Lemon love cake
Serves: 12-14
Prep time: 30 minsTotal time: 
Recipe photograph by Martin Poole
Lemon love cake
A cross between a sponge and a cheesecake, this makes a wonderful spring dessert.
Serves: 12-14
Prep time: 30 minsTotal time: 
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Nutritional information (per serving)
Calories
441Kcal
Fat
29gr
Saturates
18gr
Tamsin Burnett-Hall
Tamsin learned the tricks of the trade from cookery legend Delia Smith. A trusted recipe writer for the magazine for over 25 years, she is now our Senior Food Producer, overseeing testing and editing to ensure that every recipe tastes great, is straightforward to follow and works without fail. In her home kitchen, Tamsin creates fuss-free flavour-packed food for friends and family, with baking being her ultimate form of comfort cooking
See more of Tamsin Burnett-Hall’s recipes
Tamsin Burnett-Hall
Tamsin learned the tricks of the trade from cookery legend Delia Smith. A trusted recipe writer for the magazine for over 25 years, she is now our Senior Food Producer, overseeing testing and editing to ensure that every recipe tastes great, is straightforward to follow and works without fail. In her home kitchen, Tamsin creates fuss-free flavour-packed food for friends and family, with baking being her ultimate form of comfort cooking
See more of Tamsin Burnett-Hall’s recipes
Ingredients
For the sponge
- 175g soft butter or margarine, plus extra to grease
- 175g caster sugar
- 3 medium eggs
- 200g self-raising flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- finely grated zest and juice of 2 lemons
- 2 tbsp milk
For the ricotta layer
- zest and juice of 1 lemon
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 250g ricotta
- 40g caster sugar
- 1 medium egg
For the topping
- 250g mascarpone
- 100ml whipping cream
- 1 tbsp caster sugar
- about 60g Taste the Difference lemon curd
Step by step
- Grease and fully line a 23cm springform tin. Preheat the oven to 180°C, fan 160°C, gas 4. First mix the ricotta layer ingredients together, beating until combined. Set aside for now.
- Put all the sponge ingredients into a mixing bowl with a pinch of salt and beat with an electric mixer for 2-3 minutes until pale and fluffy. Spread out in the prepared tin, levelling the top. Dollop the ricotta layer on top then marble in, using the handle of a spoon. Bake for 40-45 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the cake comes out clean. Leave to cool in the tin, on a wire rack.
- Beat the mascarpone, cream and sugar together for the topping, until the mixture holds stiff peaks. Remove the cooled cake from the tin and spread the mascarpone cream all over the top.
- Use the back of a teaspoon to make a circle of little hollows around the edge of the cake, plus one in the middle. Add about ½ teaspoon of lemon curd to each hollow, then drag a cocktail stick through towards the centre to create heart shapes. Cut into slices to serve.
