Before Christmas, I had been tweetering about my lack of grace when it came to baking. I was on the look out for simple, fool-proof recipes that might help build up my confidence when it came to cakes.
Sinead Ryan (@sineadryan) came to my assistance by emailing me her tried and tested recipe for a Tunisian Almond and Orange cake. She had made it for many a dinner guest and promised that it always turned out delectable.
I have since made this cake about seven times, and each time it has turned out without a snag and barely a pearl of sweat sweeping my brow. It’s a very straight-forward and simple cake, with a devastatingly sweet yet easy-to-make citrus syrup to drizzle over the top. It genuinely tastes better the day after baking which makes it extra brilliant if you’re cooking for a crowd and want to get the dessert well out of the way!
What you need for Sinead’s Almond and Orange Cake
For the cake
45g of slightly stale white breadcrumbs
200g of caster sugar
100g of ground almonds
1 and a half level teaspoons of baking powder
200ml of sunflower or vegetable oil
4 medium free-range eggs
Finely grated zest of 1 orange
Finely grated zest of 1/2 lemon
For the syrup
85g of caster sugar
Juice of one orange
Juice of 1/2 lemon
2 cloves
1 cinnamon stick
Start by pre-heating your oven to 190C/170C fan/Gas Mark 5.
In a large bowl, mix together the breadcrumbs, caster sugar, ground almonds and baking powder.
In a measuring jug, mix together 200ml of vegetable oil, 4 large eggs and the orange and lemon zests.
Using a wooden spoon or spatula, fold the wet egg mixture into the dry ingredients until well blended. You will have a really wet and sloppy mix.
Grease a 23cm springform cake tin with a bit of butter.
Pour the mixture into the cake tin and put into the oven. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until a skewer placed into the centre comes out clean. It will be a little oily but that’s good.
Allow the cake to cool in its tin. Once cooled, transfer it to a deep-ish plate so that your syrup will be able to collect around the cake.
Before serving, make your syrup. Put the caster sugar, lemon and orange juices, cloves and cinnamon stick in a small frying pan. Bring it to the boil and simmer, stirring constantly, for three minutes.
Allow it to cool slightly and you’ll see it’ll be lovely and syrupy.
Using a skewer, poke lots of little holes all over your cake. Now pour the syrup all over the cake, making sure to evenly soak the whole thing.
Serve warm with a dollop of creme fraiche on the side.
Simple! If you’re making a slightly Moroccan or Middle Eastern themed dinner, there couldn’t be a better end to it than this cake. Such a wonderfully simple yet rewarding cake recipe. Thanks again, Sinéad!
KITCHEN TUNE
Here’s a clip of Tunisian violinist and viola d’amore player Jasser Haj Youssef performing La Médina. It’s not the best quality – a man walks past the screen at one point – but it’s pretty evocative of that fascinating part of the world.
February 17, 2012 at 3:42 pm
OH my god I have ALL those ingredients in my house right now – am totally gonna make this in the morning
February 17, 2012 at 4:47 pm
Do it, Lucy! It’s a winner
February 17, 2012 at 4:15 pm
For someone who is rubbish at cake making, it sounds as though even I could do this one. Off to get an orange tomorrow.
February 17, 2012 at 4:48 pm
It’s brilliantly simple, Carol. Although you can’t tell that by the taste of it. A super cake recipe, especially for beginners like you and I!
February 19, 2012 at 8:41 pm
Aoife, this sounds like a really delicious cake. I’m always on the search of tasty cakes that don’t really require a frosting. I’m going to give this a go this week!
February 20, 2012 at 2:56 pm
Do give it a go, Nessa! It’s lovely and simple. And very sweet so I’m sure the kids will love it!
February 22, 2012 at 5:27 pm
I am definately on this one. Looks amazing!
February 23, 2012 at 1:16 pm
It’s a good one all right, hope you enjoy it!
March 7, 2012 at 9:54 pm
WOW, I could really get with this Aoife…….(can you tell I am catching up on your posts??) I remember you tweeting about this and it sounded so good! Can’t believe it’s made with breadcrumbs! Def trying this too! Perhaps will do: Halloumi starter, artichoke tart then this cake for dessert????????? NOM. All best, Imen xx
March 8, 2012 at 10:41 am
That sounds like a great menu! Definitely give this cake a go, it’s such a winner.
June 16, 2012 at 8:26 pm
Sinead made this for me…. it is flippin AWESOME!!!
June 26, 2012 at 4:21 pm
Lucky you! I make this cake a lot, it’s a winner.
Pingback: Recipe n 4: How a Tunisian orange cake becomes a lemon and ginger polenta cake | A year in West Cork
May 28, 2013 at 3:27 pm
The first time I made this, I misread the recipe and used 200g of crumbs and baked it for 50 minutes at 180C. It was wonderful and moist, lasted three days. Thinking I must have been lucky to get such results in spite of not sticking to the recipe, I made another one just the same – also stunning. So, feeling brave, I made a cake just using two lemons rather than the orange and lemon and it is great. Next stop a lime and orange cake ….. Many thanks, Sinead for the inspiration that has revolutionised cake making in our home at least (North Yorkshire, UK). ebk
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I’ve just taken my orange cake out of the oven and its turned out green, with a very oily and eggy taste.I followed the receipe, where did I go wrong?
September 27, 2013 at 10:50 am
I made this cake and it came out okay but, I thought it was greasy. Could 200mls of oil be right?? Would it be okay to use less oil? I read another similar recipe and I saw it only had 100 grams of butter in it.
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