Moroccan Orange & Cardamom Cake

Talking about oranges (here) recently, reminded me of this recipe which you may wish to try. Although I'm not 100% sure the recipe idea did originally come from Morocco, (although with this title it probably did) they certainly grow oranges in Fez and spices are popular in many Moroccan dishes ...

It's nice to see a cake mix that uses ground almonds and polenta, as generally cakes made with polenta tend to be moist and quite dense, so if you fancy giving it a try, then please read on.

Ingredients:

Serves 10 -12

2 oranges, scrubbed
seeds of 6 green cardamom pods, crushed
225g pack xylitol (e.g. Total Sweet)
6 large eggs
200g pack ground almonds
50g polenta
25g self-raising flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tbsp flaked almonds
Greek yogurt or cream, to serve

Method:

1. Put the whole oranges in a pan, cover with water and boil, covered, for 1 hr until a knife easily pierces them. If the oranges won’t stay under the water, place a small saucepan lid directly on top to keep them submerged. Remove the oranges from the water and cool, then quarter and remove any seeds and obvious pith where the stalk was. Blitz the oranges to a rough purée with a hand blender or in a food processor and put in a large bowl.

2. Heat oven to 160C/140C fan/gas 3 and line the base and sides of a 21cm loose-bottomed cake tin with baking parchment. Beat the cardamom, xylitol and eggs into the orange purée, then mix the ground almonds with the polenta, flour and baking powder, and fold in until well blended. Scrape the mixture into the tin, level the top and bake for 40 minutes.

3. After 40 minutes, scatter over the almonds, quickly return to the oven and bake 20-25 minutes more until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Remove from the tin and leave to cool. Serve sliced as a cake, or with Greek yogurt or cream as a dessert.

Tips:

1) Microwave the oranges - If you are short of time, you can cook the oranges in the microwave – simply pierce them all the way through with a sharp knife, then microwave in a covered bowl with a dash of water on High for 6 minutes.
2) This cake also freezes well

This recipe idea originally seen here

Nutrition: per serving (12)
kcal 257 fat 26g saturates 3g carbs 2g
sugars 9g fibre 1g protein 13g salt 0.3g

What is Cardamom ... 

Cardamom is an aromatic spice indigenous to south India and Sri Lanka, cardamom seeds come from a plant belonging to the ginger family. They are contained in small pods about the size of a cranberry. Cardamom has a wonderful aroma and an enticing warm, spicy-sweet flavour. The whole pods can be added to dishes, or the seeds can be extracted and either added whole or ground. 

We try and bring a variety of recipe ideas to this blog, and not all may be suitable for you. If you may have any food allergies, or underlying health issues these must always be taken into account. If you are a diabetic and not sure how certain foods may affect your blood sugars, test is best, i.e. use your meter.

Thanks for reading, and as always, if you've any thoughts about this recipe idea do please share them in the comments.

All the best Jan