This orange, almond and poppy seed cake is a light and fluffy slice of #heaven! The naked design means you don't have to faff around with decorating if that isn't your cup of tea, but the macarons and pastry custard give it an elegant look and a delicious taste! It is a combination that works well, not only for the taste, but also because the macarons use up the egg whites you have left over from the custard so you won't have spare egg whites sitting in your fridge for weeks before you throw them out!
I always remember loving the days when mum or dad came home from the bakery with a #custard slice. The sweet vanilla cream goes so well with pastry, and as it turns out, it is delicious with #cake too!
The orange notes add a refreshing taste to this cake which complement the poppy seeds beautifully. I have always been a fan of poppy seeds in cakes and pastries, for some reason I think they add a little something extra that is hard to resist.
I hope you enjoy this recipe. Although it has a lot of components, the end result is scrumptious! Any left over custard can be kept for up to 2 weeks in the fridge and the macaron shells (fill them just before serving/putting on the cake) will keep in an airtight container.
Happy baking X
For the cake:
225 g flour
75 g ground almonds
6 eggs
300 g butter
300 g sugar
Juice and rind of 2 oranges
2 tsp baking powder
Poppy seeds
For the glaze:
100 g Icing sugar
Juice of 2 oranges
For the crème patisserie:
3 egg yolks+ 1 egg
450 ml whole milk
90 g granulated sugar
20 g cornflour
1 vanilla pod
Pinch salt
40 g butter
For the macarons:
3 egg whites
100 g ground almonds
175 g icing sugar
75 g caster sugar
1 tsp vanilla
Food colouring of choice
For the macaron filling:
50 g butter
90 g icing sugar
Squeeze orange juice
Food colouring
Fondant icing flowers (if desired)
Fresh orange slices
Method:
1. Preheat your oven to 180°C and grease and line 3 baking tins
2. Beat together the sugar and butter until light and fluffy
3. Add the eggs in, one at a time, while continuing to beat
4. Fold in the flour, ground almonds and baking powder until combined, adding the orange juice and rind as it thickens.
5. Separate into 3 baking tins and bake until golden brown and coming away from the sides.
6. Whilst your cakes are baking, squeeze the other oranges and mix with the icing sugar until you have a runny icing
7. Take your cakes out of the oven and cool in the tin, spooning over the orange icing while they are still in the tin. Turn your oven down to 150°C for the macarons.
8. For the macarons, whisk your egg whites in a clean mixing bowl until it forms peaks
9. Whisk in the sugars, a little at a time until stiff peaks form and you can turn the bowl upside down without the mixture falling out.
10. Fold in your ground almonds, adding the food colouring at the same time so you don’t have to overmix
11. Pipe different sized macaron shells onto baking parchment and leave to settle for 30 mins.
12. Bake in the oven for 15-17 mins before removing and setting aside to cool.
13. Meanwhile, make the pastry cream. Put the milk and vanilla into a pan and bring to boiling point gently.
14. While the milk is heating, add your eggs, sugar, corn flour and pinch of salt into a bowl and mix into a paste.
15. Once the milk has just boiled, take it off the heat immediately. With a whisk start to stir your egg and sugar mixture and slowly pour a third of the hot milk in a steady stream. Be sure to whisk vigorously at this point to prevent the eggs from curdling.
16. Once you have added about 1/3 of the milk put the pan back down and continue to stir the egg and sugar mixture.
17. Add your egg, sugar and flour mixture back into the remaining milk and whisk over a low heat until thickened. This may take a few minutes but ensure that you whisk continuously.
18. Once you see bubbles start to break the surface of your custard pour into a bowl and immediately place cling film over the top to stop it forming a skin. Set aside to cool until assembly.
19. In a small bowl, mix the butter, icing sugar, orange juice and a little food colouring into a smooth buttercream. Pipe into your macaron shells.
20. To assemble, spread a thin layer of custard on top of one cake layer. Pipe a ring of custard circles about an inch from the inside of the cake and, in the middle, place slices of fresh orange. Repeat with the next layer.
21. Change to a star piping nozzle and pipe custard onto the top and around the bottom of the cake
22. Arrange your macaron and edible flowers on top as desired
23. Tuck in and enjoy!
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