of the second lemon slightly thicker, leaving about 1-2 mm of the white part. Finely chop these peels with a mezzaluna knife and simmer gently with twice the weight of sugar (approx. 20-30 g) and about 1/8 liter of water until the peels are completely soft and the liquid has reduced to a maximum of 1-2 tablespoons of syrup. Be patient, this will take about an hour! If there’s still too much liquid, simply reduce further with the lid open. If the “lemon peel” isn’t soft with a little syrup, add a little more water. Meanwhile, fillet the two lemons and cut the segments into small pieces, collecting the juice. Drain a teaspoonful of the “lemon peel” well and let it dry on baking paper, sprinkled with finely ground sugar. This, along with some almond brittle, makes a pretty decoration. Let the remaining candied lemon peel and syrup cool slightly and then top up to 200 g with lemon segments and juice. Mix with the gelling sugar, bring to a boil while stirring, and boil gently for another 3 minutes. Purée with a hand blender until smooth, transfer to a jam jar, and allow to cool. Finely chop the chocolate coating and melt 2/3 of it with the cream in a double boiler or in the microwave. Stir in the remaining third until completely melted (reheat briefly if necessary) and flavor with a few drops of lemon oil. Cut the cake evenly to create a flat surface. Spread a thin layer of lemon jam on top and sides (the leftover tastes delicious on toast next time you eat breakfast!) and cover with the glaze. Decorate as desired, e.g. with the candied lemon peel mentioned above and toasted almond slivers or almond brittle.