Quellie's Almond Cake

While I was in the UK at Christmas with my most favourite aunt on the entire planet, she made one of the most delicious desserts I have ever had.  She gave me the recipe and,today, for the first time in at least 20 years, I made a cake!  The even better part is that it contains no flour or gluten of any kind and it's dead easy to make.

Here's the recipe:

Almond Cake with Raspberries and Amaretto Cream

2 medium oranges

1 lemon

250g ground almonds

250g caster sugar

6 medium eggs

1 large tsp baking powder

slivered almonds

Fresh berries (raspberries are perfect)

Whipped cream

Amaretto (if desired)

Boil the oranges and lemon, whole, in enough water to cover for 1 1/2 hours. Strain and remove any seeds from the fruit but keep the skin, pith and flesh. (The left over water can make a nice syrup for other recipes, if you add sugar and simmer to reduce it.)

Preheat the oven to 170C.

Add the entire fruits to a bowl and blend till smooth (or use a food processor of course).  Add the ground almonds, the caster sugar, the 6 eggs and the baking powder and blend well.  

Pour into a greased cake tin (about 9 in diameter) or a springform cake tin so it's easy to remove (that's the best option if you have it)

Sprinkle the slivered almonds on top and bake in a pre-heated oven at 170C for one hour. The first 40 minutes cover the cake with tinfoil to avoid it getting too dark and the slivered almonds getting burned.  After one hour, check the centre with a knife or similar and, if it's still wet, leave for a further 10 mins or turn the oven off and take it out when the oven has cooled.  Allow it to cool in the cake tin and then remove to a plate and serve with berries and whipped cream either mixed with Amaretto or plain, as desired.

You will love this recipe. It's slightly bitter from the oranges and lemon, sweet from the sugar and smooth from the almonds.  Nothing could be nicer.

Here's my aunt, Quellie, who gave me the recipe. Isn't she gorgeous?

Feel free to share it with your friends and family.

What's your favourite dessert?