A Poached Orange Leap From Frosty to Funky

Years ago working as a second chef in a Denmark restaurant, I was thrown into the cake making deep end by the absence of the usual cake maker.  Other than wildly decorated kids’ cakes (– such as a green Bulbasaur cake, remember Pokemon?) – I’d had little experience at café style cake making.  Having been through three pregnancies by this stage and the inevitable craftiness that nesting inspires, I had discovered a latent artistic nature and a talent for working with color and texture.  Instantly, I fell in love with the artistry involved in café cake making and was keen to do more despite the cake maker’s return.

Going home one evening with another staff member who did flower arranging for weddings, we threw together a chocolate cake and then spent the evening making outrageous chocolate decorations.  High on w-aaay too much chocolate and a fair few glasses of champagne, we fantasised about a wedding cake/ flower arranging business. My boss at the time, who was a very uptight young woman, got wind of the fantasy, and my role was restricted to second-chef-ing only in a decidedly cool corner of the kitchen.

Meanwhile a fantastic new café opened up called Lushus.  The logo was a set of hot pink lips, a fibre-glass sculpture of which was hung out on the brick wall in the courtyard garden. Run by two incredibly wild and colorful women, the café was rapidly becoming the place to eat in town.  Eager to become a part of the scene and very keen to leave behind my frosty, lonely kitchen corner, I planned my attack. Julie and Tracy’s food had flair and funk but like many foodies their cakes had limited imagination. I figured my best way in was to show them what I did so I rocked up with this cake and was hired on the spot.

Over the years this has been my most popular cake both in and out of cafes.The flavour is gorgeous, its moistness keeps it fresh for days, it’s so easy to make and easy to make it look fabulous. When I first started working at Lushus, “gluten intolerant” was becoming the latest dietary craze.  A craze that has become a permanent state of affairs for most of us due to the terrible mistreatment our poor digestive systems receive from our industrial diets.  Gluten-free used to be synonymous with unpalatable, but this cake has always been popular even amongst die-hard gluten eating fiends!

I have developed many fantastic variations of this cake which I will share with you, and the techniques to make them look fabulous, over the blogs ahead.  This recipe comfortably serves 12 – 16 people and the mix fills a bundt tin giving the cake a very stylish height.  Because of the type of cake mix and the height of a deep bundt tin, a slight separation will occur so that when the cake is inverted, there is a thin layer on top that is fairly nut free and is a kind of a custard formed from the eggs and fruit juice.  Don’t be disturbed by this!  I’ve had people ask me what it is but never any complaints.  This separation is less likely to occur in a smaller cake.  It also pays to put the tin on a tray as leaking will occur.

Poached Whole Orange and Almond Cake Saturated with a Lime Syrup

4 large oranges
3 cups whole, unblanched almonds
12 eggs
3 cups sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla essence
3 teaspoons bi-carb soda

Poach oranges for 15 minutes in boiling water.  When cool enough to handle, cut in half and remove seeds.  Process nuts until fine blended but not a meal texture.  Beat eggs.  Combine all ingredients and mix well. Lightly oil and line a bunt tin.  The cake may leak early in cooking so place on a tray.  Bake in a slow oven until golden brown on top and reasonably springy to touch.  Remove from the oven and pour hot lime syrup over the cake.

Lime Syrup

3/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup lime juice
3/4 cup water

Combine all ingredients in a pan and bring to the boil, simmer until all sugar is dissolved.  Pour hot over hot cake.  When cake is cool decorate.

Decoration
Thin sliced oranges and lime
Strips of orange zest – you will need the zester pictured to do this
1 cup Water
1 cup sugar

Zester

Put sugar and water in a pan and bring to boil.  When sugar is melted add oranges, limes and zest and simmer for 5 minutes.  Remove from syrup and allow too cool.  Make a cut in each slice from the edge to the center – use a knife or kitchen scissors.  Twist the slice as shown in the photo and place over and around the bottom of the cake.  Put zest on top of slices.

I know it goes against the grain to use unblanched almonds that aren’t too finely ground but give it a go.  Orange and almond cakes are fairly common but what has always set this cake apart is its texture and color.

Have fun!!

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