Almond Tea Cake With Lemon Buttercream

Pound cake is one of my favourite cakes. But sometimes, I find that it just sits in my mouth and is so overly sweet. This recipe uses ground almonds and greek yogurt that bring in some lightness and reduce the dependency on sugar. 

The almonds give the cake a very subtle nutty flavour which beautifully compliments the tangy buttercream. The cake looks absolutely gorgeous when it comes out of the oven, a pale golden surface, a beautifully crisp crust around the edge. And it's so soft to bite into. This cake is heaven on a plate. 

For the almond tea cake:

Ingredients:

1. 240 g superfine sugar
2. zest of 1 lemon
3. 150 g flour
4. 70 g ground almonds
5. 2 tsp baking powder
6. a pinch of salt
7. 130 g greek yogurt
8. 3 eggs
9. 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
10. 1/4 tsp almond extract
11. 80 ml sunflower oil
12. 50 g unsalted butter, melted

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 170 degrees. 
2. Put the sugar and lemon zest in a mixing bowl and rub with your hands until the sugar smells lemony. 
3. Add the flour, baking powder, almonds, salt and mix. 
4. In another mixing bowl, whisk together the yogurt, eggs, vanilla extract and almond extract. 
5. Add to the dry mixture and mix gently until just combined and no traces of flour remain. 
6. Add the melted butter and oil and fold together. 
7. Pour the mixture into an 8 inch prepared tin and bake for 28-35 minutes. (Bake for additional 10 minutes if necessary. A skewer inserted in the middle should come out clean. I baked my cake in a loaf tin, as I made only 2/3rd of the recipe.)
8. Let it cool for 1 hour. 

For the lemon buttercream:

Ingredients:

1. 60 g icing sugar
2. 30 g unsalted butter, at room temperature
3. 1-2 tbsp lemon juice
4. zest of 1/2 a lemon

Method:

1. In a mixing bowl, whisk together the unsalted butter and sugar, until pale and fluffy. 
2. Add in the lemon juice and zest and whisk well to combine. 
3. Ice your cake using a piping bag or a spatula. 
4. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour to set the icing.