Orange almond cake with marmalade gin glaze and lemon curd mascarpone is a beautiful slice of sunshine

May’s gin of the month box is a joyous escape to warmer shores along the riviera, staring a gin that bottles the essence of Monaco’s citrus lined streets. Is there any other fruit that embodies the warmth of summer as well as the orange? Bright and juicy, they bring to mind afternoons sat in sun-dappled plazas, a refreshing Spritz in hand.

Travel to every corner of the Mediterranean and you’ll find variations of this boiled orange and almond cake, which bursts with sunshine in every slice thanks to the whole oranges enveloped into its batter. The beauty of this cake is in it’s simplicity whilst being deliciously rich and moist - and it happens to be totally dairy and gluten free too! (Just check your baking powder.)

A slice served up with a generous dollop of tangy lemon curd mascarpone is a joyous way to celebrate summers arrival – or at least pretend you’re far away on a sunny beach!

1. Prick the oranges with a fork and place in a microwave safe bowl with a small amount of water. Cook them in the microwave on high for 10 minutes, then leave to cool. You could also cook them on the hob in a pan full of water for 2 hours, or in a pressure cooker on high for 15 minutes.
2. Once cool, remove any pips and put the whole oranges into a food processor (you can remove the white pith from the skin if you’d like the cake to be sweeter). Blitz together with the orange blossom, if using, until you have a thick pulp.
3. Preheat the oven to 175ºC/160 ºC fan. Line a 20cm/8 inch cake tin with butter and flour on the sides, and line the bottom with parchment.
4. Whisk the eggs and sugar together until light and thick. They should reach the ribbon stage. Fold in the almonds, mixing well, then finally adding the pulped orange mix.
5. Pour the cake mixture to the top of the prepared tin and place in the bottom third of the oven. Bake for an hour, or when a skewer comes out clean. Cover with foil or greaseproof after about 45 minutes to stop the top burning.
6. Remove from the oven and leave to cool, on a rack but in the tin. Once cool you can remove from the tin.
7. Gently heat the marmalade in a small saucepan until it is runny, then stir in the gin and pour or brush over the cake.
8. To make the lemon cream, whip heavy cream and sugar in a large bowl until peaks form. In a separate bowl, mix together the mascarpone and lemon curd. Fold the whipped cream into the mascarpone mixture.
9. Decorate the cake with toasted almonds and slivers of orange zest. Sprinkle with a touch of icing sugar just before serving, and plate up with a large spoonful of lemon cream. Best enjoyed with your favourite gin and tonic on a sunny patio!

Prick the oranges with a fork and place in a microwave safe bowl with a small amount of water. Cook them in the microwave on high for 10 minutes, then leave to cool. You could also cook them on the hob in a pan full of water for 2 hours, or in a pressure cooker on high for 15 minutes.

Once cool, remove any pips and put the whole oranges into a food processor (you can remove the white pith from the skin if you’d like the cake to be sweeter). Blitz together with the orange blossom, if using, until you have a thick pulp.

Preheat the oven to 175ºC/160 ºC fan. Line a 20cm/8 inch cake tin with butter and flour on the sides, and line the bottom with parchment.

Whisk the eggs and sugar together until light and thick. They should reach the ribbon stage. Fold in the almonds, mixing well, then finally adding the pulped orange mix.

Pour the cake mixture to the top of the prepared tin and place in the bottom third of the oven. Bake for an hour, or when a skewer comes out clean. Cover with foil or greaseproof after about 45 minutes to stop the top burning.

Remove from the oven and leave to cool, on a rack but in the tin. Once cool you can remove from the tin.

Gently heat the marmalade in a small saucepan until it is runny, then stir in the gin and pour or brush over the cake.

To make the lemon cream, whip heavy cream and sugar in a large bowl until peaks form. In a separate bowl, mix together the mascarpone and lemon curd. Fold the whipped cream into the mascarpone mixture.

Decorate the cake with toasted almonds and slivers of orange zest. Sprinkle with a touch of icing sugar just before serving, and plate up with a large spoonful of lemon cream. Best enjoyed with your favourite gin and tonic on a sunny patio!

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