Orange and almond cake

Ingredients

• 2 oranges (approx 375 grams)
• 6 eggs
• 225 grams white sugar
• 250 grams ground almonds
• 1 teaspoon baking powder

Tried and true

This is honestly one of the easiest cakes I’ve ever made, and is incredibly consistent – definitely recommended for those who aren’t confident bakers. It’s super moist and a little dense; with no flour involved you can make it gluten free by excluding baking powder, for me this makes very little difference to the end result. Which, of course, is best eaten with lashings and lashings of whipped cream.

Method

Step 1

Put the oranges in a pan and fill with cold water to cover. With the lid on, bring to the boil and simmer for 2 hours. If the water levels go down you can top up with fresh water. Drain and cool the oranges, then cut in half and remove the seeds. Pop the halved oranges (skin, pith, and flesh) into a blender and blitz until smooth.

Step 2

Preheat the oven to 190°C, grease a 21cm cake tin and line the bottom of the tin with greaseproof baking paper (I trace the tin onto the paper and cut to size). Throw all the ingredients – blitzed oranges, eggs, ground almonds, sugar, and baking powder if you’re using it – into a bowl and mix well.

Step 3

Pour the batter into the cake tin and bake for 1 hour. If the top starts to get too dark before the time is up, cover it with tinfoil for the remainder of the bake. When a knife or skewer comes out clean, the cake is done. Leave it to cool completely in the tin before serving.

Notes

• You can make the cake gluten free by omitting the baking powder, and it’s just as delicious.
• I’ve made this using all different types of oranges and mandarins; as long as you get the weight of the oranges right you can choose sweeter varieties or mandarins for a different orangey flavour.

Recipe adapted from Nigella’s Clementine Cake on www.nigella.com