Incorporating an orange with its skin and pips into a cake is a technique long practiced in the Jewish culinary tradition. The combination of the the entire orange and almond meal, makes for a deliciously moist and nutty cake with the most exquisite scent lingering on one's palate. This is definitely one of the last and final meals I would choose to have, should it ever come to that....
2 large oranges
250g sugar plus extra
6 eggs
250g almond meal
5ml baking powder
Wash and scrub the oranges clean.
Fill a large port with water and bring it to the boil. Drop the oranges in the boiling water and cook for two hours. Check the water level in the pot every now and then and add more boiling water as necessary.
Remove the oranges with a slotted spoon after two hours and allow to cool enough so that you can comfortably handle them.
Cut into chunks and puree: skin, pips and flesh!
Preheat your oven to 160℃.
Grease and line a 22cm loose-bottomed cake tin with baking paper.
Beat the eggs and sugar until well mixed; it will become a thick foamy consistency.
Stir in the pureed orange, followed by the almond meal and the baking powder.
Pour the batter into the prepared tin and dust the top with extra sugar.
Bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes, until the top is golden and a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.
Allow the cake to cool completely in the tin.
Take the cake out of the tin, dust with sugar and cut into slices and serve.
I baked this cake today on the recommendation of Nadine Petrick. What a cake. It is delicious. Replaced Sugar with Xylitol and it was just fantastic for our weekend cheat meal.