Line the bottom of the baking tin with baking paper.

Butter the baking tin sides. Then move around some flour in it so that it clings to the sides. Tap out excess flour, & store the prepared tin in the refrigerator until needed.

Grate 1 large unwaxed lemon & mix it with a teaspoon of sugar & leave aside ( = the sugar enhances the lemony quality/ essence). Remember, don’t grate the white pith under the yellow skin. It’s too bitter.

Melt 130g of unsalted butter. Weigh out 100g of the clarified liquid.

Preheat oven to 180 degrees C.

In a large steel mixing bowl, loosely whisk 200g of eggs.

Put the mixing bowl above a pot with simmering hot water (bain marie).

Whisk the eggs with 220g sugar (added in three go’es) until light cream in colour, & thick in textureIt should be so thick that it dollops off the whisk. You’d be whisking for 5 to 10 minutes. The egg mixture would look like it tripled in quantity.

Put together 135ml sour cream + 20ml of lemon juice + lemon zest + 3g salt in a separate bowl, then whisk it into the egg foam. The lemon juice loosens the gloopy consistency of sour cream, & makes life a little easier to mix it on to the batter!

Sift & then fold in the 190g plain flour + 40g almond powder + 5g baking powder.

Warm the prepared 100g clarified butter to just above body temperature. Warm clarified butter is much more fluid than cold. It will merge with the cake batter better.

Take a little of the cake batter & mix it into the butter dish. This technique will ensure that the butter mixes in evenly & quickly.

Now fold in the butter + batter mixture to the rest of the batter. Make sure it is thoroughly folded in to the batter from the bottom of your bowl, as butter is heavier than the batter, it sinks to the bottom & you’d have a weird hard layer on the bottom of your cake!

Pour the batter into the prepared cake tin.

Pop it in the preheated 180 degree oven for 35 to 40 minutes, or until it passes the skewer test. Use a metal skewer & pierce the middle of the sponge. If it comes out clean & the tip is hot to the touch, then it is done.

While the cake is in the oven, make the lemon drizzle syrup. Simply heat 60g castor sugar with 50g lemon juice in a small saucepan until the sugar has dissolved & melted completely. (Beware! The liquid easily boils over if you’re not watchful!)

When the cake has baked, quickly de-mold from the tin & place upside down on an oven tray. The bottom will be the top of the cake. This way, you’ll get a level top surface perfect for achieving flat icing.

Place the cake-tin wall back around the sponge. This trick will keep the hot lemon syrup from spilling everywhere.

Skewer the sponge & spoon the hot syrup over it & let it soak into the hot sponge.

While the cake is cooling, make the lemon garnish: Peel the lemon skin. Make sure there’s no bitter white piths attached to the underside. Cut it into thin short strips. Boil it in hot water for 3 minutes. Then drain. Put it back in a pan with 50g sugar & just enough water to cover it. Boil it for 6 minutes. Leave to cool in the sugar liquid until you need it.

Now make the lemon icing: Place 200g icing sugar in a small bowl. Pour in 35ml lemon juice & make the paste.

Place (upside down) cake on a level surface. Pour the white icing in the middle, all in one go. Let some (but not all) drip to the sides.

While the icing is still wet, garnish the top with the lemon strips &/ or chopped green pistachio.

For the extra glossy icing, put the cake back in a pre-heated oven (230 degrees) for under 1 minute. The moisture evaporates & the icing becomes slightly crystalized. This step also changes the mouth-feel of the icing from gooey to somewhat sharper.

Wait for the icing to harden. Never try to move the cake while the icing is soft as that will crack the icing surface.

Slice with a sharp knife. Wipe knife after every slice for the clean cut.