The season for citrus fruit is slowly approaching! One of my favourite seasons on the estate: right after the rain me and my two sisters used to climb on a tangerine tree and eat abundantly… The smell of peeling a tangerine is deeply rooted in my memory. We would even, pick oranges right before breakfast; you cannot get a fresher orange juice!
Our oranges are not the sweet type with the very thick skin that kids adore; they are organic, extra juicy with thin skin and lots of pips. Excellent for juice and marmalades. I am sharing with you my favourite recipe for this time of the year inspired by Montofoli and my aunt Birgitta from Sweden who often uses bitter almond in her recipes.
Ingredients
50 gr butter melted
2 eggs
150 gr sugar
225 gr flour
1 ½ teaspoon baking powder
100 ml milk (room temperature)
50 ml freshly squeezed orange juice
Grated peel from one orange and, optionally, one lemon
Three drops of bitter almond extract
Butter a cake pan and sprinkle with flour to avoid the cake from sticking. Then mix eggs and sugar till they are fluffy, add flour and milk in turns to avoid lumps, the melted butter, the orange juice, the grated peel and finally the bitter almond extract. Sprinkle poppy seeds on top.
Cook in preheated oven at 175oC for approx. 35 min.
You can eventually add glazing by mixing orange juice with icing sugar to your taste. Enjoy!
