Almond - Orange Cream Cake

Moist, fruity, delicate taste! A traditional Cretan recipe. Try it, you're in for a treat!...

• Ready In: 1 hr 15 mins
• Serves: 10-15

Ingredients

• 320  g  ground almonds
• 300  g confectioners' sugar
• 7  eggs, separated
• 2  oranges, boiled and mashed
• 4  tablespoons semolina
• 2  teaspoons baking powder
• 3  tablespoons butter

• syrup

• 2  cups water
• 2  cups sugar

• cream

• 5  cups milk
• 6  tablespoons cornflour
• 8  tablespoons sugar
•  lemon rind
• 2  eggs, beaten
• 1  cup  almonds, roasted in oven

Directions

1. Beat egg whites till fluffy. Set aside.
2. Beat butter and sugar until well-combined and white. Add mashed oranges, semolina, egg yolks beaten, baking powder and almonds.
3. Mix well until you have a homogeneous batter.
4. With a wooden spatula, add egg whites to batter.
5. Pour the mixture in slightly buttered pan.
6. Bake at 180°C, for about 45-50 minutes.
7. Meanwhile, prepare syrup. Boil until it thickens and reaches a texture similar to that of olive oil. Let cool.
8. As soon as the cake is out, pour cooled syrup over it.
9. Prepare cream. Boil 4 cups of milk and add sugar and lemon rind. Mix well until sugar is dissolved.
10. Add corn flour dissolved in the remaining cup of milk.
11. Mix cream slowly with spatula until it starts to thicken.
12. Remove from heat, take out lemon rind, and let it cool, 7-9 minutes.
13. Add beaten eggs mix till combined.
14. Pour over cake and evenly spread with spatula.
15. Garnish with roasted almonds and/or thinly-cut orange rind.