While waiting to see the new year in let me share this amazing cake with you. It was recommended to me by my friend Janet, who is the unrivalled queen of all cakes, puddings and desserts. Well, I tried it over the Christmas holidays and was really impressed with it. So thank you Janet! The good thing about it is that it’s fat free as well as gluten free. That’s right: no butter or flour! How great is that? And yet it’s so moist and flavoursome. Just think how many “difficult” friends you can cater for with this one. Unfortunately it is not suitable for vegans as there are eggs in it, LOADS in fact, but hey! You can’t please everyone, can you? I really urge you to make it. You won’t be disappointed. Obviously you don’t have to make the ice cream to go with it. I did it as I had some leftover Christmas pudding. I confess it’s a doddle for me as I’m the proud owner of a Gaggia ice cream maker which Candi gave me many many years ago. It is still working and it makes some wonderful ice cream. Of course you can enjoy the cake as it is or simply serve it with some cream of course. The recipe is by Tom Kerridge, slightly adapted.
INGREDIENTS
FOR THE CAKE
3 oranges
300g ground almonds
300g caster sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp ground cinnamon
7 free-range eggs
FOR THE ICE CREAM
250 gr milk
250 gr. cream
3 large egg yolks
60 gr. sugar
200 gr. crumbled Christmas pudding
2 tablespoons marsala, rum or brandy (optional)
METHOD
FOR THE CAKE
1.For the cake, put the unpeeled oranges in a pan with a lid. Cover with cold water, bring to the boil and simmer for 1½-2 hours, or until the skins are soft and the insides broken down.
2.Drain and, when cool enough to handle, cut each orange in half and remove the seeds. Chop everything finely — skins, pith, fruit — in the food processor.
3.Preheat the oven to 180C/325F and grease and line a 23cm cake tin.
4.Weigh the orange pulp and keep 450g (discard the rest). Place back in food processor with all the dry ingredients and add the eggs one at a time until you have a smooth batter.
5.Pour the cake mixture into the prepared tin and bake for 1 hour, or until the sides start to come away from the tin. Check the cake after 40 minutes and cover with aluminium foil to stop the top burning.
6.Remove the cake from the oven and leave to cool on a wire rack. When the cake is cold, remove it from the tin.
FOR THE ICE CREAM (and here my recipe varies a lot from the original)
Whisk together the egg yolks with the sugar, add the milk, cream, liqueur and the crumbled pudding. Mix well. Bang in the ice cream maker. Voilà!
Do you remember this, Candi?
Oh my dear!!!! Quando è stato??? Nel 1996??? La torna sembra meravigliosa!
Tra l’altro stavo per postare una torta simile di Ottolenghi!
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