Watch Donal's Family Kitchen, Wednesdays on RTÉ One at 7:30pm.
Ingredients
Serves: 6
For the cake:
- Butter, for greasing
- 200g ground almonds
- 100g polenta
- 1 heaped tsp baking powder
- 225g caster sugar
- 225g butter, softened
- 3 large eggs
- 6 tbsp limoncello
- Grated zest of 3 large lemons
- Crème fraîche, to serve
- Icing sugar, to serve
For the syrup:
- Juice of 2 lemons
- 3 tbsp sugar
- 3 tbsp limoncello
Method
- Preheat the oven to 180ºC (350ºF), gas mark 4 and grease a 20cm diameter springform tin, then line the base and sides with baking parchment.
- Combine the ground almonds, polenta and baking powder in a bowl.
- In a large mixing bowl, beat the sugar and butter until the mixture is light and pale. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
- Tip the bowl of dry ingredients into this mixture along with the limoncello and two-thirds of the lemon zest and combine with an electric mixer until brought together.
- Pour the mixture into the prepared tin and place it on the middle shelf of the oven to bake for about 40 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean. Remove from the oven and the tin and allow to cool on a wire rack.
- While the cake is cooking, prepare the syrup.Place all the ingredients in a small saucepan over a medium heat and bring to a steady simmer or until the sugar is dissolved.
- Pierce holes all over the cake with a wooden skewer while it is cooling and pour the syrup, a little at a time, until the cake has soaked it up.
- Garnish with the remaining lemon zest and once cool, serve with a dusting of icing sugar, in slices and with a little crème fraîche.
