Fancy Almond + Orange Cake

You will need a 1.5 litre non- stick brioche mould (a deep cake tin with a hole in the middle which makes the cake look very special).

Ingredients:

6 eggs, separated

200g caster sugar

Zest of 1 lemon

200g ground almonds

For the sauce:

I bottle of freshly squeezed orange juice

1 cinnamon stick

200g castor sugar

Directions:

Preheat oven to 160c + grease (‘Pure’ sunflower spread or similar) the mould very well.

Sauce: empty the orange juice, cinnamon stick and sugar into a pan and put onto a gentle heat to bubble and reduce the liquid into a syrup (about one third of the original amount). This may take a few hours to reduce depending on the pan and heat. When ready to serve add the juice of 1 lemon, to counteract the sweetness and thin the sauce down a little.

While this is happening make the cake:

Use an electric whisk to whisk the egg yolks and sugar in a bowl until you have a pale and creamy mass. Fold in the ground almonds and zest.

In another bowl whisk the egg whites until stiff.

Gently fold the egg whites into the cake batter with a metal spoon. Once all folded in, pour the mix into the mould and bake for 1 hour.

Let the cake cool for 10 minutes, loosen with a knife around the edges of the tin. Turn upside down onto a wire rack to cool fully.

When ready to serve pour about half of the sauce over the cake and pour the rest into a sauce boat to be handed round at the table.

The cake will last several days and can be stored in a sealed container in the fridge.