Flourless Italian Almond-Lemon Cake

Gather the ingredients.

Wash the lemons well. Add them to a pot with enough water to cover and simmer for 1 hour.

Drain the lemons and allow them to cool enough to handle. They will look a bit "deflated," while the cooking water will be pale yellow and quite bitter.

Trim the ends off each lemon and cut them in half crosswise. Scoop out and discard the seeds.

Coarsely chop the lemons—peels and all.

Put the lemons through a food mill with a coarse disk.

Mill the lemons again with a fine disk in a food mill.

Strain the lemon pulp through a fine-mesh strainer. Rub the lemon paste against the mesh with the back of a wooden spoon or the bottom of a ladle.

Preheat the oven to 350 F/180 C. Soak a sheet of parchment paper with water, then crumple it and wring it out. Use it to line a 9-inch (22-centimeter) springform pan.

In a medium bowl, beat the egg yolks and granulated sugar until pale yellow and frothy, about 3 minutes.

Beat in the lemon cream and almond meal.

In a separate, clean, dry bowl, whip the egg whites to firm peaks.

Gently fold the whites and baking powder into the lemon mixture.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan.

Bake for about 1 hour, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out a bit sticky but without batter clinging to it. Keep an eye on the cake during the last few minutes because it can brown suddenly.

Remove from the oven and let cool completely before releasing it from the springform pan and placing it on a serving platter.

Dust lightly with confectioners' sugar.