Orange olive oil cake
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Orange olive oil cake

By Rosie Birkett

Add some citrussy zing to your baking with this orange olive oil cake, topped with a rosemary and cardamom drizzle. It's gluten-free and super delicious

  • Prep:25 mins
    Cook:1 hrs 30 mins
    Plus infusing
  • Easy

Nutrition per serving

  • kcal 537
  • fat 36g
  • saturates 5g
  • carbs 44g
  • sugars 35g
  • fibre 1g
  • protein 9g
  • salt 0.5g

Ingredients

  • 1 large whole seedless orange
  • ½ lemon, juiced and zested
  • 225ml olive oil, plus extra for the tin
  • 200g ground almonds
  • 120g polenta
  • 1 tsp baking powder (use gluten-free if you need to)
  • 3 large eggs
  • 225g golden caster sugar
  • natural yogurt or crème fraîche, to serve (optional)
  • 100g golden caster sugar
  • ½ orange, juiced
  • ½ lemon, juiced
  • 6 cardamom pods, seeds removed and ground
  • 4 rosemary sprigs

Method

  1. Bring a pan of water to the boil. Lower the orange in and cover with a lid, leaving a gap so that a little steam can still escape. Boil gently for 30 mins, then remove from the water and allow to cool slightly. Quarter the orange and remove any pips, then transfer to a blender or food processor, add the lemon juice and zest and blitz to a smooth purée.

  2. Heat the oven to 180C/160C fan/ gas 4. Oil the sides of a 23cm round cake tin and line the bottom of the tin with baking parchment.

  3. Sieve the almonds, polenta, baking powder and ½ tsp salt into a large bowl and mix together thoroughly. Whisk the eggs and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer until really pale and fluffy, about 4 mins. With the mixer still whisking, slowly pour in the olive oil in a steady stream so that the mixture doesn’t split. Once incorporated, scrape in the orange purée and whisk to combine, then add the dry ingredients, combining until you have a smooth batter. Pour the batter into the cake tin and bake for 55 mins to 1 hr 5 mins until a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean.

  4. Cool in the tin on a wire rack while you make the syrup. Combine the sugar, orange juice, lemon juice, cardamom and 30ml water in a pan. Bring to the boil, stirring until the sugar has dissolved, then add the rosemary. Turn off the heat and infuse for at least 30 mins.

  5. Use a skewer to poke holes in the top of the cake, then pour over the syrup. Allow to settle for 5 mins or so, then slice and serve with some natural yogurt or crème fraîche, if you like.

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