Orange, almond and olive cake

Bright, zesty and beautifully moist, this flourless orange cake is a celebration of citrus. Whole boiled oranges bring an intense flavour and soft texture, while ground almonds create a rich, nutty crumb. Topped with a silky country-style vanilla icing that drips down the sides, it’s the perfect balance of rustic charm and indulgence.

• serves

  8

• prep

  20 minutes

• cook

  1:10 hour

• difficulty

  Easy

Series. Cooking. Rated PG.

Stream free On Demand

Rick Stein's Australia

series • CookingPG

Ingredients

• 2 x 200 g small oranges, washed
• 4 large eggs
• Zest of 1 large lemon
• 160 g caster sugar
• 100 ml olive oil
• 200 g almond meal (ground almonds)
• 2 tsp baking powder

For the icing

• 250 g icing sugar
• 2 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
• 1-2 tbsp milk
• ½ tsp pure vanilla extract
• To serve (optional), thick cream and 2–3 oranges, segmented

Cooling time: at least 1 hour. Chilling time: 20 minutes.

Instructions

1. Put the whole unpeeled oranges in a saucepan and cover them with water. Bring to the boil and simmer gently for 20–30 minutes until they are tender.
2. Remove them and set aside until cool enough to handle. Cut the fruit in half and, with the tip of a knife, remove and discard the pips.
3. Put the orange pieces in a food processor and blend to a paste.
4. Preheat the oven to 180°C (160°C fan-forced). Grease a 2cm spring-form cake tin and line the bottom with baking parchment.
5. Whisk the eggs, lemon zest and caster sugar in a bowl. Add the olive oil and beat until light and well combined. Add the orange paste and stir, then fold in the ground almonds and baking powder.
6. Spoon the mixture into the prepared tin.
7. Bake for about 50 minutes or until risen and golden. The cake should have slightly shrunken from the sides and be springy to the touch. Let the cake cool completely in the tin, then turn it out on to a serving plate.
8. For the icing, whisk all the icing ingredients together in a bowl, adding more milk if necessary to reach a pouring consistency. then pour over the top of the cake and let it run down the sides. Refrigerate for 20 minutes or until icing is set. Serve with cream and orange segments (optional).

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.