Oranges and Lemons …

Here are a few recipes with, not surprisingly, oranges and lemons!

First up, my favourite cake, tried and tested and a flourless recipe – it stands wonderfully on it's own and is equally a perfect celebration cake with extra bits.

You wouldn't normally serve a cake as a dinner party dessert I hear you say, the following may change your mind.

Gateau a l'Orange

(Orange Cake)

Serves 12

2 oranges

6 large eggs

250g sugar

2 tbsp orange blossom water

1 tsp baking powder

250g ground almonds

Wash the oranges and boil them whole for 1 – 1½ hours or until they are very soft.

Beat the eggs with the sugar. Add the orange blossom water, baking powder and almonds and mix well. *Cut open the oranges, remove the pips and purée in a food processor. Mix thoroughly with the egg and almond mixture and pour into a 23cm cake tin – lined with baking parchment, preferably non-stick and with a removable base. Bake in a pre-heated oven 170fan/190c/Gas 5 for an hour. Let it cool before turning out.

Believe me when I say that I stared at this recipe for years. What put me off baking this cake was the boiling of the oranges for the time allotted, an hour and a half is too long for me watching oranges and it's so easy to become distracted - before you know it you have a burnt saucepan and the rest, as they say, is history.

To bring it up to date - instead of boiling the oranges, microwave them for 8 minutes on high.

Pierce the oranges with a paring knife – carefully and microwave for 4 minutes then turn and repeat. Make sure your fruits are in a covered vented microwave container. Leave to cool. Continue with the recipe marked *.

A useful tip. Microwave the oranges ahead of making the cake so that they can cool, it will be much easier and safer to prep them, ready to pulverise.

You could enjoy this cake on its own but … hold that thought …