02 January 2010

Orange and almond cake

With the hens laying well, a fair supply of oranges still on hand, a large bag of ground almonds to use up and a fit of the winter blues to overcome, there was only one solution:



This is a traditional Middle Eastern cake (most online sources credit Claudia Roden for the recipe). It doesn't contain flour or butter (although I suspect that the almonds (and the six eggs) provide a fair amount of fat!). You cook two oranges until they're soft (about two hours simmering in a pan or (I haven't tried this) pierce them with a fork and cook for 8 minutes in a sealed container in the microwave). Then you cut the oranges in half, remove any pips, and whizz them (peel and all) in a blender until they're puréed. Mix together 250g/9 ounces/2 ½ cups of ground almonds (almond meal), 225g/8 ounces/1 cup white sugar, 1 teaspoon baking powder and six eggs and then stir in the puréed oranges.

Simple!

I only have a 9-inch springform cake tin, but an 8-inch one would probably be better (the cake doesn't rise). I lined the base with a circle of silicone, but you could use baking parchment, too. It needs to bake at 190°C/375°F for about an hour. I had some for dessert last night and am feeling much more cheerful today than I was yesterday. Not sure that can completely be attributed to the cake, but who knows?!

3 comments:

Unknown said...

Hi Amanda, your cake sounds delicious. I may have to get domesticated for a minute and make it. Happy New Year to you and your family!

Anonymous said...

Gosh that looks moist and delicious. Hope it helped heal those winter blues!

Unknown said...

I have made a similar cake with figs and raspberries...to die for!

Will have to trade recipes...

:-)