French Lemon Cake

Ingredients

• 200 g Spelt flour Type 1050
• 100 g whole grain sugar
• a pinch salt
• 4 medium eggs
• 110 g cold butter
• 4 organic lemons
• 250 g beans for blind baking
• 1 egg yolk
• 125 ml whipping cream
• 3 tbsp mild honey

Instructions

1. 1.

   For the base, combine flour, 50 g whole grain sugar, salt, one egg and 100 g grated butter in a bowl. Knead quickly into a smooth shortbread dough. Wrap in cling film and chill for about 30 minutes.

2. 2.

   Meanwhile rinse lemons hot and pat dry. Set aside two lemons for topping. Grate the zest of the remaining two lemons finely and squeeze out their juice.

3. 3.

   Grease a tart pan with the remaining butter. Roll out the dough slightly larger than the pan, place it inside, press down and shape a rim. Prick the base several times with a fork, cover with parchment paper and weigh it down with beans.

4. 4.

   Bake blind in a preheated oven at 180 °C (fan 160 °C; gas 2–3) for 10 minutes. Remove, discard parchment and beans, and let cool.

5. 5.

   Whisk the remaining eggs, yolk and remaining sugar until fluffy. Stir in lemon juice and zest. Whip cream to stiff peaks and fold into the mixture. Spread filling over the base. Reduce temperature and bake at 150 °C (fan 130 °C; gas 1–2) for another 45–50 minutes.

6. 6.

   Meanwhile slice the remaining lemons thinly for topping. Heat honey with 5 tbsp water until warm. Simmer lemon slices in the syrup on low heat for about 5 minutes, then remove from heat and let cool.

7. 7.

   About five minutes before the end of baking, spread the cooled lemon slices over the cake and finish baking. Remove and allow the cake to cool completely.