Recently, I made this Moroccan cake for an afternoon tea, but it can easily be used for a dessert as well.. It has a lovely orange flavour  which works well with the ricotta/yoghurt filling.

The recipe is taken from the book of the same name –  “Orange Blossom and Honey” by John Gregory-Smith

 

Ingredients for the cake

1 unwaxed organic orange (I used a medium sized ornge)

250 g unsalted butter at room temperature

300 g caster sugar

2 tbls orange blossom water

6 free range eggs (I used large size)

3 tbls vegetable oil

375 g self-raising flour

240 g almond meal

1½ teas baking powder

Ingredients for the filling

600 g fresh ricotta

300 g Greek yoghurt

100 g icing sugar

1 tbls orange blossom water

Ingredients for the candied oranges

200 g caster sugar

450 ml water

2 unwaxed oranges, washed and cut into thin slices.

 

1. Preheat oven to 180°C (less for a fan forced oven, 160°C). Grease and line with baking paper, 3 x 23 cm springform or non-stick cake pans.
2. Put the orange in a small pot, and cover with boiling water; boil on a high heat for 20 minutes or until soft; drain, roughly chop and blend to a puree. Allow to cool.
3. Beat the butter, sugar and orange blossom water, until smooth.
4. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition
5. Add the oil and beat till smooth.
6. Stir the dry ingredients onto a bowl and mix well; gradually add them to the wet mixture, , stirring or beating each time until incorporated.
7. Add the orange puree and mix well.
8. Divide the mixture equally between the 3 cake pans and bake for 25 – 30 minutes.
9. Beat all the filling ingredients together in a bowl until smooth. Cover and chill in the fridge until needed.
10. While the cake is cooking, place the sugar and water in a non-stick pan. Bring to the boil and boil for 5-6 minutes, stirring occasionally until the sugar has dissolved. Add the orange slices, reduce heat to medium and cook for 15  minutes each side. Use tongs to turn the slices. Remove slices from the pan, shaking off excess syrup and lay the slices on a baking tray to cool. reserve the syrup.
11. While the cakes are still in the cake pans, prick the tops all over with a fork. Spoon the reserved syrup equally over the cakes. Leave for a further 30 minutes, then remove from the tins and allow to cool completely on wire racks.
12. Place one of the cakes on a cake stand or plate, smooth a third of the filling over the cake, then place a second cake on top of the filling, smooth a third of the filling over this second cake, then place the last cake on top. Smooth the remaining filling on the top cake cake and decorate with the candied oranges, a few toasted flaked almonds and edible rose petals. Drizzle with a little honey. The original recipe also used pieces of honeycomb.

Tips

1. I did not have 3 cake pans the same size and used 2, but although it still tasted wonderful, it would have been better with 3 layers.