Try this moreish almond cake made with oranges and lemons to give it a citric kick.
Ingredients
- Butter, for greasing
- 6 medium eggs, separated
- 225g caster sugar, plus 1 tbsp extra
- 230g ground almonds
- Finely grated zest of 2 oranges
- Finely grated zest of 1 lemon
- For the syrup
- 50g caster sugar
- Juice of 1 orange
- Juice of 1 large lemon
- 1 star anise
- 1 large cinnamon stick
- 2 cardamom pods, lightly crushed
- For the orange fruit salad
- 4 oranges
- 2 tbsp icing sugar
- 2 tbsp orange blossom water (we like English Provender Company, from major supermarkets)
- 1 pomegranate (optional)
- Few fresh mint leaves, to decorate
Method
- 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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