JP Food: Mini spiced Moroccan orange cakes
From Tallaght, John Paul Kennedy is a self-taught cook with a passion for good old-fashioned home cooking.
I’ve been making this cake for almost 13 years now but like a lot of recipes sometimes they go into the back catalogue and it’s only on sifting through my cookbooks that I rediscover these old family favourites!
I returned to making this cake only recently and I certainly was glad I did.
I’d forgotten just how good it is!
it’s so light, moist and zingy and a great get ahead cake – I actually think it tastes even better a day or two after making it.
This is an updated version of this old recipe whereby I make 12 individual cakes adorned with a slice of orange on top – which makes them look so pretty
Ingredients:
50g slightly stale breadcrumbs
Finely grated zest of 1 orange
Finely grated zest of 1 lemon
100g ground almonds
200ml sunflower oil
1 teaspoon of baking powder
200g castor sugar
4 eggs
Citrus Syrup:
Juice of one orange
Juice of one lemon
1 cinnamon stick
2 cloves
75g castor sugar
Decoration:
1 large orange thinly sliced and cut into halves for 12 pieces
Method:
- Preheat your oven to 180 degrees / gas Mark 4 and line the base as well as grease a 12 case muffin cake tin and place a segment of orange in each one, pressing it down.
- Mix together the breadcrumbs, sugar, almonds and baking powder. Whisk the oil together with the eggs and pour into the dry ingredients and mix well.
- Add the zest of the orange and lemon and pour your mixture into your prepared cake tin and bake in the oven for 35 minutes until the cake is nice and golden brown. To check the cake is fully cooked insert a skewer into the middle of the cake and it should come out clean.
- The make the syrup by putting all of the ingredients into a medium sized saucepan and bring gently to a boil making sure to stir until the sugar has fully dissolved. Simmer for 3 minutes and then remove the cinnamon stick and cloves.
- While the cake is still warm, pierce it several times with a skewer and spoon over evenly across the cake the hot syrup mixture until it is fully soaked up. Allow to cool before removing it from the tin and serve with whipped cream and enjoy!
I’ve shared this recipe with a work colleague a number of years ago and she still talks about it to this day about how it is her go to recipe when entertaining.
I’d forgotten how good this cake is! it’s quick and easy to make and lasts for up to a week – not that it ever does when I make it!
I’ve always been a fan of citrus zingy desserts and this cake ticks all of those boxes.
Give this recipe a go and I guarantee it will become of your favourite recipes too!