Method

1. Preheat the oven to 165C/330F Non-fan Assisted (150C Fan). Lightly grease a 2lb/900g loaf tin with butter and coat the sides and base with parchment paper. Set to one side. 

2. Into the bowl of a stand mixer, add the sugar and lemon zest. Rub these together for a minute to release the citrus oils.

3. Add the eggs on top and whisk for 2 minutes on a medium speed. Then pour in the cream and mix just to combine. 

4. Scrape any lemon zest off the whisk, back into the bowl, then add in the sifted flour & salt on top and whisk on a low speed just until the dry ingredients have been incorporated.

5. Finally, pour in the olive oil and whisk again just until combined and there are no streaks of oil. 

6. Pour the batter into the tin, then add some soft butter to a piping bag and pipe a very thin line, lengthways down the centre of the cake.

7. Place it into the centre of the oven and bake for 75-80 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. 

8. While the cake is baking, prepare the sugar syrup by placing all of the ingredients into a small saucepan and bring to the boil. Set to one side. 

9. Remove the cake from the oven and immediately tip it out of the tin onto a wire rack with a tray underneath.

10. Pour the syrup all over the cake, then immediately wrap it tightly in clingfilm and refrigerate overnight.

11. For the lemon cream, add the powdered gelatin into a small bowl and pour the cold water over the top. If using a gelatin sheet, soak this in a bowl of cold water. Let this sit for 10 minutes.

12. Add the white chocolate into a tall measuring jug and set to one side. 

13. Add 250g of the cream to a small saucepan, along with the lemon zest. Place this over a medium heat until it is steaming.

14. Remove it from the heat and pour this over the white chocolate, and scoop the bloomed gelatin on top (or squeeze the water out of the leaf gelatin and add this in). Let this sit for 2 minutes.

15. Blend with a hand blender until smooth. Then pour in the remaining 100g of cold cream and blend again. Transfer the mixture to a bowl, cover the surface with clingfilm and then place it in the refrigerator, ideally overnight.

16. The next day, remove the cake from the fridge and allow it to come to room temperature for an hour.

17. Prepare the tempered white chocolate and add this into a small piping bag. You only need a small amount of white chocolate for the decorations, but if you are tempering the chocolate by hand, it is easier to temper a larger quantity (like 300-400g). With the leftover tempered white chocolate, just pipe it into small discs and then once they are set, add them back into your bag of white chocolate to use again another time! 

18. Onto a long strip of acetate, dust a series of very small patches of green food colour powder. Pipe a small dollop of tempered white chocolate on top of each patch of colour powder, about 1” wide. 

19. Place a second strip of acetate on top, and then use the back of a cup or something flat and round, and press it gently until the chocolate forms a disc shape. 

20. Lift the acetate onto a baking tray and place it into the fridge for 10 minutes. You may need to put another baking tray gently on top just to stop the chocolate from curling up as it sets (but this doesn’t really matter!)

21. Add the lemon whipped ganache into the bowl of a stand mixer (or a large bowl if you are using an electric hand mixer). Whisk on a medium speed until it reaches a medium stiff peak. Add the mixture into a piping bag fitted with a large round tip nozzle.

22. Pipe a few dollops of the cream over the top of the cake, then remove your chocolate discs from the fridge, peeling off the acetate to reveal the discs. 

23. Gently press them onto the cream. The cake is now ready to serve. You can serve slices with more of the remaining cream.