The sweetest thing
July 13, 2012 in Uncategorized, Woolies Pantry
Baking has never been my area of expertise, I still remember the first batch of blueberry muffins I ever made. I was in grade 9, the winter holidays were a bit dull, so I decided to make a batch of muffins. I’m still not sure what I did wrong, but they were so rock hard that when one rolled off the table there wasn’t even a dent on it!
I now bake by following a handful of simple rules, including measuring ingredients exactly, preheating the oven and not overmixing batter. I haven’t had the same disaster since, but I still hold my breath when I take a cake out of the oven. I made this chocolate, almond and ricotta cake for the latest issue of TASTE after being inspired by all the gorgeous citrus fruit available at the moment, especially ClemenGold mandarins.
Orange-sugared almond, chocolate and ricotta cake
They are super-sweet, juicy and delicious, perfect for cooking or baking. They also have a fantastic vibrantly coloured, fragrant skin, which is great for making flavoured sugar. Simply add a few pieces to a jar of white sugar, along with a split vanilla pod and some rose essence. It’s delicious sprinkled over this cake or dusted over fresh doughnuts.
Woolworths cardholders currently receive 20% off ClemenGolds, yet another reason to try them out!
- butter, for greasing
- cocoa, for dusting
- 500 g ricotta
- 4 free-range eggs, separated
- 300 g light brown sugar
- 250 g ground almonds
- 250 g dark chocolate, melted
- 10 oranges, zested
- 50 g caster sugar
- Preheat the oven to 180°C. Grease a 23 cm cake tin and dust it with cocoa powder.
- Throughly drain the ricotta by pushing it through a sieve to remove all the excess water, as well as any lumps.
- Add the egg yolks, brown sugar, ground almonds, melted chocolate and the zest of 2 oranges to the cheese, and mix.
- In another bowl, whisk the egg whites until soft peaks form.
- Working quickly, fold the egg whites, a little at a time, into the chocolate-cheese mixture, as evenly as possible.
- Spoon the mixture into the tin and smooth the top using a palette knife. Bake for 55 minutes to 1 hour, or until a skewer inserted comes out clean. Allow to cool completely.
- Fold the remaining orange zest into the icing sugar and sprinkle over the cake.
Have a great weekend!
Hannah Lewry
Consultant Food Editor, Woolworths Taste Magazine
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