I remember the first time I made this cake for a family event – mother’s day a few years ago. I swore up and down that I wasn’t going to make it again because it was about 30 degrees that day and I was sweating over boiling and chopping oranges that left a sticky mess all over my bench. But then I saw my family’s reaction. Eyes rolled back in their heads, exclamations of “oh my god you have to make this again!” and I knew, damn it, that I had to add this to my regular repertoire of event cakes.

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If I wanted an easy, quick orange cake I wouldn’t make this cake. But I don’t want an easy, quick orange cake. I want a cake bursting with fresh orange flavour and spice. This cake promises both of those things. After the tedious chore of boiling, chopping and deseeding the oranges, the hardest part of the cake preparation is done.

Enjoy a slice with a strong cup of black tea and an extra dollop of mascarpone when no one else is looking. Shhh.

Ingredients

Cake

2 large oranges OR 3 small oranges

4 eggs

1 cups caster sugar

3 cups (300g) almond meal

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp ground cardamom

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 tsp rosewater

Mascarpone or dairy free whipped cream & chopped pistachios, to serve

Syrup

Juice of 1 orange

Juice of ½ lemon

Rind of ½ lemon

½ cup caster sugar

¼ cup water

1 tsp orange blossom water

Directions

1. Preheat your oven to 160°C or 320°F. Grease a 20cm round springform pan and line the base with baking paper.
2. Place oranges in a large saucepan; cover with cold water. Bring to the boil and cook for 30 minutes, or until swollen and tender. Drain and let cool. Coarsely chop and discard any pips.
3. Place orange in a food processor; process until smooth. Use an electric mixer to whisk eggs and sugar until thick and pale. Add orange, almond meal, baking powder, cinnamon, cardamom, vanilla and rosewater; gently fold until just combined. Spoon into prepared pan; smooth the surface. Bake for 1 hour or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.
4. While the cake is baking, make syrup. To make the syrup, use a zester to remove the rind from the lemon. Juice orange and lemon. Place the juice, rind, sugar and water in a saucepan over low heat. Cook, stirring, for 5 minutes or until sugar dissolves and syrup thickens slightly. Remove from heat. Add orange blossom water. Set aside to cool.
5. Drizzle the hot cake straight from the oven with all of the syrup. Let it cool before cutting into wedges. Serve with a sprinkle of chopped pistachios and a dollop of mascarpone or dairy free whipped cream.