My friend, New Zealand poet Sam Sampson, emailed me last week to ask for a fool-proof cake recipe to make a cake for partner Jacinda’s birthday. I sent him an Orange & Almond Cake recipe, which had been passed on to me by Jess Lehmann, adapted from the original Claudia Rosen recipe. Apparently it went down a treat, as you can see from the pics. The little hand on the table belongs to the gorgeous Lucia, Sam & Jacinda’s daughter, who by all accounts was pretty happy with the cake too.
Orange and Almond Cake
(adapted from Claudia Roden’s recipe)
2 Oranges
6 Eggs
250 g (8.8oz) Ground almonds
Rice Syrup/Maple Syrup
1 tsp Baking powder
butter and sprinkling of flour for the cake tin
Icing
White Almond Butter
Vanilla Essence
Orange Rind
Oat or Rice Milk
Maple Syrup
Wash and boil the oranges unpeeled, in water to cover for 1 1/2 hours or until they are very soft. Let them cool, then cut them open, remove the pips and turn them into a puree in a food processor. Beat the eggs in a large bowl. Add all the other ingredients, mix thoroughly and pour into a buttered and floured cake tin with a removable base if possible. Bake in a preheated moderately hot 190ºC oven for about 30 mins. If it is still very wet leave it in the oven for a little longer. Turn out of tin and leave to cool before Icing.
For the icing, heat Almond Butter in a Saucepan with Vanilla, Orange Rind and a little sweetener. Add Oat or Rice Milk. Leave to cool in water bath, before spreading on cake. (Instead of the Icing, Sam made an Orange Syrup glaze instead: Orange Rind boiled for 5 minutes, then added back into the Orange Juice with Maple syrup.)
