August 2nd, 2022Recipes with Jen Clarke

Orange syrup yoghurt cake

This is a seasonal variation on the classic lemon syrup cake. Winter is peak orange season and this year they have been abundant and especially juicy and sweet. Full of vitamin C and immune boosting goodness, oranges deliver a healthy dose of winter sunshine…surely there is still vitamin C in cake?

Ingredients:
185g butter, room temperature
1 cup caster sugar
2 eggs, room temperature
1 ½ cups plain flour
¼ cup almond meal
½ teaspoon bicarb soda
Pinch of salt
½ cup natural yoghurt
2 large or 3 small oranges
¼ cup pistachio nuts, roughly chopped

Method

Preheat oven to 180c. Grease and line a 20cm round cake tin.
Cream butter and ¾ cup of caster sugar until pale. Beat in eggs one at a time and mix until light. Fold in flour, bicarb soda and a pinch of salt. Mix in the yoghurt and the grated rind and juice of one large orange (or one and a half small). You can do all this in a food processor if you wish.
Pour mixture into the tin and scatter the pistachios around the rim.
Bake for 35-45 minutes until a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean.
While the cake is cooking, make the syrup.
Combine the julienned (very thin strips, or just zest the oranges…do this before you juice them), remaining orange juice, remaining ¼ cup sugar and ½ cup of water in a small saucepan and heat, stirring, until the sugar is dissolved. Taste, as it depends on the sweetness of the oranges, and you may need to add a bit more sugar.

When the cake comes out of the oven, use a skewer to poke some holes in the top before pouring over the syrup. Allow to cool in the tin.