Almond, Lemon & Poppy Seed Cake (Gluten-free)
Equipment
- 2x 6inch spring form cake tins
Ingredients
DRY
- 200 g almond flour
- 100 g buckwheat flour plus extra for dusting
- 150 g soft brown sugar
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp bicarb of soda
- 2 TBSP poppy seeds
- 1/2 tsp fine salt
WET
- 4 large eggs
- 60 mls extra virgin olive oil plus a little extra for greasing the tins
- 1 lemon - unwaxed - juice and zest
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Frosting
- 250 g mascarpone cheese
- 150 mls thick whipping cream
- 1 TBSP pure maple syrup
- 2-3 TBSP fine powdered icing sugar
Instructions
Cake
- Begin by weighing and assembling all of your ingredients together.
- Line the bottom of 2x 6inch, spring form cake tins with baking paper and grease the sides with a olive oil and a clean kitchen roll. Sprinkle the inside of the tin with the extra flour for dusting so that the flour clings to the sides. This will help to release the cake more easily after baking.
- Pre-heat the oven to 175 degrees C (fan).
- Set a sieve over a large bowl and place the dry ingredients - almond flour, buckwheat flour, brown sugar, baking powder and bicarb of soda into the sieve. Sieve the ingredients into the bowl. Then add the poppy seeds and salt. Use a whisk to quickly combine the ingredients together, ensuring there are no clumps of flour or sugar.
- Next, add the eggs to another bowl and whisk. While continuing to whisk, drizzle the oil into the eggs, followed by the vanilla extract, lemon juice and lemon zest.
- Pour the wet mixture into the dry mixture and use a spatula to fold everything together until the 2 mixtures are completely combined, leaving no clumps of dry mixture.
- Pour half of the mixture into one tin and half into the other tin. It is useful to use scales for this to ensure equal amount of mixture in each tin.
- Place the tins into the preheated oven on the middle tray and bake for 30 minutes or until golden on top and a skewer comes out clean.
- Remove from the oven and leave to cool for about 5 minutes. Run a blunt knife around the edge of the cake and the tin to release and remove the cakes from the tins and leave to cool completely on a wire rack.
Frosting
- Once the cake has completely cooled and you are ready to serve, you can assemble the cake with the frosting and berries. (The frosting can be made in advance and kept in the fridge until you are ready to use).
- The easiest way to make the frosting is by using a stand mixer. If you do not have a stand mixer, you can use a hand held electric mixer. Or, you could do it by hand with a whisk, but this will take longer and require a bit of muscle!
- Ensure that the mascarpone cream and whipping cream are at the same temperature. It will be easier to whisk if they are both at room temperature but you can still make the frosting when the ingredients have just come out of the fridge, it might just take a little longer to become smooth and fluffy.
- Place the mascarpone cream into the bowl of the mixer and use the balloon whisk attachment to gently whisk, turning up to a medium power for a few minutes.
- Gradually pour in the thick whipping cream with the motor still running and continue to whisk for a further few minutes until it all becomes light and fluffy and increases in volume.
- Drizzle in the maple syrup and then stop the motor to taste for sweetness. Add a TBSP of powdered sugar, whisk and taste again. Continue doing this until you reach the level of sweet you prefer depending on how much sugar you want in the recipe. Stop the motor once the mixture is light and fluffy and fully combined at the level of sweet you prefer.
- Add half of the frosting to a pipping bag with a wide open nozzle and squeeze on top of the bottom layer of the cake until it is evenly covered.If you do not have a pipping bag, simply use a small pallet knife to smooth the mixture on top.Add a few blueberries around the edge of the cake (optional).
- Place the 2nd layer of the cake on top of the frosting and repeat with the frosting for the finishing layer.
- Pile the cake high with blueberries! If you find some of the blueberries start to topple, you can fix a few of them in place using tooth picks - but you need to warn your guests of them or simply remove for serving.
- Store any leftover cake in the fridge in an airtight container with a piece of kitchen roll in the bottom. It needs to be stored in the fridge as the frosting must be kept chilled for it to remain fresh. Eat within 3 days.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!