ORANGE AND ALMOND CAKE

AvatarCaxton magazines staff
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There’s no need to bring a bottle when Andrew and Rozy Gunn of Iona Vineyards (iona.co.za) invite you over for a meal

ORANGE AND ALMOND CAKE

INGREDIENTS

For the cake: 

  • 4 eggs, separated
  • 125g sugar
  • zest of 1 orange
  • 100g ground almonds
  • 30g cake flour

For the syrup:

  • 185ml orange juice
  • 75g sugar
  • 1 cinnamon stick
  • 15ml Grand Marnier liqueur

To serve:

  • fresh orange segments
  • icing sugar
  • orange zest

METHOD

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C.
2. To make the cake: beat the egg yolks, sugar, orange zest and ground almonds together. Sift the flour over the yolk mixture and then fold it in gently. In a clean bowl, beat the egg whites until stiff and then gently fold them into the yolk mixture.
3. Pour the cake batter into a greased and floured 20cm non-stick cake tin. Bake for 45 minutes. Allow the cake to cool in the tin and then transfer it to a serving plate.
4. To make the syrup: simmer the orange juice with the sugar and cinnamon stick until the sugar has dissolved. Add the liqueur. Pierce the cake to make little holes and pour the hot syrup over it, including the cinnamon stick.
5. Decorate with fresh orange segments, orange zest and a dusting of icing sugar.

Cook’s note: This moist cake is best eaten the day after it is made and so can be prepared ahead of time. The cake will settle as it cools.

This recipe serves 8.