Wednesday 8 August 2007

Orange Cake

A truly sensational technique for making a great cake is to add a whole fruit. I don't mean skinning and chopping up a fruit, I mean boiling a whole one, skin and all, and then blitzing into a zesty purée. So, take an orange and boil it whole. Cut it in half, take out the seeds and whizz up in a blender. Fold that into a cake, and you are hit with amazing orange flavour in every bite. It also makes for a very moist cake that will stay moist and improve with a day of resting.

Experiment with limes and lemons. Even try a grapefruit. And perhaps use ground pistachios or hazelnuts instead of almonds. 

Orange Cake

1 orange, boiled for 45 minutes, seeded and blitzed to a purée
3 eggs
100g plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
75g ground almonds
175g butter
100g sugar
Pinch of salt (if using unsalted butter)

1 - Pre-heat your oven to 160 degrees C, GM4.
2 - Butter and line a baking tin with a removable base.
3 - In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar until pale and fluffy. This is important as it will lighten the cake.
4 - Add the eggs one by one, beating all of the time.
5 - Sieve in the flour, baking powder and salt. Pour in the ground almonds and orange purée and fold in thoroughly.
6 - Pour into the baking tin and bake on the middle shelf for 30-40 minutes until golden and an inserted knitting needle, or something similar, comes out clean.

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

Mmmmm, this sounds fantastic! I'm gonna have to bake this one.

Rose H

Anonymous said...

sounds delicious! Can't wait to try.

BTW David, does your fdaughter enjoy this cake? (Need I ask????!!!)

David Hall said...

Glad you think so Rose, let me know how you get on, its a winner!

Anonymous, Cerys hoovers up most things, but like all kids it is hard to disguise when a cake is in town - she loves it!

Thanks
David

Anonymous said...

This is the best of cakes...I should know I ate most of it when you cooked it for us. It was well worth letting you loose in my kitchen. Thanks for the lovely write up about my cooking, but I'm afraid I won't be entering any Masterchef competitions....I've got enough grey hair!!!!

Love Marie. xx

Valerie Harrison (bellini) said...

Orange would add a lovely flavour to the cake David. Very refreshing!! Thanks for adding me to your line up and I have reciprocated. By the way my parents are from Lincolnshire since you said you were from north-east England. So close enough!!!I'll look forward to your enthusuastic and delicious posts and getting back to my roots!!!!

Maggie said...

Wonderful Orange Cake - I like the looks of the recipe, will give this a try very soon.

Lynda said...

I am going to make this cake on the weekend - I have an abundance of citrus at the moment so need all the recipes I can get! - have always wanted to try a whole fruit cake.. will let you know how I get on.

Abitofafoodie said...

I've been meaning to try this method of boiling the fruit first - I bet this is delicious. My trouble is that although it may improve with a day of rest, I am too impatient and can never wait that long. I have the same trouble with a ginger cake I make - I know it tastes so much better on day three (or even four) but I can never wait that long to dig in!

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