Since lockdown, I’ve found myself baking a cake pretty much weekly; fodder to fuel home schoolers and home workers and lift morale during more challenging days. Nothing fancy, just a cut-and-come-again affair, such as this Orange + Almond. This recipe makes no demands (so long as you’re able to get your hands on some eggs) and is quick to pull together. It works well as a dessert served with some crème fraîche and it fills the kitchen with the sweet aroma of oranges while it bakes in the oven, which is rather heavenly.

ORANGE + ALMOND CAKE

6 medium eggs
300g golden caster sugar
200g ground almonds
1 large orange
2 tbsp water

Preheat the oven to 160°C fan/gas 2. Grease a 23cm cake tin and line the base with baking paper.

Separate 3 of the eggs, putting the whites aside in a mixing bowl. Beat the egg yolks with the remaining whole eggs in a large bowl. Add 200g of the sugar and all of the ground almonds. Throughly mix. Grate the zest from the orange and add this too, keeping the rest for later.

Beat the egg whites until soft peaks form. Using a slotted spoon, fold the egg whites into the cake mix, a spoonful at a time. Be careful not to knock the air out of the whites.

Now pour the foamy cake mix into the tin and place in the oven. Check to see if the cake is ready after 35mins, though it may take up to 50mins. It is ready when an inserted toothpick comes out clean.

Leave the cake to cool in the tin and make the syrup. Put the remaining sugar in a pan with the juice from the orange and a few tablespoons of water. Heat gently until the sugar has dissolved and the syrup has reduced slightly.

Using a toothpick, plant holes all over the cake and pour over the syrup. Allow the cake to cool and absorb the syrup before removing it from the tin.