Orange And Almond Cake With Olive Oil

Ingredients

• 4 eggs
• 1 lemon, zested and juiced
• 200 g caster sugar
• 2 oranges, unpeeled
• 150 ml olive oil
• 1 tsp baking powder
• icing sugar
• milk, as needed
• 250 g almond

Method

1. Pop the whole, unpeeled oranges into a saucepan, cover generously with cold water and bring to the boil. Simmer for 25-30 minutes until a knife slides through with no resistance — the skins should look glossy and softened.
2. Drain and leave to cool until you can handle them. Halve, flick out any pips, then blitz the whole lot — skin, pith, flesh — in a food processor to a thick, fragrant purée.
3. Heat the oven to 180°C (160°C fan). Grease a 20cm springform tin and line the base with baking parchment.
4. In a large bowl, whisk the eggs, lemon zest, lemon juice and caster sugar for 2-3 minutes until pale and frothy.
5. Pour in the olive oil in a steady stream, whisking as you go, then stir through the orange purée until evenly combined.
6. Tip in the ground almonds and baking powder and fold gently with a spatula until you have a loose, citrus-flecked batter.
7. Pour into the prepared tin, level the top and bake for 50 minutes, until deeply golden, fragrant, and springy in the middle. A skewer should come out with just a few moist crumbs.
8. Leave the cake to cool fully in the tin — it firms up as it sits. Release the sides and transfer to a serving plate.
9. For the drizzle, sift 100g icing sugar into a bowl and whisk in milk a teaspoon at a time until it falls from the spoon in thick, glossy ribbons.
10. Spoon over the cooled cake, nudging it towards the edges so it cascades down the sides in slow white rivers. Chill for 20 minutes to set before slicing.