Blood Orange Cake (10-12)
Ingredients
Instructions
  1. Put four of the oranges in a pan, add cold water to cover and bring to a boil. Turn down the heat and simmer for two hours, keeping the fruit submerged with a smaller pan lid and adding water as required.
  2. When tender, drain and leave to cool. Halve the oranges, pick out and discard any pips, then blend until smooth, skin and all.
  3. Heat the oven to 180C/350F/gas mark 4. Grease a 23cm cake tin with oil and line the base with baking paper.
  4. Put 225g caster sugar, the almonds, fennel, vanilla seeds, baking powder and salt in a bowl. Stir in the orange puree and eggs, until everything is well amalgamated, then pour into the cake tin. Bake for 50-60 minutes, until a skewer comes out clean.
  5. Meanwhile, juice the remaining two oranges and tip this into a pan with the lemon juice and the remaining 50g caster sugar. Heat gently over a low heat, until the sugar has dissolved, then simmer for three to four minutes, until nice and syrupy.
  6. Remove the cake from the oven and pierce the top in a few places with a skewer. Drizzle over the orange syrup, and leave for an hour to soak in.
  7. Transfer the cake to a wire rack to cool completely, and serve either just as it is or with a dollop of thick yoghurt or some lightly whipped double cream.