If you’re not especially keen on fruit cake or would simply like a beautiful centrepiece for your Christmas table that does double duty as a wonderful dessert, here’s our recipe for a lovely light and moist lemon cake. We serve it with fresh berries or poached summer stone fruit plus a bowl of either vanilla-scented mascarpone or whipped cream (or a combo of the two).

INGREDIENTS

385gms caster sugar
Peeled rind of two lemons
Two large eggs
250mls flavourless oil
250mls thick Greek style yoghurt
3 tbsp of lemon juice
280gms self raising flour
Wilton Cake Release for greasing your tin

METHOD

Place sugar and peeled lemon rind in the large bowl of your food processor and whizz until finely chopped and sugar is tinged yellow. Add eggs and oil and process until thick and smooth, scraping the sides of the bowl down at least once. Add yoghurt and juice and process until just combined. Sift flour and add, in three batches, pulsing until just combined. Bake in a large,well-greased Bundt or ring tin for 35 - 40 min at 180C. Leave to cool in the tin for at least 10 minutes before turning out onto your cooling rack then cool completely. Served dusted with icing sugar, berries and lashings of cream!