This tray bake cake recipe is really just a simple lemon drizzle cake taken to a new level with the addition of fragrant Amaretto to lemon syrup that's drizzled over the sponge.
We’ve decorated ours with classic cocktail cherries for a retro spin, but you could use glacé cherries instead.
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Yields:
20
Prep Time:
20 mins
Cook Time:
40 mins
Total Time:
1 hr
Cal/Serv:
306
Ingredients
250 g (9oz) unsalted butter, softened
250 g (9oz) caster sugar
4 large eggs
200 g (7oz) self-raising flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
75 g (3oz) ground almonds
Zest of 2 lemons
4 Tbsp. amaretto
FOR THE AMARETTO DRIZZLE
Juice of 1 lemon
50 ml (2 fl oz) amaretto
FOR THE ICING
300 g (11oz) sifted icing sugar
1 Tbsp. amaretto
3-4 tbsp lemon juice
20 maraschino cherries with
stems, to decorate
Directions
Step 1
Preheat oven to 180°C (160°C fan) mark 4. Grease and line a 30.5 x 20.5cm (12 x 8in) tray bake tin with baking parchment.
Step 2
For the cake, put all the ingredients, except the Amaretto, into a large bowl and mix
with a handheld electric whisk until smooth, about 2min. Whisk in the Amaretto briefly.
Step 3
Spoon into the prepared tin and level. Bake in oven for 35-40min until risen and lightly golden. Remove from oven; set aside.
Step 4
To make the drizzle, put the lemon juice and Amaretto in a small pan, bring to the boil and simmer for 1min. Poke holes over the cake with a skewer and slowly pour half the lemon syrup over the cake. Leave to sink in for 10min, then slowly pour the remaining syrup over the cake. Leave to cool in the tin.
Step 5
For the icing, mix the icing sugar with the Amaretto and enough lemon juice to make a thick, spreadable consistency. Pour over the cake and quickly spread to cover. Dot with maraschino cherries. Leave to set, then cut into squares.
Per Serving:
Calories: 306
Fibre: 1 g
Total carbs: 40 g
Sugars: 32 g
Total fat: 14 g
Saturated fat: 7 g
Protein: 4 g
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