For the lemon sheet cake

  • 400 g plain all-purpose flour
  • 130 g almond flour
  • 5 tsp baking powder
  • 400 g caster sugar
  • ½ tsp salt
  • zest of 3 lemons
  • 265 g unsalted butter, softened
  • 4 medium eggs, room temperature
  • 4 medium egg whites, room temperature
  • 320 mL milk, room temperature
  • 4 tbsp lemon juice
  • 1 tsp vanilla paste (or 2 tsp vanilla extract)

For the mascarpone frosting

  • 500 mL double cream
  • 150 g icing sugar
  • 375 g mascarpone cheese, room temperature
  • 1 tsp vanilla paste (or 2 tsp vanilla extract)
  • pinch of salt

For decoration

  • a mix of strawberries, blueberries, raspberries and blackberries (~500 – 750 g)

SUMMER BERRY SHEET CAKE

by Katarina Cermelj

For the lemon sheet cake

  1. Pre-heat the oven to 355 ºF (180 ºC) and line a 9 x 13 inch (23 x 33 cm) rectangular baking tin with baking paper.
  2. In a large bowl, sift together the all-purpose flour, almond flour, baking powder, sugar and salt. Add the lemon zest, and mix until combined.
  3. Add the softened butter and, using either a stand mixer with the paddle attachment or a hand mixer with the double beater attachments, work the butter into the dry ingredients until you get a texture resembling coarse sand.
  4. In a separate bowl, mix together the eggs, egg whites, milk, lemon juice and vanilla. Add the wet ingredients to the flour-butter mixture, and mix well until you get a smooth batter with no flour clumps.
  5. Transfer the cake batter into the prepared baking tin, smooth out the top, and bake in the pre-heated oven at 355 ºF (180 ºC) for about 40 minutes or until risen, golden brown on top and an inserted toothpick comes out clean. (If the cake starts browning too quickly or too much, cover it with aluminium foil and continue baking until done.)
  6. Allow the cake to cool in the baking tin for about 10 minutes, then remove it from the tin, and allow to cool completely on a cooling rack.

For the mascarpone frosting

  1. Using a stand mixer with the whisk attachment or a hand mixer with the double beater attachments, whip together double cream and icing sugar until soft peaks form.
  2. Once at the soft peak stage, fold in the mascarpone cheese, vanilla paste and salt. You will get a smooth frosting that spreads easily but will also hold its shape.

Assembling the sheet cake

  1. Spread the mascarpone frosting into an even layer on top of the cooled sheet cake.
  2. Top the frosted cake with a variety of summer berries, such as (halved) strawberries, blueberries, blackberries and raspberries.
  3. Enjoy.


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