This cake is a dinner party favourite, as you can make it a day or so in advance and then just do the icing on the day. It tastes and looks spectacular!
Ingredients
- 260g Margarine
- 380g Caster Sugar
- 2 Oranges, grated zest and juiced
- 1 Lemon, grated zest and juiced
- 280g Ground Almonds, sieved
- 4 Large Eggs, beaten
- 100g Gluten free flour
- 1/4 tsp of xantham gum
- 100g Dark Chocolate, with a low cocoa content
- 1 tbsp Golden Syrup
- ½ tbsp Cognac
- Orange Strips for decoration
Utensils·
- 24cm Spring-form tin
- Baking Parchment
- Large Mixing Bowl
- Electric Whisk
- Mixing Spoon
- Palette Knife
- Small, Heatproof Bowl
- Small Saucepan
Method
- Preheat the oven to 180°C/160°C/Gas Mark 4
- Lightly grease a 24cm spring-form tin and line the sides and base with baking parchment.
- Place the 200g of the margarine, 300g of the sugar and both zests in a mixer bowl and use a beater attachment to combine everything well on a slow speed. Do not work the mix too much or incorporate much air. Add half the amount of ground almonds and continue mixing to fold through.
- Add the eggs gradually, as the machine is running, scraping the bottom and sides of the bowl a couple of times as you go. Add the remaining ground almonds, flour and salt and work them until the mix is completely smooth.
- Spread the cake batter inside the cake tin and level it out with a palette knife.
- Place the cake in the oven and bake for 50-60 minutes. Check that it's ready by inserting a skewer inside. It should come out a little bit moist.
- When the cake is almost cooked through, place the remaining 80g of sugar and citrus juices in a small saucepan and bring to the boil (the juices should add up to approximately 120ml - remove some if needed). when it comes to the boil, remove the syrup from the heat.
- As soon as the cake comes out of the oven, brush it with the boiling syrup, making sure all the syrup is soaked through. Leave the cake to cool down completely in the tin before you remove it. You can then ice it and serve that day, or store it, un-iced, for up to three days in an airtight container.
- To make the icing, put the remaining 60g of the margarine, chocolate and golden syrup in a heatproof bowl and place over a saucepan of simmering water, making sure the bowl does not touch the water. Stir until everything is melted, remove from the heat immediately and fold in the cognac.
- Pour the icing over the cool cake, allowing it to dribble naturally around the sides without covering the cake completely. Let the icing set and then garnish with strips of orange zest at the centre of the cake
