Orange and almond cake
This Mandarin and almond cake is gluten-free and dairy-free – also it’s made without oil, yet it’s remarkably moist and spongy! It’s perfect for special occasions, anniversaries, tea-parties or even at Christmas.
Ingredients
Method
- Put 4 mandarins in a saucepan, cover with cold water then simmer for 25 minutes. Drain and slightly cool the mandarins, then blend in a food processor until; you get a rough textured purée.
- Preheat the oven to 180C. Grease a spring-form cake tin with oil and line the base with baking paper.
- In a large bowl, using an electric whisk, cream the egg yolks and half the sugar.
- In another bowl, whisk the egg whites until stiff, then whisk in the rest of the sugar.
- Fold the puréed mandarins, ground almonds and mixed spice into the egg yolk mixture.
- Fold a little egg white into the mixture, then gently fold in the rest.
- Transfer the mixture into the cake tin and bake for about an hour, until it’s golden and an inserted skewer comes out clean.
- Leave the cake to cool in the tin, then turn it out onto a plate.
- Prick the top of cake several times with a skewer.
- Peel & slice 3 or 4 mandarins. Put these on top of the cake and drizzle over some maple syrup. Let the juices sink into the cake.
- Dust with icing sugar just before serving.