Orange and Almond Cake

Orange and Almond Cake

While looking for a recipe for a Finnish Almond cake a few years ago, I stumbled on this Orange and Almond Cake from Cookies on Friday.  She uses “cup” measurements, which I am not a fan of so I’ve  converted to metric as best I can.  (This site is great: baking conversions).The cake was quick, easy, and really moreish to the point that I easily scarfed down at least 2 slices.   I’ve tweeked the recipe a bit – added a lot more orange zest and juice, and dropped the milk, and reduced the flour slightly; resulting in an incredibly easy “throw it together” cake that can be made in under an hour, but never fails.  Since then, I’ve made this cake at least 20 times, and its become my go to cake if I need to whip up something reliable, quick and delicious.

Ingredients:

Cake:

• 160g plain flour
• 200g caster sugar
• 75g Butter
• 1 egg
• Zest from 2 Oranges
• 175ml of freshly squeezed orange juice
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

For the glaze:

• 30g flaked almonds
• Grand Marnier 2 tablespoons (or any other orange liqueur)
• Fresh orange juice 2 tablespoons
• C aster sugar 2 tablespoons – 1 for the glaze, and one to sprinkle on top

Method:

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C.

Throw all the cake ingredients in to a bowl and mix, beating the mixture until it lightens in colour (around 3-4 mins on high).  Butter and flour (or line with greaseproof paper) a 9 inch pan.  Pour the cake mix into the tin, and flatten slightly, before sprinkling the almonds over the top of the mix.

Place the cake in a pre heated oven at 180 degrees C  for around 40 mins until a skewer comes out clean.  The cake may still appear quite wet – but it will continue to cook for a little bit out of the oven.

Remove from the oven, leaving the cake in the pan, and while the cake is still warm, dissolve the sugar in to the liqueur and juice before pouring this glaze all over the cake.  Allow to cool before adding the final sprinkle of caster sugar.

Perfect served as a desert with creme frais and seasonal fruits.  And ideally there will be enough for a large wedge with coffee the next day!