Caxton magazines staffOwner of the coffee shop La Petite Tarte (021 425 9077), Cristiana Bosini draws inspiration for her entertaining menus from the years she spent living in Italy, Greece and France
INGREDIENTS
- 6 eggs, whites and yolks separated
- 6T caster sugar
- juice and grated rind of 2 oranges
- 1 cup ground almonds
- 6T dried breadcrumbs
- 1t (heaped) baking powder
- flaked almonds, orange zest, mint and icing sugar, to decorate
- whipped cream, to serve
For the syrup:
- 300ml water
- 1 cup sugar
- 200ml freshly squeezed orange juice
METHOD
1. Beat the yolks and sugar until light and creamy. Add orange juice and rind, almonds and breadcrumbs and mix well.
2. Beat the egg whites until stiff and add to the breadcrumb mixture with the baking powder.
3. Pour into a greased cake tin and bake at 180°C for about 20 minutes and then at 160°C for the remaining 25 minutes.
4. To make the syrup: boil the water, sugar and orange juice for 10–15 minutes to form a thin syrup. Pour over the cake as it comes out of the oven. Leave to stand for a few hours.
5. Turn the cake out of the tin, top with the flaked almonds and orange zest, dust with icing sugar and decorate with the mint. Serve with the whipped cream.
This recipe serves 6 – 8.
