Blood Orange / Mandarin & Hazelnut Cake GF

28^th September 2017, Gumboot Girls at mine

I used very thin skinned, deep orange mandarins, with skins so tight they were impossible to peel. This made them perfect for slicing and juicing, for this recipe.

300 gm butter, softened

400 gm caster sugar

Finely grated rind and juice of 2 lemons and 2 blood oranges

255 gm hazelnut meal

165 gm fine polenta

6 eggs

125 gm yoghurt, plus extra to serve

1 cup buckwheat  flour 

Blood orange topping

1 cup caster sugar

½ cup blood orange juice

2 blood oranges, unpeeled, thinly sliced, seeds discarded

• 01
• For blood orange topping, stir sugar and blood orange juice in a saucepan over medium heat until sugar dissolves, add blood oranges slices and simmer until tender (10-15 minutes).
• Set aside to cool, then drain, reserving syrup, and arrange orange slices in the base of a buttered 23cm diameter cake tin lined with baking paper.
• Pour 100ml of the syrup over and set aside.

• 02
• Preheat oven to 180C.
• Beat butter, sugar in an electric mixer until pale (2-3 minutes).
• Combine hazelnut meal and polenta and rinds  in a bowl, add half to the butter mixture and mix on low speed to combine.
• Add eggs one at a time, mixing to combine and scraping down sides of bowl between each addition.
• Add remaining hazelnut meal mixture, juices, yoghurt and flour, and stir gently to combine.
• Carefully spoon mixture into cake tin over oranges and syrup and spread gently to cover evenly, smooth top, then bake until golden and a skewer inserted withdraws clean (50 minutes to 1 hour; cover with foil if cake colours too quickly).
• Set aside to cool briefly (10 minutes), then turn out carefully onto a plate to cool to room temperature.
• Serve with remaining syrup, warmed, and extra yoghurt. It will keep in an airtight container for up to 4 days.