Tom's orange & poppyseed cake
See this recipe step by step

Tom's orange & poppyseed cake

Why not turn this cake into a dessert?

Difficulty and servings

Moderately easy

Cuts into 8 slices

Preparation and cooking times

Preparation time

Prep 1 hr 15 mins

Cook time

Cook 40 - 45 mins

Plus cooling and filling
Freezable

(cake only)

Method

  1. Preheat the oven to fan 160C/conventional 180C/gas 4. Thinly slice the unpeeled oranges then put them in a saucepan with 400ml/14fl oz water and the sugar. Stir everything around and poach the oranges, covered, over a medium heat for 20 minutes until the pith feels soft when tested with a sharp knife. Remove from the heat and leave to cool.
  2. Grease and line a 20cm springform cake tin and arrange the nicest poached orange slices (about seven) in the bottom. Strain the remaining orange slices, keeping the poaching liquid. Purée 100g/4oz of the oranges together with 75ml/21⁄2 fl oz of the liquid, to make a smooth mixture (a hand blender is great for this).
  3. To make the cake, mix the flour, baking powder, almonds and poppy seeds together and put aside. Whisk the eggs with the caster sugar until the mixture looks like softly whipped cream. This will take 5-7 minutes. Immediately fold in the orange purée very gently using a spatula, so you don't knock out all the air.
  4. Fold the dry ingredients into the foamy orange mix, stopping as soon as it's combined. Carefully pour the mixture into the prepared tin and bake for 40-45 minutes until golden brown and springy to the touch. Test with a skewer - if it comes out clean from the centre, the cake is cooked. Remove from the oven and leave to cool in the tin. When cool, turn the cake out so the orange slices are uppermost.
  5. While the cake is cooling, make the curd. Beat the eggs with the orange and lemon juices, then strain into a bowl. Add the sugar, butter and orange and lemon zest, then place the bowl over a pan one-third full of boiling water. Stir over the heat until the mixture thickens - it's ready when it thickly coats the back of your spoon (this could take up to 30 minutes, so be patient). Leave to cool.
  6. Cut the cake across twice, into three sections. Brush middle and bottom layers with some of the leftover syrup. Divide the curd between the layers and spread it out, then sandwich all three sections together. Brush the top with more syrup. Let the cake sit for a few hours to allow flavours to develop. It keeps for 3-4 days in the fridge

Per slice

685 kcalories, protein 13g, carbohydrate 102g, fat 28 g, saturated fat 9g, fibre 3g, sugar 82g, salt 0.49 g

Recipe from Good Food magazine, November 2003.

Try 3 issues of Good Food magazine for £3 - subscribe now!

Latest comments and suggestions

  • Binder photo Osha

    26 November 2007

    Osha rated this recipe

    5 stars

    Flag as inappropriate

    Please let us know your name and the reason you find the above comment inappropriate.

  • Binder photo Evelien

    02 February 2008

    Evelien rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    I've made this cake several times already, everybody loves it. The oranges give it a fresh taste and it's not to sweet. A real winner!

    Flag as inappropriate

    Please let us know your name and the reason you find the above comment inappropriate.

  • Binder photo fairyclairy6

    15 May 2008

    fairyclairy6 rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    This is by far the best dessert cake I have ever made. Try also making the cake without putting the oranges in the bottom. Make a gran marnier and chocolate sauce/glaze. Once the cake has cooled, put the curd in the middle as usual then pour the glaze over the top letting it run down the sides in the odd place. Mount the preserved oranges into the glaze before it sets. You may need a cocktail stitck to hold them in place until the glaze does set. Wonderful! Also, Gran Marnier makes an excellent addition to the cake when you are pouring in the juice from preserving the oranges.

    Flag as inappropriate

    Please let us know your name and the reason you find the above comment inappropriate.

  • Binder photo Yoktong

    12 March 2010

    Yoktong rated this recipe

    4 stars

    Flag as inappropriate

    Please let us know your name and the reason you find the above comment inappropriate.

  • Binder photo chubbychops

    16 July 2010

    chubbychops commented on this recipe

    Great cake. A little time consuming, but looks fantastic. I won't bother with the oranges on the bottom next time as I used the left over poached oranges to decorate the top. The fact that they were broken up made it look great. I'm definitely trying the grand marnier and choc ganache next time. That sounds devine. Yum and not too sweet, and only require a small slice so goes around.

    Flag as inappropriate

    Please let us know your name and the reason you find the above comment inappropriate.

Leave a comment or suggestion

You must sign in or register to leave a comment.

Sign in / Register

Difficulty and servings

Moderately easy

Cuts into 8 slices

Preparation and cooking times

Preparation time

Prep 1 hr 15 mins

Cook time

Cook 40 - 45 mins

Plus cooling and filling
Freezable

(cake only)

Hard to resist

Ingredients

FOR THE POACHED ORANGE SLICES

FOR THE CAKE

  • 150g self-raising flour
  • ¾ tsp baking powder
  • 150g ground almonds
  • 2½ tbsp poppy seeds
  • 3 medium eggs
  • 175g caster sugar

FOR THE ORANGE CURD

  • 4 medium eggs
  • juice and grated zest of 1 large orange and 1 lemon
  • 100g caster sugar
  • 100g unsalted butter
Print this recipe
Add to your binder

Per slice

685 kcalories, protein 13g, carbohydrate 102g, fat 28 g, saturated fat 9g, fibre 3g, sugar 82g, salt 0.49 g

Advertisement

Your binder

Here are three other great reasons why to sign up:

  • You get an online binder, where you can store all your favourite recipes and create menus.
  • You can add your own recipes to this site for others to try; plus, rate and make comments on recipes, and share your views on our blog.

Follow Good Food

Advertisement

All about Good Food

Magazine

Good Food Magazine

Subscribe to Good Food magazine - enjoy 100+ triple-tested recipes delivered to your door, every month.

Order today, and receive your first 3 issues for just £3

On TV

Foodie TV

See your favourite chefs on Sky Channel 247, Virgin TV 260 and find their recipes at goodfoodchannel.co.uk.

Good Food Apps

Good Food Apps

For Good Food on the go, download our apps to your phone or portable device.
Find out more here

Buy ingredients

With just one click, the full list of recipe ingredients will be put into a basket at your choice of provider. Choose from:

mySupermarket Compare prices and choose a retailer you wish to buy them from.

Ocado Let Ocado deliver all you need for this recipe, right to your door

Tesco Buy all the ingredients from our recipes through your Tesco online shop.

new

Asda Shop with Asda? You can now buy ingredients for our recipes via your Asda online shop.

In association with the above providers. Terms and conditions apply.

Close