Glamour Puds

Eric Lanlard from Channel 4 show Glamour Puds impresses with his zesty orange cake recipe.

• 350g ground almonds
• 300g caster sugar
• 3 tsp baking powder
• 8 eggs
• 400ml sunflower oil
• 1 lemon
• 4 oranges, ideally Seville oranges
• 3 tsp dried lavender crème fraîche, to serve

For the syrup

• 100g caster sugar
• Handful of cloves
• 2 tsp ground cinnamon
• Dried lavender to decorate

How to make Provencal orange cake

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C/gas 4.

2. In a mixing bowl, combine the ground almonds, caster sugar and baking powder, mixing together well. Break in the eggs and add the oil, mixing gently together.

3. Using a grater, grate the zest from the lemon and 2 oranges into the mixture, then mix together. Add the dried lavender.

4. Turn the cake mixture into a greased 20cm cake, base-lined with baking parchment. Bake the cake for 40 minutes to 1 hour.

5. Meanwhile, make the syrup. Using the juicer, squeeze the juice from the zested lemon and the remaining oranges.

6. In a pan, place the lemon and orange juice, sugar, a handful of cloves and the cinnamon and mix together well. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 3 minutes.

7. Once the cake has been baked, pierce it several times with a skewer or small, sharp knife. Using a tablespoon, spoon the syrup over the cake, allowing it to soak in.

8. Finely slice the remaining oranges and layer them over the top to decorate the cake and sprinkle with dried lavender. Serve with crème fraîche.

© Eric Lanlard