Polpo's flourless orange and almond cake

The Polpo book is an absolute joy to read and I would encourage anyone who has the slightest love of food or cooking to grab a copy...right now! It's also one of the few books where following a recipe genuinely results in a dish I am delighted with. I am yet to visit the restaurant in London but it's on my list and I can't wait to go!

One recipe I keep returning to is their flourless orange and almond cake. I'm not usually keen on fruit in desserts; However, this one is an exception. It's delicious. The orange aroma is strong but balanced superbly with the almond, and when accompanied by the orange syrup and mascarpone cream, it truly is a perfectly balanced and indulgent dessert I could eat literally every damn day.

Regarding the recipe itself, I like to add a little lemon zest and vanilla to the cake mixture and not blend the boiled oranges. Instead, I like to finely chop them, peel and all, and firmly whisk them into the batter so that when baked you get little morsels of fragrant orange without compromising the texture of the cake itself. I also add lemon juice and zest to the syrup, providing a little extra sharpness. I haven't tried adding anything boozy to the syrup but I'm sure a glug of Campari or Cointreau would work a treat.

I'm sure this recipe could also apply to a variety of different citrus fruits- grapefruit, lemon, clementines, etc. I'm yet to give it a go, but I'm looking forward to experimentation soon.

Flourless Orange and Almond Cake

Ingredients

For the cake:

- 2 large oranges
- 6 medium eggs
- 100g soft light brown sugar
- 200g caster sugar
- Zest of 1 lemon
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 250g ground almonds
- 1 tsp baking powder
- A handful of sliced blanched almonds

For the syrup:

- Juice and zest of 1 orange
- Juice and zest of 1 lemon
- 200g caster sugar

For the cream:

- 250g mascarpone cream
- 2 tbsp double cream

Method

- Place the whole oranges in a casserole and cover with cold water. bring to the boil and cover and simmer for 2 hours in total. After 2 hours remove the oranges and set aside to cool down. Reserve the cooking liquid as it will form the basis for the syrup later on.
- Preheat a fan oven to 180C and grease a 30cm spring-form cake tin.
- In a large bowl whisk the eggs, brown and caster sugar together vigorously. Add the vanilla and lemon zest.
- Stir in the ground almonds.
- Finely chop the boiled oranges, peel and all, and firmly whisk into the cake mixture.
- Finally, add the baking powder and stir into the mixture. It should be quite a wet batter.
- Pour into the prepared tin and bake in the middle of the oven for 45-50 minutes (or until a skewer comes out clean from the center of the cake).
- While the cake is in the oven, add the caster sugar, orange and lemon zest, and juice to the reserved cooking liquid. Bring this to the boil and boil until reduced to a syrup consistency (around 20 minutes). Pour into a serving jug and allow to cool.
- Once the cake is baked, remove from the oven and allow to cool until it has reached room temperature. Brush with an even layer of the orange syrup and arrange the sliced almonds to decorate. Brush on another layer to create a glaze to the cake.
- Beat together the mascarpone and double cream.
- Serve the slices of cake with a good glug of syrup and a generous dollop of the cream.