The Lemon and Praline Cake

Whip the egg whites and stiffen with the sugar. Roast the ground hazelnuts then allow to cool. Mix them with the flour, starch and lime zest.
Add the egg yolks to the stiffened whites in the bowl of the mixer. Then, using a spatula, carefully fold in the powdered mixture.

Make enough hazelnut sponge to have a total weight of 1200 g

Bake the basic mixture in a mould that is 26 cm in diameter, lined with greaseproof paper. Bake at 170 °C for approx. 40 minutes in a fan-assisted oven. Check the sponge is cooked using the tip of a knife. Remove from the mould upon taking the sponge out of the oven.
Once the sponge has cooled, cut it horizontally into 3 layers that are approx. 2 cm high. Cut each layer again so that they measure 22 cm in diameter.

Bring the sugar and water to a boil to make a basic syrup.
Mix together all the ingredients. Soak the sponge layers with this syrup. Use about 140 g of syrup per sponge layer.

Whisk the eggs in a mixer fitted with a whisk. Heat the sugar and water to 124 °C and drizzle it over the eggs to make a pâte à bombe.
Continue whisking so that the mixture begins to cool, then add the tempered butter a little at a time.

550 g	basic butter cream
150 g	hazelnut praliné (50% nut)

Using a mixer fitted with a flat beater, mix the ingredients together until smooth. Set asid

In a saucepan, bring the lime juice, zest and half of the sugar to a boil. Mix together the eggs and the rest of the sugar and add this to the first mixture.
Boil then remove from the pan and place into a bowl on top of the gelatine mass. Leave to cool to 40 °C then, using a hand-held blender, mix the mixture with the diced butter for a long time until it has a smooth and consistent texture.
Pour the cream into two round moulds that are 20 cm in diameter allowing 330 g of cream per centre. Place in the freezer.

2	lemons
100 g	sugar

Zest the two lemons using a zester and then blanch them three times in clear water. Peel the lemons with a knife and then set aside the supremed segments and the rest of the juice (be careful not to include any pips). Mix the zest, sugar, segments and juice together.
Place this well-mixed mixture in a saucepan and cook on a low heat until the mixture becomes translucent then remove from the heat and cool.
Spread a thin layer of marmalade (70 g) on two of the three sponge layers, which have been soaked beforehand.

Mix the melted chocolate with the rest of the ingredients. Thinly spread the mixture so that you have two discs that are 20 cm in diameter (use 110 g of mixture for each disc). Place in the freezer.

500 g	Sculpture 31 % fat
60 g	hazelnut praliné (50% nut)

Place the discs of praline crunch on top of two cake layers that have been spread with marmalade. Place the two lemon cream centres on top of the praline crunch using a little of the praline Sculpture.
Using a piping bag fitted with a No. 20 tip, pipe a ring of praline butter cream around the edge of one of the first layers. Fill the middle on top of the cream with half of the whipped Sculpture. Cover with the second sponge-centre stack and repeat the process, finishing with the whipped Sculpture. Place the final layer of soaked sponge on top. Ensure that the top of the cake is flat when adding the last layer of sponge.
Use the rest of the butter cream to cover the cakes on all sides then, place in the refrigerator.

	Cover the cake with approx. 450 g of the whipped, sweetened (5% sugar) Corman Sculpture
	Use a revolving cake stand and a spatula to smooth out the cover

Using a piping bag fitted with a fluted tip, pipe a frieze around the edge of the cake. To ensure the friezes are all the same size, divide the cake into seven sections before piping. To create this effect, ‘tap’ the cake with the piping bag whilst maintaining a constant pressure.
Make a decorative swirling border using the same tip on the bottom of the cake. Use a cone or a piping bag fitted with a No. 3 round tip to perfect the decoration.
Decorate with glazed lime segments.

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