Lemon Cake with Fresh Berry Syrup

I needed something juicy, with a tangy and refreshing touch to brighten up my gloomy (and shitty) day. The idea of making a lemon cake with some delicious berry syrup came to my mind when my mom brought some big and beautiful organic lemons, the smell is a million times better than the ones that come from non-organic harvests...and these were wax-free so I zested the entire lemon like there's no tomorrow.

Baking at home helps me relax and forget about the troubles for a while, and of course having something special to snack on cheers me up. My kitchen is like my little haven, a tad bit caothic when I'm baking birthday cakes (so many tools and gadgets around me!) but a place where I feel safe and even creative.

Well, today's one of those days that I don't know what to write about, guess I'm not 'in the mood' because this week has been weird (to say the least) and I'm just done with certain people. I can't control what other people do or say, and yes, it's better to ignore those stupid actions from those stupid people. But sometimes one thinks 'I've just had enough!'. Call me naive, but I'll never get to understand how someone can hold so many jealousy, envy and negativity inside.

Excuse my rant, please. Let's just focus on how gorgeous and shiny these fresh berries look on top of the cake, the syrup is so delicious! It'd also work well to drizzle over pancakes, waffles (yum) and even ice cream.

Hey and this cake is sugar-free, for the first time ever I dared to use organic xylitol (non GMO and 100% from birch, not corn!), which has around 40% less calories than regular sugar and I'm pretty glad with the results.

Happy weekend guys!

Receta en español aquí!

Lemon Cake with Fresh Berry Syrup
(Makes one 23 cm/ 9-inch diameter cake)

Ingredients
- For the syrup:
2/3 cups maple syrup.
2 cups mixed fresh berries (raspberries, blackberries and blueberries).
2 drops organic orange essential oil.

- For the lemon cake:
3 free range eggs.
1/2 cup lemon yogurt (choose your favorite brand/type).
3/4 cup xylitol.
1/2 cup mild-tasting extra virgin olive oil.
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour.
1 tbsp baking powder.
Zest of one large lemon.
2 drops organic lemon essential oil.

Directions

- To make the fresh berry syrup:

In a medium saucepan over high heat bring maple syrup to a boil. Add in the fresh berries and cook, stirrring occasionally, until the liquid has reduced and the blueberries begin to pop. 

Remove from the heat and stir in the orange essential oil. Let the mixture cool at room temperature, transfer to a clean jar with a lid or airtight container and refrigerate overnight.

- To make the lemon cake:

Preheat oven to 180 ºC (350 ºF).

Lightly grease with nonstick cooking spray your springform pan (23 cm/ 9-inch diameter) and line the bottom with parchment paper. 

In the bowl of your stand mixer beat the eggs with the sugar until pale and fluffy. Add in the yogurt and lemon zest.

While the mixer is still on, slowly pour in the olive oil and the lemon oil.

In a separate large bowl mix together the flour and baking powder. Add the flour mixture to the wet mixture and mix until combined. The batter should look aerated, fluffy and pale.

Pour into the prepared mold and bake for 45 minutes approximately, or until a cake tester inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.

Let the cake cool in the pan over a wire rack. Remove from the pan and let it cool completely.

Drain the berries that were soaked in the sryup the night before and use them to decorate the cake. Finally drizzle approximately half of the syrup over the cake and the use the rest to add an extra drizzle to each slice before serving.