Combine the sugar and lemon zest in a small mixing bowl and rub the zest into the sugar with your hands. Set aside.

In a medium mixing bowl, whisk the flours and almond meal with the baking powder, salt and poppy seeds. Set aside.

Add the oil, eggs, sugar and vanilla bean paste to a medium bowl or the bowl of your stand mixer. Use hand beaters or the whisk attachment to cream the mixture until pale in colour and light and fluffy in texture. It should have grown in volume and look aerated. This will take 2-3 minutes.

Add in a quarter or so of the flour mix, and beat on low to combine. Add a quarter or so of the milk and beat until combined. Continue this pattern, alternating the milk and lemon juice as the liquid component, until you have used all the ingredients, finishing with flour. The batter should be quite thin – about the consistency of a thinner custard.

Pour the batter into the prepared cake tin. Bake the cake for 30-40 minutes (toppings dependent) or until golden brown and cooked through. I like to lightly tent my cake with oil around the 25-30 minute mark so the top doesn’t get too brown.

Once cooked, allow the cake to cool before running a knife around the edge. Gently invert the cake from the tin, peel off the cake liner and place it on a cooling rack to cool. Allow to cool completely before adding the lemon icing. See the body of the post for the optional candied lemon peel garnish.