Lemon mascarpone cake (with wheat free option)

 Ingredients:

For the cake

• 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 cup plain flour OR 2/3 cup rye flour
• 1/2 cup cornflour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 4 ounces (1/2 cup) mascarpone cheese
• 3 eggs
• 1 tablespoon lemon zest
• 1 1/2 tbsp. lemon juice (make sure you keep 1 teaspoon of juice for the frosting!)

 For the frosting

• 4 ounces (1/2 cup) mascarpone cheese
• 1 tablespoon icing sugar
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice

Preheat oven to 180ºC. Grease an 8 inch round tin. Line if you can be bothered and lightly dust with flour (wheat-free if you're doing that version!)

Beat together oil, sugar, mascarpone cheese, eggs, lemon zest, and lemon juice until completely smooth. Next, beat in the flour, cornflour, baking powder, bicarb and salt and stir until no lumps remain.

Pour mixture into tin and bake in preheated oven for about 30 minutes until golden, risen, and just starting to pull away from the edge of the tin. Check if it's done with cake tester - should come out clean! Cool in the tin at first, then transfer to a rack to cool completely.

For the frosting, whip together mascarpone, icing sugar and lemon juice until smooth and thick. Spread over the cold cake.

Gluten free parsnip apple and orange pecan cake

Recipe from the Open University.


For the cake:
175g butter
200g light soft brown sugar
100g golden syrup
3 eggs
250g gluten free self raising flour
2 tsp gluten free baking powder
2 tsp mixed spice
250g parsnips
125g eating apples
50g pecan nuts (or walnuts)
1 orange, zest and juice



For the Maple mascarpone frosting
250g mascarpone cheese
2 tbsp maple syrup
3-4 tbsp milk

Heat the oven to 180ºC/gas mark 4.

Grease and line two 20cm sandwich tins.


Melt the butter, sugar and golden syrup together in a large pan over low heat, stirring occasionally until the sugar has dissolved. Set aside to cool for 10 minutes.
Place the mascarpone in a bowl and leave for 15 minutes to warm to room temperature. Add the maple syrup and beat together until well incorporated. Add enough milk so that you achieve a thick, yet spreadable consistency. Place one cake layer on a serving plate and place spoonfuls of the frosting over the surface. Use a knife to spread the frosting out into an even layer, right to the edges of the cake. Top with the second cake layer and dust the top lightly with icing sugar.
Serve in generous slices. Even better the next day...


Meanwhile, peel the parsnips and coarsely grate them along with the apple (you can leave the skin on but remove the core). Roughly chop the pecans and finely grate the zest from the orange. Using a large spatula, whisk the eggs into the melted sugar mixture, then stir in the flour, baking powder and mixed spice. Add the parsnip, apple, pecans and orange zest. Squeeze in the juice from the zested orange and mix well. Divide the batter between the tins (they will be quite full) and bake for 25-30 minutes until golden brown and the tops spring back when pressed lightly. Allow to cool in the tins for 10 minutes before turning out onto wire racks to cool completely.