Almond and lemon success cake "Suksesscake"

Are you ready to embark on a culinary adventure that will leave your taste buds tingling and your heart soaring? It all starts with the vibrant combination of zesty lemons and juicy blueberries. These two ingredients come together in perfect harmony, creating a symphony of flavours that will transport you to a world of pure bliss. But the magic doesn't stop there. The lemon and blueberry “Success cake” is infused with a secret ingredient – saffron infused, Persian Advieh-E Khoresh. There are many cakes from around the world that use saffron in citrusy inspired cakes, such as Swedish Saffranskaka or Cornish saffron cake. 

However we have gone on a journey to Norway. Inspired by the Norwegian cake called "Suksesscake" In English it translates as "success cake". It has taken a little time to perfect. Often served at Easter celebrations in Norway. Although Advieh-E Khoresh is traditionally used in stewing, this all-purpose blend has flavours such as black lime, cardamon, cinnamon and saffron. The alchemy of Advieh-E Khoresh with flavours like black lime, cardamom, cinnamon and saffron works particularly well with lemons, blueberries and almonds.

The decorative icing of this cake can be that yellow. All down to good quality free range egg yolks. However in the end we reduced the amount of egg yolks to 3 as we thought that 5 was a tad overkill and actually a bit of a waste. Let us tell you that this is the perfect decorative pairing for this cake, having tried a few combinations. However, if you don't want to serve the cake with this particular icing, you can serve the sponge with some crème fraiche and a dollop of lemon curd. It is equally delicious. Either way it is mouth puckering without been overpowering, bursting with flavour and deliciously moist. To decorate the cake, you could use toasted almonds or blueberries like we have in this instance and a couple of sprigs of rosemary. Be creative.

N.B. All ingredients should be at room temperature. 

Method

1. Mix Advieh-E Khoresh, lemon and lime zest with lemon juice and leave to one side. It will be like a little paste. 
2. Preheat the oven to 190ºC or 170ºC for fan oven or Gas Mark 5. Lightly butter 2 x 20cm sandwich tins with butter, and line each tin bottom with non-stick baking paper. *Tip if you have some fine ground breadcrumbs in your pantry, just had a pinch to the base of each tin on top of the non-stick paper and rotate the tins 360º to coat the vertical edges of the tin. This should stop the cake sticking to the tin. 
3. In a large mixing bowl, beat eggs and castor sugar until smooth. Gently add the eggs until the mixture is pale and fluffy. You can now had the spiced lemony paste from step 1 above and beat for 30 or so seconds. If the mixture looks like it is going to split you can add a teaspoon of flour. If the ingredients are at room temperature, this should not happen. 
4. Sift over all dry ingredients and fold in using a large spatula. Spoon half of the cake batter into each tin and spread out evenly, making them level. They don't have to be perfect. Bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes. We would suggest having a look at 20 minutes. The tops should be golden brown, just before you remove with the cake edges coming slightly away from the tin. Once removed from the oven, leave to stand for 10 minutes, before you remove onto a wire rack. Carefully peel away the non-stick paper and dispose of. 
5. As the sponges are cooling you can make the vibrant yellow icing. 
6. Separate the eggs yolks for the icing and leave the egg whites for a different project. Whisk the egg yolks, and add to a small saucepan with the cream, castor sugar and the vanilla essence. Heat on a very low temperature stirring from the offset. Do not boil. You must keep whisking until the sauce thickens. The sauce should bubble very gently around the edges of the saucepan. Once the sauce has thickened, place in a large bowl and leave to cool on the side. 
7. Now you can add the softened butter and icing sugar to the cooled sauce and beat with an electric hand whisk. 
8. Using a cake decorating pallet knife, spread half of the mix on the top of the bottom cake layer. Then place the second sponge layer on top of the iced bottom layer and repeat the same process again. You can now place the blueberries straight down the middle, and make yourself a coffee, as you are about to enjoy a delicious zesty Norwegian inspired cake.