Orange, cardamom and almond cake

I've read recipes before that use whole oranges and I've always thought 'gross!' I'm not a huge fan of citrus fruit, and I have particularly strong feelings about pith... that nasty, bitter taste just puts me right off. So I've never made one of those cakes before until now. And I'm a big convert!!

This orange, cardamom and almond cake recipe has no bitter taste, it's just strong intense orange flavour - and in the middle of winter - that bright, sweet flavour is very welcome! I'm going to try this method with other citrus fruits and see if the results are as good. I'll keep you posted!

It's also one of those cakes that is naturally (quietly) gluten free. The almond and polenta make great stand-ins for wheat flour - if I hadn't told you this, you may well not even have known and just enjoyed it without even thinking about it. So there's that!

It's a grown-up, understated, stylish kind of a cake. Make it and impress someone with your sophisticated tastes!

Try this:

Ingredients

3 large oranges

Seeds from 4 cardamom pods

200gm caster sugar

3 eggs

1 tsp vanilla paste

3/4 cup olive oil (not extra virgin)

1 tsp baking powder

200g ground almonds

125g fine polenta

Pinch of salt

Juice of 1 lemon

Start by dividing up the oranges - you'll need one whole orange and one half cut into quarters (remove any seeds as you go). Then pop the other whole orange and the remaining half into the freezer just as they are. Put the orange quarters into a pot with the cardamom seeds and cover with cold water. Put a lid on the pot and begin heating gently, when it comes to the boil, turn it down to a simmer and leave to cook for 30 minutes.

When it's done, strain the water off, and leave the oranges to cool in the pot. When the oranges are no longer very hot, blitz in a food processor until they're completely smooth with no lumps.

Heat oven to 175, and line a 23cm cake tin with baking paper. Remove the oranges from the freezer and carefully slice off the skin and pith, leaving just the juicy insides. Cut into thin slices and arrange the slices on the baking paper in the cake tin until you've covered the bottom completely.

In a mixer with a whisk attachment, beat the eggs, sugar and vanilla paste on medium speed for a few minutes until light and fluffy. With the mixer on, gradually add the oil in a slow steady stream, this will stop the mixture from splitting.

In another bowl mix the almonds, polenta, baking powder and salt until well combined. Add to the egg mix, and using a spatula, fold through until fully mixed in. Add the lemon juice and blitzed oranges, and gently fold through, then add the mix over the sliced oranges, spreading out flat, and pop in the oven for 45 minutes, or until a skewer comes out clean.

Leave to cool in the tin for 10 minutes, then carefully turn out onto a wire rack to finish cooling. Slice and enjoy. Stores well in an airtight container for 2-3 days (or even in the fridge - just pop slices briefly in the microwave before you eat them because cold cake is awful).