Cephalonia-style Greek walnut cake

Method

1. First make the syrup. Put the sugar, cinnamon stick and lemon zest in a small saucepan with 400ml water and bring to the boil. Continue to boil for 3-4 minutes until the sugar dissolves and the mixture becomes syrupy. Turn off the heat and leave the syrup to cool.
2. Heat the oven to 170°C fan/gas 5. Butter the cake tin, then dust it with flour and line the base with a piece of baking paper cut to fit.
3. Using a stand mixer with a beater attached, beat the butter and sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy. Beat in 30g of the flour, then beat in the eggs, one by one, until thoroughly mixed.
4. Put the walnuts and ground spices in a food processor and whizz to make coarse crumbs – larger, rustic pieces are great, as you want some texture in the cake. Transfer the nuts to the bowl, along with the remaining flour, the milk, baking powder and a pinch of salt, then beat for 2 minutes to incorporate everything well and create a thick batter. Transfer the batter to the tin and smooth the top.
5. Transfer the cake tin to the oven and bake for 50 minutes or until risen and a beautiful golden brown. A skewer pushed into the centre should come out clean. Remove the tin from the oven and put on a wire rack.
6. Remove the cinnamon stick and lemon zest from the pan of syrup. Use a skewer to make small holes all over the top of the cake, then pour over the syrup. Leave the cake in the tin for at least an hour to cool and to allow the syrup to be fully absorbed. When ready to serve, remove the cake from the tin and peel off the baking paper. Dust with icing sugar and sprinkle over some extra walnuts, roughly chopped. Slice and serve with a generous scoop of ice cream, if you like.