Light, buttery sponge flavoured with lemon, tart pockets of soft, juicy gooseberries, and a generous swirl of elderflower mascarpone make up this simple summer cake and ode to the British countryside.

Ingredients

• 225g butter, softened
• 225g caster sugar
• zest 2 lemons
• 1tsp vanilla extract
• 4 eggs
• 225g self raising flour
• 75g ground almonds
• 1tsp baking powder
• 250g gooseberries (blueberries, blackberries or raspberries would also work well)
• 200g mascarpone
• 3tbsp elderflower cordial
• 1tbsp honey

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180c. Grease and line a 9 inch cake tin.
2. Place the butter, sugar, lemon zest and vanilla in a large bowl (or bowl of a stand mixer with paddle attachment) and beat until very light, pale and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well between each addition. Add a little flour if you’re worried about curdling.
3. Once all the eggs are well incorporated, fold in the flour, ground almonds and baking powder. Trim the tops and stalks of the gooseberries then fold them through the cake batter.
4. Scrape the cake batter into the prepared tin and level off the top. Bake for 35-40 minutes or until the cake is springy and golden (or until a skewer comes out clean when inserted). Once baked, leave the cake to cool completely in the tin.
5. Meanwhile, whisk together the mascarpone, elderflower and honey. When the cake is cool, swirl the mascarpone over the cake and decorate with fresh flowers.

Enjoy!