Saffron and Orange Yummy Cake
Ingredients
- Generous pinch saffron threads
- 85g icing sugar
- 50g semolina or polenta
- 100g skinned hazelnuts or walnuts , ground
- 2 large oranges
- 1½ tsp baking powder
- 175g golden caster sugar
- 4 medium eggs
- 200ml oil
- Sour cream or crème fraîche and orange segments to serve, optional
Steps
- Turn on the oven to 180C/fan or 160C. Oil the base of a 20cm round or 18cm square cake tin. Rost the ground hazelnuts in a frying pan and toast over a medium heat, stirring frequently until evenly browned. Leave to cool. In a medium bowel mix semolina, caster sugar and baking powder.
- In another bowl add eggs oil and grate the zest from one orange and combine them together. Beat them well and mix them together , then add them to the dry ingredients. Pour the mixture into the prepared tin and bake for 30-40 mins, until risen and firm to the touch.
- Grade the zest from the other orange and cut into very thin shreds. Put in a pan with the juice from both oranges, the saffron and icing sugar. Bring to the boil, then simmer gently for 5 mins.
- After the cake is done, leave it to cool in the tin for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a plate. While the cake is still warm, skewer it well and pour the syrup over the cake. Serve it with crème fraîche or sour cream and orange segments or as it is.
Saffron Usage Tips
- Soaking the saffron for at least 8 hours(overnight), if you don't have the time for it ground it and then soak in hot water and stir it for for minutes. This will bring out the flavour, colour and aroma.
- The quality of saffron makes a huge difference, if you can, invest on high quality saffron. Sometimes, inexpensive “saffron” is not saffron at all, or is a poor quality type of saffron.
- Saffron is a strong spice, it may be tempting to add more saffron, but few threads is usually enough.
- Saffron works well in both savory and sweet dishes, so feel free to experiment with saffron in all sorts of recipes.
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