Orange and almond cake recipe

Preheat the oven to 180C/gas mark 4. Grease and line a 20cm round cake tin with baking parchment.

Place one of the oranges, whole and unpeeled, in a saucepan and cover with boiling water. Simmer for 45 minutes or until it is soft. Remove the cooked orange and set aside to cool. Meanwhile zest the second orange (the orange itself is not needed in the recipe). 

Place the flour, baking powder, salt, ground almonds and orange zest in a large bowl and mix to combine. 

In a separate large bowl, cream the butter, sugar and vanilla extract together, using a hand-held electric whisk, until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs.

Once the cooked orange has cooled, cut it into several pieces, and whizz the whole thing in a food processor to form a smooth puree. Add the orange puree to the creamed mixture. Then stir in the dry ingredients and fold together until just combined.

Pour the mixture into a prepared cake tin and bake for 40-45 minutes or until golden on top and a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. 

While the cake is baking, prepare the glaze topping. Cut the orange into 7-8 thin slices. Place the slices in a pan and add the honey and water. Bring to the oil, then simmer for 15 minutes until the liquid starts to become syrupy. 

Remove the cake from the oven and use a wooden skewer to pierce several holes in the top. While the cake is still warm, spoon the honey syrup over it and arrange the orange slices on top. Leave the cake to cool in the tin, on a wire rack. Once completely cool, remove from the tin, transfer to a plate.