INGREDIENTS

    FOR THE PANCAKES
  • 5 eggs (separated)
  • 1/4 cup sugar
  • 3/4 cup milk
  • 1/2 cup self-rising flour (sifted)
  • 4 tablespoons unsalted butter (melted)
  • 3/4 cup sour cream
  • powdered sugar (sifted, for dusting)
  • lemon wedges (garnish to serve)

    • FOR THE FILLING

  • 3 eggs (separated)
  • 1/4 cup powdered sugar (sifted)
  • 1 lemon, rind of , grated
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla sugar
  • 1 cup ground almonds

DIRECTIONS

  1. FOR THE PANCAKES: Preheat oven to Gas Mark 6 (200C or 400F). Grease & line w/parchment paper a deep 8-9-in springform cake tin.
  2. Whisk egg yolks & sugar in a bowl till thick & creamy b4 whisking in the milk. Whisk egg whites in a grease-free bowl till stiff.
  3. Fold egg whites into the egg yolk mixture, alternating w/spoonfuls of the flour & 2 tbsp of the melted butter.
  4. Using a non-stick crepe or frying pan as near to the size of your prepared cake tin as possible, lightly grease it with 1/2 tbsp of the remaining melted butter & use a pastry brush to spread over the surface.
  5. Ladle 1/4 of the batter into the pan & fry the thick pancake on ea side till golden brown. Then slide it into the prepared cake tin. Repeat process using 1/2 tbsp of the melted butter ea time to make 3 more pancakes in the same way & set them aside while you make the filling.
  6. FOR THE FILLING: Whisk egg yolks in a bowl w/the icing sugar till thick & creamy. Stir in the grated lemon rind & vanilla sugar.
  7. Whisk egg whites in a separate bowl. Fold them into the egg yolk mixture b4 adding the ground almonds & mix together well.
  8. TO ASSEMBLE GATEAU: Spread 1/3 of the filling mixture on top of the 1st pancake in the prepared cake tin. Repeat twice more w/the 2nd & 3rd pancakes & top w/the final pancake.
  9. Spread sour cream over the top & bake for 20-25 min or till the top is a pale golden brown.
  10. Remove from oven & leave in the cake tin for at least 10 min b4 releasing the springform pan & removing the gateau & paper lining.
  11. TO SERVE: Transfer gateau to a serving platter, cut into 6-8 wedges & serve warm, liberally dusted w/powdered sugar & the lemon wedges on the side.
  12. PERS NOTE: This may horrify more purist & experienced pastry chefs, but I’m really into prep made easy. While entering this recipe, I kept thinking to myself — Since we’re using a non-stick crepe or frying pan for the pancakes, why not use spray PAM (butter flavored if that settles your mind) vs the butter? Just a thought :-).