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Almond cake in spiced citrus syrup recipe

By Debbie Major

  1. Serves 8
  2. Takes 45 minutes to make, 45 minutes to bake, plus cooling
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Ingredients

  1. Butter, for greasing
  2. 6 medium eggs, separated
  3. 225g caster sugar, plus 1 tbsp extra
  4. 230g ground almonds
  5. Finely grated zest of 2 oranges
  6. Finely grated zest of 1 lemon
  7. For the syrup
  8. 50g caster sugar
  9. Juice of 1 orange
  10. Juice of 1 large lemon
  11. 1 star anise
  12. 1 large cinnamon stick
  13. 2 cardamom pods, lightly crushed
  14. For the orange fruit salad
  15. 4 oranges
  16. 2 tbsp icing sugar
  17. 2 tbsp orange blossom water (we like English Provender Company, from major supermarkets)
  18. 1 pomegranate (optional)
  19. Few fresh mint leaves, to decorate

Method

  1. 1. Preheat the oven to 180°C/ fan160°C/gas 4. Grease and line a 23cm round, deep springform cake tin with baking paper. Put the egg yolks and 225g sugar in a large bowl. Using an electric hand whisk, beat for a few minutes until pale and thick. Fold in the almonds and zests. It will be quite stiff at this stage.
  2. 2. In a separate large bowl, whisk the egg whites with the extra sugar to soft peaks. Mix a little into the almond mixture to loosen, then gently fold in the rest until combined. Pour into the tin and bake for 45 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean. Cool in the tin on a wire rack.
  3. 3. Meanwhile, make the syrup. Put the sugar and fruit juices into a small pan with the spices and leave over a low heat until the sugar has dissolved. Bring to the boil and simmer for 5 minutes, until syrupy. Strain into a bowl and cool slightly.
  4. 4. For the orange salad, slice the top and bottom off each orange, then slice away the skin and pith. Cut horizontally into thin slices and overlap on a serving plate. Sprinkle over the sugar and orange water.
  5. 5. Cut the pomegranate in half and, working over a bowl, tap the base of each half with a rolling pin to knock out the seeds. Set aside.
  6. 6. Invert the cake onto a plate and pierce the base all over with a fine skewer. Spoon over the syrup, giving it time to soak in.
  7. 7. Just before serving, scatter the pomegranate seeds and mint over the salad, and serve with slices of cake.

Nutritional info

Per serving: 439kcals, 21.2g fat (2.6g saturated), 12.9g protein, 53.2g carbs, 49.9g sugar, 0.2g salt

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