Orange and Almond Cake

Fridays, I have no classes-yay for me!! So Fridays have become my favorite day of the week to cook, bake and try new recipes. Given that it’s still a work day for everyone else; it doesn’t quite feel like the weekend, so I like to try to do something semi-constructive. I also need to keep myself occupied so I don’t torture my poor husband who works from home. And so for everyone’s sanity, I bake and cook on Fridays. They(who they is, I don’t know) say Friday is probably one of the worst days to update your blog-no one is at their computer to read it but hey, I need something to do and such is the story of my life.

I’m not sure if I’ve mentioned this before, but I love to try recipes with a cult following-one of the first recipes I did on my blog was the Zuni Chicken. I like to see what all the hoopla is about and see if it will become a staple recipe for me. I have a binder with about 20 recipes; I’ve been dying to try. Well today, I decided to make one of those recipes- Claudia Roden’s Orange and Almond cake. If you don’t know who Claudia Roden is, I’ll basically say she’s considered to be the foremost experts on Middle Eastern cuisine today. If you look below, you’ll see it’s quite the interesting recipe as the ingredients are scarce and not your typical cake ingredients. After having made it, I’ll say it is very different from what I’m use to. I know you will roll your eyes at this-but it is very orangey. I mean very very orangey…is that even a word? When you make this cake, you poach the oranges and then puree them in a food processor-skin and all. I think, I’d like to try this again but without the orange skin; it’s too much for me. I think it would be even nice with a different fruit. I do have to say though that I love almond flour. So the verdict on this recipe is: if the ingredients intrigue you then try it. If you love oranges then try it. If you hate oranges…stay away ;)

Orange and Almond Cake
Recipe
Adapted from Claudia Roden

2 large oranges
6 eggs
1/2 pound ground almonds
1/2 pound sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder

Directions
1. Wash oranges and place in hot water to simmer for 2 hours.
2. After 2 hours take them out, let them cook. If needed cut them open and remove sees.
3. Take oranges and puree in food processor.
4. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
5. Beat the eggs and then slowly add all other ingredients. You do all this in the food if you'd like.
6. Pour into a prepared springform pan or a regular 8inch pan and bake for about an hour or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean.

Enjoy!