Ingredients

Serves 4-6

200g caster sugar
200g ground almonds (almond meal)
1½ teaspoons baking powder
200ml vegetable oil
4 eggs
zest of 3 large mandarins - finely grated, a microplane produces the best results

Syrup
3 mandarin - juice
½ lemon - juice
100g sugar
1 cinnamon stick

Method

Pre-heat the oven to 160ºC. Grease a 20cm cake tin and set aside.

Mix the sugar, almond meal and baking powder.

Add the oil, eggs and mandarin zest then beat well with a wooden spoon.

Pour the mixture into the prepared cake tin.

Bake for 40-50 minutes, until the cake has taken on some colour and a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.

Cool for 5 minutes in the tin then turn out onto a plate. Pierce holes in the cake with a skewer while still warm ready to pour the syrup over it.

While the cake cooks make the syrup.

Bring all the ingredients gently to the boil in a pan, stirring until the sugar has dissolved and simmer for three minutes

Allow the syrup to cool spooning the syrup over the cake every now and then until it is all soaked up.

Serve with whipped cream or thick Greek yoghurt.


 

Notes:

• The cake can be eaten without the syrup component, although still moist, the cake will be less fragrant and sticky. 
• The syrup will improve the keeping quality.
• Syrup soaked cake tastes best a day after it is made and will keep in the fridge covered in foil for 3-4 days.
• The cake is in the style of a Tunisian Orange Cake.
• It is a gluten free recipe.