175g (6oz) unsalted butter, softened, plus extra to grease
125g (4oz) caster sugar
4 medium eggs
175g (6oz) self-raising flour
75g (3oz) ground almonds
Finely grated zest and juice of 1 lemon
For the icing
250g tub mascarpone
4Tbsp. apricot compote
40g (1½oz) icing sugar, plus extra to dust
Directions
Step 1
Preheat the oven to 200°C (180°C fan) mark 6. Grease two 18cm (7in) round sandwich tins and line with greaseproof paper.
Step 2
Beat the butter and sugar together until fluffy. Then beat in the eggs, one at a time, until combined. Using a metal spoon, gently fold in the flour, ground almonds, lemon zest and juice. Stir until smooth.
Step 3
Divide the mixture between the tins, level the surface and bake for 15min or until golden and a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Cool in the tins for 5min, then turn out on to a wire rack to cool completely. To freeze, wrap each cake in greaseproof paper and clingfilm. Freeze for up to one month.
Step 4
If frozen, thaw overnight at cool room temperature. For the icing, beat the mascarpone and icing sugar together in a bowl. Spread over one of the cakes. Spoon the apricot compote evenly over and put the other cake on top. Dust with icing sugar.
An experienced and highly skilled team of food writers, stylists and digital content producers, the Good Housekeeping Cookery Team is a close-knit squad of food obsessives. Cookery Editor Emma Franklin is our resident chilli obsessive and barbecue expert, who spends an inordinate amount of time on holidays poking round the local supermarkets seeking out new and exciting foods. Senior Cookery Writer Alice Shields is a former pastry chef and baking fanatic who loves making bread and would have peanut butter with everything if she could. Her favourite carb is pasta, and our vibrant green spaghetti is her weeknight go-to. Lover of all things savoury, Senior Cookery Writer Grace Evans can be found eating crispy corn and nocellara olives at every opportunity, and will take the cheeseboard over dessert any time (though she cannot resist a slice of tres leches cake). With a wealth of professional kitchen know-how, culinary training and years of experience between them, they are all dedicated to ensuring every Good Housekeeping recipe is the best it can be, so you can trust they’ll work (and if they don’t – we’ll have the answer for why*) every time (*90% of the time the answer is: “buy an separate oven thermometer”!).
