IF LIFE GIVES YOU LEMONS…

 

… then get squeezing and zesting and make our delicious lemon and ginger refrigerator cake, served with fresh berries. Not only is there NO BAKING REQUIRED, it’s absolutely perfect served with a glass of Highland Park The Light 17 Year Old.

 

The spicy ginger and bright citrus flavours in this cake are the perfect foil for the caramelised pear, vanilla and nutmeg notes found in The Light. Enjoyed together, “they’ll have you dreaming of faraway campfires and long summer days” according to Jess Damuck, who created the recipe for us. Well, we’re not going to argue with that!

 

LAYERED LEMON & GINGER CAKE WITH FRESH BERRIES

Ingredients

For the lemon curd:

1 cup/200g granulated sugar

8 egg yolks (use the whites to make meringues!)

2 tbsp lemon zest

²/₃ cup/158ml lemon juice

1 stick/113g unsalted butter, cut into small cubes

Pinch of salt

 

For the lemon cream:

2 cups/480ml heavy (whipping) cream

½ cup/100g granulated sugar

8oz/225g mascarpone cheese

1 vanilla pod, scraped

1 lemon – zest and juice

 

For the assembly:

30oz/850g ginger snap cookies

2 pints/640g fresh raspberries

1 pint/320g fresh blackberries

¼ cup/28g candied ginger, minced

Fresh mint

 

 

Method

1. First of all, make the lemon curd by whisking together the sugar, egg yolks and lemon zest until light yellow and fluffy. Whisk in the lemon juice, add the cubed butter and tip into a medium saucepan.
2. Cook over a medium heat, stirring constantly until the mixture coats the back of a spoon – this should take about 4-6 minutes – then strain the curd into a large bowl, through a fine mesh sieve. Cover with plastic wrap on the surface of the mixture (to prevent a skin forming) and pop in the fridge to cool. 
3. Now for the lemon cream. Simply whisk the cream and sugar together until stiff peaks appear, then whisk in the mascarpone, vanilla, lemon zest and juice until everything’s combined.
4. It’s time to assemble your cake! Start by arranging a layer of ginger snap cookies over the base of an 8-inch springform tin – break some into pieces to fill in any gaps – and cover with a quarter of the lemon cream mix, a quarter of the lemon curd and another layer of cookies.
5. Now add another quarter of the lemon cream mix, another quarter of the lemon curd mix and then about a third of the berries followed by another layer of cookies. Then repeat this step.
6. For your final layer, cover the ginger cookies in cream but leave a border of around 2 inches when you spread the curd and pile the remaining berries in the centre.
7. Refrigerate overnight and when you’re ready to serve, run a knife around the edge of the tin before releasing the catch.
8. Sprinkle your cake with the candied ginger pieces and torn leaves of fresh mint serve, of course, with a dram of The Light 17 Year Old on the side.