Cake: mix the sugar with the softened butter until creamy and pale (We used dairy free butter in this cake).

Next add the eggs and continue to mix until light and fluffy. Don't worry if it curdles, add a little bit of flour. Just stick with it, it will come back together.

Then add the sifted flour, you're going to need to do this a little bit at a time or there will be flour everywhere.

Once mixed thoroughly so there are no lumps of flour and you have lots of air bubbles

Pour gently into a 12in cake tin, we used a square one and spread it gently to the corners using a palette knife.

Bake at 140°c for 2 hours in a fan oven, 2 and a half hours in a conventional oven.

Filling: mix the butter and the icing sugar in a bowl until very pale and fluffy, this may take several time. (Again we used dairy free butter)

Add the lemon flavouring to taste.

When the cake is cooked turn it out onto a cooling rack to cool.

Once cooled you can cut the cake in half and fill it.