Ingredients
- Zest and juice of 1 lemon
- 90g caster sugar
- 90g soft butter
- 3 large free-range eggs
- 95g self-raising flour
- 90g ground almonds
- 40g cornmeal (or polenta)
- ½tsp salt
- For the lemon syrup:
- Zest of 1 lemon
- Juice of ½ lemon (about 45ml, add some water if necessary)
- 50g caster sugar
- For the glaze:
- 100g icing sugar
- Juice of ½ lemon (about 22ml, add some water if necessary)
- Pinch of salt
- You will need a 1lb loaf tin (if you have a 2lb loaf tin, double the ingredients above, and increase the baking time to about 45 minutes). To check the size of your tin, fill it with water, and then pour the water into a measuring jug. Depending on the depth of your tin, a 1lb loaf tin should fit about 700ml of water.
- Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius and line a 1lb tin with a strip of baking paper.
- Zest the lemon, and add it to a bowl with the caster sugar. Use your fingers to rub the two together, until the sugar has turned yellow and the zest is fully incorporated. Add the soft butter, and use a hand beater or a wooden spoon to beat until the mixture is light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, scraping down the bowl between each addition. Add the dry ingredients (flour, almonds, cornmeal and salt) and lemon juice, and fold through with a spatula.
- Place in the preheated oven and bake for 35-40 minutes, until golden brown and springy to the touch, and a skewer inserted into the centre emerges clean.
- While the cake is baking, make the syrup. Place the zest, juice and caster sugar in a saucepan over a medium heat, stir, and heat until the sugar has dissolved.
- When the cake is baked, remove from the oven, prick a few times all over with a fork, and pour the syrup over it.
- When the cake has fully cooled, make the glaze: place the icing sugar, salt and lemon juice in a bowl and mix to combine. Remove the cake from the tin, and pour over the glaze.
