ALMOND LEMON CAKE WITH LEMON MASCARPONE FROSTING

Steps:

• Cake:.
• Preheat oven to 400°F Butter a 9-inch round pan, line it with a circle of buttered parchment paper and then flour the pan.
• In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In a mixer, cream the butter and sugar at medium-high speed for about 2 minutes until light and fluffy. Mix in the extracts and lemon zest, then beat in the egg. Working on low speed, add 1/3 of the flour mixture, then 1/2 the buttermilk mixture, then another 1/3 of the flour, the last of the buttermilk, then the last of the flour. Mix until just combined.
• Scrape the batter into the pan and smooth the top. Bake 20-25 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then finish cooling on a rack. Cool to room temperature before frosting. If frosting the cake with mascarpone frosting, store the cake in the refrigerator.
• Frosting:.
• Beat cheese and cream together until smooth and creamy and slight peaks begin to form.
• Sift in the powdered sugar and zest and beat until smooth.
• Mix in the vanilla extract and spread on cooled cake.
• Hazelnut-Berry Version:
• Replace almond meal with hazelnut meal (hazelnuts ground into a fine powder), use vanilla extract instead of almond, use orange zest instead of lemon, and sprinkle the batter with 3/4 cup fresh mixed berries tossed with flour before baking.