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Macadamia & Pistachio Orange Syrup Cake (Including TM & GF Methods)

With all of the beautiful oranges that are currently in season, here’s a delicious and super-moist Orange Syrup Cake that will add a blast of sunshine to your days!

Both Thermomix Method & Conventional Method are included below, as well as substitutions to make a Gluten Free version. 

Ingredients – Cake
40g (1/4 cup) macadamias
50g (1/3 cup) pistachio, shelled
50g blanched whole almonds (or 1/2 cup ground almond meal)
160g (3/4 cup) caster sugar
130g butter, room temperature
3 eggs (59g each)
Zest from 2 oranges, finely chopped*
220g (1 ¼ cups) Self Raising Flour (FOR GLUTEN FREE: Use 220g Gluten Free Plain Flour + 1 tsp Xantham Gum + 2 tsp Gluten Free Baking Powder)
120ml (1/2 cup) milk
Ingredients – Orange Syrup
160g (3/4 cup) sugar
160ml (3/4 cup) fresh squeezed orange juice, strained
120ml water
Ingredients – Garnish
2 tbsp whole macadamias (or 4 tbsp finely chopped macadamias)
2 tbsp pistachios, shelled (or 4 tbsp finely chopped pistachios)
Thermomix Method – Cake
  1. Grease a 22cm (2L) bundt or kugelhof cake tin with butter. Preheat oven to 170C (Fan forced).
  2. Place pistachio & macadamia nuts into bowl and coarsely crush: 7sec | SP5. Set aside.
  3. For garnish, place 2 tbsp macadamia and 2 tbsp pistachios into bowl and coarsely crush: 8 sec | SP 5. Set aside.
  4. Add whole blanched almonds to bowl and mill: 10sec SP10. Set aside.
  5. Place sugar, then butter, into bowl. Cream: 20sec | SP4. Scrape down sides. Repeat: 20 sec | SP4. Scrape down sides.
  6. Insert Butterfly. Cream: 20 sec | SP 4. Scrape down sides and repeat : 20 sec | SP 4 until light & fluffy. Scrape down sides.
  7. With motor running at SP3, add eggs, one at a time, until evenly combined. Scrape down sides.
  8. Add flour, orange zest, almond meal, crushed pistachio/macadamias and milk to bowl. Gently mix until just combined: SP2 | 10 sec | Reverse.
  9. Carefully spoon mixture into prepared cake tin and level out top. Bake for 40 minutes, or until skewer comes out clean. While cake is baking prepare Orange Syrup.
  10. Once cake has baked, remove from oven and let stand for 10 minutes before turning out. Place on a wire cake rack.
  11. See below for pouring syrup over warm cake.
Thermomix Method – Orange Syrup
  1. Place all ingredients into bowl and cook : 6min | SP 2 | Varoma. Place into a small jug.
Conventional Method – Cake
  1. Grease a 22cm (2L) bundt or kugelhof cake tin with butter. Preheat oven to 170C (Fan forced).
  2. Finely chop macadamias & pistachios. You should have about 1/2 cup each of chopped macadamias and chopped pistachios.
  3. Place butter and sugar into a mixing bowl and use an electric mixer to beat until light and fluffy.
  4. Beat one egg in at a time, ensuring that each egg is well combined between additions.
  5. Sift over flour and ground almond meal then stir in orange zest and milk until just combined. Stir in chopped nuts then carefully spoon mixture into prepared cake pan.
  6. Bake for 40 minutes, or until skewer comes out clean. While cake is baking prepare Orange Syrup.
  7. Once cake has baked, remove from oven and let stand for 10 minutes before turning out. Place on a wire cake rack.
  8. See below for pouring syrup over warm cake.
Conventional Method – Orange Syrup
  1. Place all ingredients in a saucepan and stir over a low heat until sugar is dissolved. Bring to a boil and let simmer for 5 minutes. Place into a small jug.
Adding Orange Syrup** to Cake
  1. Have 2 large plates ready. Place warm cake and wire rack over one of the plates.
  2. While cake is still warm, slowly pour half of the orange syrup over the cake. Some of the syrup will fall onto the plate below cake.
  3. Wait 10 minutes, move cake and wire rack onto other plate. Pour the syrup that has collected onto the first plate into jug. Slowly pour half of the remaining syrup over the cake and wait another 10 minutes for syrup to soak into cake.
  4. Repeat this process until all of the syrup has been absorbed into the cake.
  5. Sprinkle chopped macadamias & pistachios over top of cake. Serve cake with dollops of whipped or double cream. Enjoy!
*TIP (Orange Zesting) – One of my favourite kitchen utensils is my citrus zester. Whenever a recipe calls for citrus zest, I prefer to remove the zest from the citrus with the zester, in long strips, then use a knife to finally chop it. You’ll be rewarded with all of the intense citrus oils remaining in the strips, without the bitter pith. I find this better than using a microplaner or 4-sided box grater, where all those beautiful citrus oils remain on the cutters (and saves skinning your fingers & knuckles), rather than in your recipe.
**TIP (Orange Syrup Soaking) – I prefer to take the time to allow the syrup to slowly soak into the cake in stages, rather than skewering the cake and pouring syrup over the top to soak in.

Buon appetito!

 

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