Upside down blood orange, semolina, almond and olive oil cake
A visually appealing upside down cake, not overtly sweet; perfect with your cuppa.
Ingredients
The blood orange slices
- 2 blood oranges, thinly sliced (save the end slices for later)
- ½ cup caster sugar
- ¾ cup water
To be ground together ( does not need to be a fine powder
- ¾ cup plain whole wheat flour (atta)
- ¾ cup semolina
- ½ cup finely chopped almonds
- 1 tsp baking powder
Others-
- 3 eggs
- ½ cup caster sugar
- ¾ cup extra virgin olive oil
- zest of two blood oranges
- juice of 1½ blood oranges ( the zest and juice when mixed together filled ½ a cup)
Instructions
- In a pan, add the ½ C caster sugar and ¾C water over low to medium heat. Stir until the sugar is dissolved.
- Arrange the orange slices in the pan and simmer for about 10 minutes over low to medium heat. With the help of tongs, gently turn them over every now and then.
- Remove from heat.
- Grease the bottom and sides of an 8 inch square pan with some olive oil.
- Place a piece of baking paper to cover the bottom of the baking pan and grease the top of the paper with a little more olive oil.
- Gently lift the orange slices from the syrup (tongs will help) and arrange them on the baking paper in an overlapping manner.
- Save any remaining syrup for later.
- Pre heat the oven at 160 deg C.
- Add the eggs and the other ½C of caster sugar to a bowl.
- Beat with an electric whisk till pale and fluffy.
- Reduce the speed of the whisk. Keep beating the egg mixture with one hand and with the other keep pouring the extra virgin olive oil in a steady stream till all of it is used up.
- Add ⅓ of the flour mixture and fold in gently with a spatula.
- Add ⅓ of the zest and juice mixture and fold in.
- Repeat with the remaining flour mixture and juice mixture till everything is used up.
- Tip the batter over the orange slices in the baking pan and smooth the the top.
- Tap the pan gently against the counter to release any air bubbles.
- Place the pan in the centre of the pre heated oven and bake for 35-39 minutes or till a toothpick inserted through the centre comes out clean.
- Place the pan on a cooling rack for 5 minutes.
- Run a knife along the edges of the pan to loosen the cake.
- Remove the cooling rack from under the pan and place it on top of the pan upside down.
- Very carefully, holding the rack and the pan together turn the cake pan upside down. The rack should be at the bottom now and the right way up.
- Lift the pan away from the cake.
- The cake is now upside down; carefully peel off the baking paper to reveal the orange slices.
- Brush the top with the reserved syrup from cooking the blood orange slices.
- Cool the cake completely on the rack.
- Cut into squares and serve.
- Store any remaining cake pieces in an airtight container at room temperature and use up within two days. The cake tastes better the next day.