A most excellent Easter cake, with hazlenuts and marzipan. Perfect with a cup of tea.
Ingredients
- 375g softened, unsalted butter, plus extra to grease
- 375g golden caster sugar
- Finely grated zest of 2 oranges
- 375g ground almonds
- 1 tsp ground mixed spice
- 5 large organic eggs
- 200g hazelnuts, toasted and finely chopped
- 100g plain flour
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 8 tbsp Frangelico (hazelnut liqueur)
- 300g good-quality white chocolate
- 50g unsalted butter
- 250g white marzipan
- Icing sugar, for dusting
- Mini chocolate eggs, to decorate
Method
- 1. Preheat the oven to 160°C/fan140°C/gas 3. Grease and line a 23cm round cake tin with non-stick baking paper. In a large bowl beat the butter, sugar and orange zest together until light and fluffy. Stir in the ground almonds and mixed spice. Beat in the eggs one at a time. Fold in the hazelnuts, flour, baking powder and the hazelnut liqueur until smooth. Spoon into the prepared tin and bake for 1 hour, then cover with foil and bake for a further 50 minutes or until a metal skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Leave to cool for 10 minutes in the tin, then turn out on to a wire rack to cool completely.
- 2. Melt the chocolate and butter in a bowl set over a pan of simmering water. Stir until just smooth, but don’t overbeat. Spread all over the top and sides of the cake with a palette knife and leave to set.
- 3. Roll out the marzipan on a surface lightly dusted with icing sugar large enough to cover the whole cake. Roll up on a rolling pin, then unroll over the cake and press lightly into the sides and trim neatly. Decorate with sugar-coated chocolate eggs in pretty colours and a big ribbon.