ORANGE OLIVE OIL CAKE

Orange olive oil cake image

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

Provided by Rosie Birkett

Categories Afternoon tea, Dessert, Treat

Time 1h55m

Yield Serves 8-10

Number Of Ingredients 14

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

Steps:

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.
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.
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.
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.
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.

Nutrition Facts : Calories 537 calories, Fat 36 grams fat, SaturatedFat 5 grams saturated fat, Carbohydrate 44 grams carbohydrates, Sugar 35 grams sugar, Fiber 1 grams fiber, Protein 9 grams protein, Sodium 0.5 milligram of sodium