I love the cake.

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Tea and cake is just what I need on a cold winter’s afternoon. Yesterday I baked a damp lemon and almond cake.

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Moist and delicious it’s worth the effort of grinding the almonds myself. For some reason I can’t seem to find them in the stores here. Using a coffee grinder for the task is tiresome but worth the effort.

With a cup of Earl Gray Lavender tea it was a perfect afternoon tea.

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I wrapped the cake in foil overnight before getting stuck in as that increases the sharpness and the moistness.

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Damp Lemon and Almond Cake

1 cup unsalted butter
¾ cup sugar
4 large eggs
1/3 cup plain flour
1 1/3 cups ground almonds
1/3 teaspoon almond extract
Grated zest and juice of 2 lemons
8 inch springform pan, lined on the bottom with parchment or wax paper.

Preheat the oven to 350 F

Cream together the butter and sugar until almost white. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, adding a quarter of the flour after each addition. When all the eggs and flour have been incorporated, gently stir in the ground almonds, then the almond extract, lemon zest, and juice. Pour the mixture into the cake pan and bake for about 1 hour. Add some loose aluminum foil over the top after 30 minutes so it does not burn.

The cake is ready when the top is firm and a skewer, inserted, comes out cleanish, you want dampness.

Turn it out on a wire rack and leave to cool. Wrap in tin foil and leave it for a couple of days.