It is an island of sun, pine trees and secret rocky coves, but the island is famous for more than what draws the Irish holidaymaker for their annual fortnight of sun and sangria.
A secluded valley on the north of the island, reached by a delightful wooden train from the capital Palma, is a haven for what are probably the best oranges in the world, in fact the French king Louis XIV would eat no other oranges and we all know how much he enjoyed the finer things in life!
The town and port of Soller sit in this fertile valley, and every year during the first two weeks of June the town plays host to its annual orange festival the 'Fira Tarjona'
It is a celebration not only of the fruit but of its products such as oil, jams and liqueurs. and even the local restaurants get involved with their menus centered around this famous fruit
Mallorca also has the perfect climate for the growing of almonds, and between January and February the countryside is awash with white blossoms.
This cake combines the intense zesty flavour of Mallorcan orange oil with almonds giving a moist yet light cake.When serving it up as an afternoon tea item or as a tray bake, I like to give it a shiny glaze with a maple syrup based icing as this type of icing sticks to the cake well and doesn't crack when you slice through it as some water icings do.
You can leave it icing free if you want to enjoy it as an after dinner pudding served with custard.
It also goes really well served warm with a dollop of tart creme fraiche.
you will need:
180 g unsalted butter
180 g light soft brown sugar
2 teaspoons good quality orange oil or orange essence
zest of 1 medium orange
200 g ground almonds
100 g self raising flour
4 eggs
2 level teaspoons baking powder
how to:
- butter a 7 inch non stick cake tin, line the base with grease-proof paper and butter again
- sieve the flour and baking powder into a bowl and mix in the ground almonds
- cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, mix in the orange oil and orange zest
- beat the eggs then add slowly a little at a time while still mixing, if the mixture looks like it might curdle then add a little bit of the almond and flour mix
- add the remaining flour and almonds and mix slowly till all are combined
- spoon your cake batter into the prepared tin and bake in a pre-heated oven 180oC for 10 minutes then turn the heat down to 160oC
- bake for a further 15 - 20 minutes or until the cake is dry in the centre, you can test this using a wooden cocktail stick
- when the cake is baked, remove from the oven and allow to cool in the tin
- turn out of the tin and place on a platter or cake stand
- drizzle with icing, let it set.....then dive in!
Clementine Maple Icing
This is quite a thick icing as I like to coat the cake on the top rather than have it run off the sides too much, if you feel you would like it thinner then add a touch more maple syrup
6 tablespoons icing sugar
100 mls maple syrup
zest of 1 clementine
- sieve the icing sugar twice to real remove any lumps to give a smooth icing
- add the maple syrup and stir till all the sugar powder is dissolved
- add the orange zest
- pour onto your cooled cake
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