michelle picker cooks

 A tree full of lemons and some leftover whey (from cheese-making) inspired this cake.

Grease and lightly flour a 20cm (8″) ring tin. Cream 240g (8½ oz) of butter, 1 tablespoon of grated lemon rind and 1 cup of caster sugar. Separate 3 eggs and beat in the egg yolks one at a time until combined. Sift 2 cups of plain flour and 4 teaspoons of baking powder. Stir in half of the flour, ½ a cup of whey (you can use milk or buttermilk if you don’t have whey). Add the remaining flour and another ½ a cup of whey. Beat the egg whites until soft peaks form then fold them into the cake mixture. Pour the mixture into the tin and bake at 180°C (350ºF) for an hour or until the cake tests clean. Meanwhile make a lemon syrup by heating ⅓ of a cup of lemon juice, ¾ of a cup of sugar and ¼ of a cup of water until the sugar has dissolved. When the cake is cooked pour the hot lemon syrup over the hot cake and leave it in the cake tin to absorb the syrup and cool.