An Italian classic with a moist and grainy texture from the almonds and polenta. This really is a go-to cake recipe for me and can easily be adapted by just switching out the lemons for other fruits.

Simple, versatile and by using whole lemons this cake claims zero-waste status. It also creates minimal washing up and never fails to come out perfect every time.

Ingredients:

• 2 lemons
• 140g vegan butter
• 250g light brown sugar
• 175g polenta
• 200g ground almonds
• 1 tsp baking powder
• Pinch of sea salt
• 3 tbsp flax seeds + 6 tbsp water
• Desiccated coconut (optional for dusting)

Preheat the oven to 170°C and line a 9 inch cake tin with baking paper / use a non-stick silicone tin.

Bring a pan of water to the boil and add the lemons. Reduce to a medium heat, cover and cook for about 45 minutes until the lemons are nice and soft (until you can cut through the skin without any force). Drain the lemons and leave to cool. Meanwhile, prepare and set aside all the dry ingredients.

When the lemons have cooled, cut them in half lengthways and remove any pips. Put the whole lemons into a food processor and blitz into a purée. The smell at this point is mouth-watering and takes me right back to eating toast with lemon curd with my Granny!

Once the lemons are reduced to a delicious puree and there are very small chunks of rind left, it's time to prepare the flax-egg. Combine the ground flaxseeds with water and leave for a few minutes to bind.

Simply add all ingredients in to the food processor and blitz. Add the flax-eggs and continue blitzing until the mixture has completely combined. The mix is quite thick so you may have to stop a few times and give it a little helping hand. There is something very satisfying about seeing all the elements come together.

Scrape the mixture into the cake tin and smooth it around with the back of a spoon. It won't be completely flat or even but this is part of its beauty. Bake in the oven for about 40 mins until golden brown.

This cake goes perfectly with a dusting of desiccated coconut, seasonal berries and coconut maple cream - heaven!