Orange & Almond Cake With Glace Oranges & Syrup
photo by Kookaburra
- Ready In:
- 5hrs
- Ingredients:
- 13
- Serves:
-
14
ingredients
-
Cake
- 3 medium oranges
- 220 g caster sugar
- 6 large eggs
- 350 g almond meal
- 1 tablespoon plain flour (I used it in my cake) (optional)
- 1 1⁄2 teaspoons baking powder
-
Syrup
- 2 cups orange juice, freshly squeezed
- 3⁄4 cup caster sugar
- 1⁄4 cup Sauternes wine or 1/4 cup sweet white wine
-
Glace Oranges
- 3 medium oranges, cut into 1cm slices
- 300 g caster sugar
- 600 ml water
- 1 vanilla bean, split
directions
- To prepare the oranges for the cake: Place the oranges into a large saucepan (I used a stockpot, but something the size of a Dutch Oven would do), cover oranges with hot water from the tap, place on a medium heat, and bring water up to boiling point.
- I had a problem with the oranges floating, so I placed a heatproof glass pie plate on top to keep them submerged.
- Reduce heat and simmer oranges for 40-50 minutes or until the skin is very tender - your fingernail should easily penetrate the skin.
- Check water from time to time and top up if necessary.
- Remove oranges from pan and allow to cool, then cut oranges into quarters, remove any seeds, and leave on a plate, uncovered, at room temperature, to dry a little for 1-2 hours.
- Now, unless you're going to make the cake immediately, place the orange quarters into a sealed container and store in the refrigerator until needed.
- To make the syrup: The syrup will keep so it can be made well ahead.
- Just place the orange juice, sugar and sauternes in a saucepan over a medium heat and stir until the sugar dissolves.
- Reduce the heat and simmer for 20 minutes until the liquid is reduced by half.
- From time to time, and especially at the end, scrape off any scum that forms on the top.
- Pour into a heat proof jug or jar, cool, cover and refrigerate until needed.
- Note: the syrup is supposed to thicken as it cools, but don't expect a thick syrup.
- To make the glace oranges: Remove any seeds from the orange slices and arrange them (with the rind still on) in a large, shallow, heatproof container.
- Cover oranges with boiling water and allow to stand at room temperature overnight.
- The next day, drain the oranges.
- In a large frying pan, place the sugar, water and vanilla bean and stir over a low heat until the sugar dissolves.
- Now, add the orange slices in a single layer, and simmer, uncovered over a low heat for an hour.
- Remove oranges and arrange in one layer on a plate and cover with the syrup. Cover and keep in the refrigerator until you want to decorate the cake - I did this just prior to serving it.
- If you find, as I did, the syrup went toffee-ish and the oranges stuck to the plate after keeping, just whack it, uncovered, into the microwave for a minute or so to melt the syrup.
- To make the cake: Spray a 22cm (9") springform tin with a double layer of silicone (baking) paper.
- Preheat oven to 170°C.
- Now, put the boiled orange quarters (peel and all) into a food processor and pulse until quite smooth - you won't get it completely smooth, but do your best.
- Add the eggs and pulse again, trying to get the smoothest mixture possible.
- Add the sugar, the flour (if using), the baking powder and as much of the almond meal as you can without overloading your food processor and pulse until you have a smooth batter.
- If necessary, pour batter into a big mixing bowl and stir in the rest of the almond meal.
- Pour the batter into the prepared tin and bake at 170C for 45-50 minutes or until a skewer, inserted in the centre, comes out clean.
- Allow to cool a little, then release the springform pan, and invert the cake onto a dinner plate and carefully remove the baking paper from the base and sides.
- Invert back onto another plate, allow to cool, then cover and refrigerate until needed.
- To decorate cake: Use your own judgement, but this is what I did.
- Pour a couple of tablespoons of the sauce over the top of the cake and smooth with the back of a spoon.
- Cut some of the glace orange slices into halves and arrange around the outside of the cake.
- Leave three or four slices whole, cut halfway through and then 'twist' to sit upright in a circle in the centre of the cake.
- Using a pastry brush, use the syrup from the glace oranges to glaze the sides of the cake - microwave the syrup briefly to bring it back to liquid consistency if necessary.
- Tuck some pretty flowers (I used daisies) amongst the oranges on top of the cake.
- To serve: Serve small slices (it's rich) with the syrup (cold or at room temperature) and a dollop of thick cream.
- Swear never to make this cake again!
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RECIPE SUBMITTED BY
<p>Above: Slideshow of our garden at Avalon Slideshow of our recent holiday at Woodgate Beach, South-East Queensland, Australia. Hi! I'm Kookaburra, from Australia. First, a promise. I will only post recipes on this site which I've made myself and to which I would personally give a 5 star rating - what you give them is up to you ;-) I look forward to receiving your feedback. If you look at my reviews, they're all 5 stars. That doesn't mean I give 5 stars to every recipe I try. I'm just not interested in giving poor ratings to anyone else's recipe because I accept that different people have different tastes. So, I've decided that I'll only review those recipes which I really love and which I'd make again and recommend to friends. If a recipe meets that criteria - even if it needs a bit of 'tweaking' to match my tastes, I'll give it 5 stars. If not, I'll just delete it from my recipe book and no hard feelings. I'm not advocating this as the 'right' approach. I just decided I needed a consistent strategy for rating and this is mine. I'm passionate about cooking - and eating! What I look for in food is something that 'zings' in the mouth. I like lots of taste - I'm not a big fan of subtlety. I don't often cook recipes exactly as written. I like to experiment and adapt things to my own taste. A retired marketing executive and academic, I live with my elderly (but thoroughly modern) mother in a tiny mountain village at the edge of the rainforest. I'm female, happily single, in my mid-40s and boast the Rubenesque figure of a passionate cook! Avalon, our 'story-book' cottage, overlooks a small lake. As I sit at my computer or work in the kitchen, I'm serenaded by a cacophany of native birds - including a very fat family of kookaburras! We have quite a large property and are lucky to have vegetable gardens and a variety of fruit and nut trees. I look forward to sharing recipes on Recipezaar with family, friends and friends I've yet to meet. last minute flight</p>