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Ruby Tandoh's Lemon, buttermilk and black pepper cake (above)

It might not have the national treasure status of the Victoria sponge or

engender the same gleeful lust as a chocolate fudge gateau, but a great lemon

drizzle cake is, I think, as close as Great British teatimes come to culinary

perfection. It's a finely tuned thing: the lemon should be bold enough to make

you pause between forkfuls, without sharpening to an eye-watering sourness. My

version isn't a traditional lemon drizzle, but it's my favourite. Buttermilk

dulls the hit of lemon, while leaving the flavour fresh and bright; black

pepper lends a gentle heat which lingers on the tongue after first the citrus,

then the sweetness, have come and gone.

Serves 6-8

150g unsalted butter, softened

100g caster sugar

50g light brown soft sugar

Zest of 2 lemons

2 tsp coarsely ground black pepper

2 large eggs

150g plain flour

1 tsp baking powder

tsp bicarbonate of soda

A generous pinch of salt

50ml buttermilk or soured cream

For finishing

Juice of 2 lemons

50g caster sugar

150-200g lemon curd

Black pepper, coarsely ground

1-2 tsp lemon zest

1 Heat the oven to 180C/350F/gas mark 4. Grease and line a 20cm-diameter

spring-form or loose-bottomed tin.

2 Cream the butter with the sugars until light and fluffy, then stir in the

lemon zest, pepper and eggs. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking

powder, bicarbonate of soda and salt. Add half of this to the butter and sugar,

along with the buttermilk. Mix, then add the rest of the flour.

3 Spoon the batter into the tin and bake for 30-35 mins, until well-risen,

golden brown and springy. A small knife inserted into the centre of the cake

should emerge with no more than a crumb or two sticking to it.

4 Demould the cake and cool on a wire rack. Cut it in half horizontally to give

two thinner cake layers. Prepare the syrup by heating the lemon juice and sugar

in a small pan and simmering for a minute or two. Pour over the cake layers

while the syrup is still hot.

5 To assemble, spread one half with the lemon curd and sandwich with the second

half. You could pour on some zesty water icing to finish it off if you like,

but I prefer to keep it simple with just an extra grind of pepper and a

sprinkling of finely grated zest.