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Orange Almond Cake

This orange almond cake makes a lovely dessert cake when served with spiced oranges and scented orange blossom cream. The cake is dairy-free and can be made gluten-free by using gluten-free flour in place of wheat flour. The recipe has been slightly adapted from one by Herbie's Spices.
Print Recipe
Course Dessert
Servings 8 slices

Ingredients
  

Cake batter

  • 6 eggs separated
  • 300 g castor sugar
  • zest of 2 oranges
  • 200 g almond meal
  • 75 g flour substitute gluten-free flour if necessary
  • 3 tsp Herbies Fragrant Sweet Spices
  • 1/2 cup orange juice
  • 50 g flaked almonds

To garnish

  • 2-3 tbsp icing sugar
  • 2 tbsp dried edible rose petals optional

Oranges in spiced syrup

  • 1/4 cup sugar
  • 1/4 cup honey
  • 1/2 cup water
  • 1 quill/stick cinnamon
  • 2 cardamom pods
  • 3 slices of fresh ginger
  • 2 oranges peeled and segmented, juice reserved

Orange blossom yoghurt cream

  • 300 ml thickened cream
  • 250 g natural yoghurt
  • 1 tsp orange blossom water, or to taste

Instructions
 

Cake

  • Preheat oven to 180C. Grease and line a 24cm springform cake pan.
  • Place the egg yolks, sugar and zest in the bowl of an electric mixer and beat until thick, pale and creamy. 
  • Add the almond meal, flour, spice mix and orange juice to the bowl and mix on low speed until just combined.
  • Beat egg whites with a pinch of sugar until medium peaks form. When you lift the whisk out of the whites a peak will hold its shape but the whites are not stiff. Carefully fold the egg whites into the almond mixture until well combined.
  • Pour the batter into the prepared cake pan and scatter over the flaked almonds. Bake for 1 hour or until lightly golden and firm to touch. You can also test it is cooked by inserting a skewer in the centre of the cake, if it comes out clean it is ready. Remove the cake from the oven and allow it to cool on a wire rack.
  • Dust with icing sugar and scatter with rose petals if using, then transfer to a serving plate. Cut into wedges and serve with oranges in spiced syrup and orange blossom cream.

Oranges in spiced syrup

  • Place the sugar, honey, water, orange juice (from the segmented oranges), cinnamon, cardamom and ginger in a saucepan. Place over medium heat and stir often until the sugar is dissolved. Increase heat and simmer until reduced by half and it has a syrupy consistency.
  • Remove from heat and allow to cool. Add orange segments to the syrup.

Orange blossom yoghurt cream

  • Whip cream to soft peaks, then add yoghurt and whisk to combine. Add orange blossom water and mix in.