One of the desserts that I made for the Pakistani food week in Prague was this orange and saffron cake. It’s so light and subtle- it’s definitely the perfect tea cake. It’s gluten-free (win!) and uses egg whites to make it light and airy. Since you’re left with quite a few egg yolks, may I suggest my chai masala ice cream recipe to go along with it? ;) Hope you enjoy!
Ingredients:
5 eggs (separated with egg whites whipped into stiff peaks)
208 grams of almond flour
100 grams caster sugar
118 ml olive oil
2 tsp baking powder
125 ml fresh orange juice
zest of oranges from the juice
orange and almond essence to taste- i usually put 1/2 tsp in each?
1/2 tsp salt
5-6 saffron strands steeped
cream topping:
600 ml double cream
icing sugar to taste - 2-3 tbsp
1 tbsp cardamom powder
1 tsp rose water (start with 1/2 and add if you want more- rose water can be overpowering)
Method:
Whip the egg whites until they form stiff peaks and set to the side.
Mix all the other ingredients together until smooth. Fold in the egg whites until completely incorporated.
You want to do this as gently as possible- knocking out too much air will cause the cake to collapse.
Put in a cake tin lined with parchment paper and bake at 160 C until cooked through- this always depends on the oven. Mine took about 40 minutes, but I started checking around 35 minutes. I would keep the fan on low if you have the option. Almond flour tends to burn faster but take longer to cook due to the high fat content.
Let the cake cool completely on a wire rack.
Whip the double cream with the sugar, cardamom powder, and rose water until soft peaks form. Pipe on top of the cake and top with crushed pistachios and cardamom