Orange Almond Cake

Ingredients

• 4 organic blood oranges
• 100 g raw cane sugar
• 125 g softened butter
• 1 tsp butter (for greasing the pan)
• 100 g powdered sugar made from raw cane sugar
• Salt
• 3 eggs
• 150 g ground almond kernels
• 150 g instant polenta
• 1 tsp fennel seeds (5 g)
• 1 tbsp baking powder
• 2 tbsp toasted almond flakes (15 g)

Instructions

1. 1.

   Wash blood oranges hot and dry rub them; slice one orange crosswise into thin slices, finely grate the peel of another. In a pot bring 150 ml water with 80 g sugar to a boil, add the orange slices and simmer for about 45 minutes over low heat. Then set aside and let cool in the syrup.

2. 2.

   Whisk butter with powdered sugar and a pinch of salt until pale and creamy. Add eggs one at a time, whisking well after each addition. Stir in almonds, polenta, fennel seeds, baking powder, and orange zest, mixing thoroughly. Combine everything into a homogeneous batter, pour into the greased springform pan, and bake in a preheated oven at 180 °C (fan 160 °C; gas: level 2–3) for about 40 minutes.

3. 3.

   Remove cake from the oven and let it cool in the pan.

4. 4.

   Squeeze the remaining oranges, boil the juice with the leftover sugar and simmer the syrup for about 1 minute over medium heat. Use a wooden stick to poke holes in the cake and pour the hot syrup over it. Transfer the cake onto a plate, top with candied drained orange slices, sprinkle toasted almond flakes, and let it rest for about an hour before serving.