A very moist cake that's intensely flavoured and a cinch to make. The fresh
ginger helps prevent the orange flavour from flattening and tasting like
cordial, but it stays in the background so the citrus flavour remains strong. I
baked mine in a slightly smaller tin, so it rose grandly and a bit
precariously, with the paper sticking out up the sides to hold the cake in
place while baking.
225g caster sugar
5 oranges
100g unsalted butter
2-3cm piece fresh ginger, peeled and finely grated
75ml double cream
3 medium eggs
325g plain flour
3 tsp baking powder
Chopped walnuts and cinnamon
Line the base and sides of a large, deep, 19cm-long loaf tin with nonstick
baking paper and heat the oven to 180C (160C fan-assisted)/350F/gas mark 4. Put
the sugar in a saucepan, finely grate the zest from the oranges and leave to
one side, then squeeze 150ml juice from the oranges and pour in with the sugar.
Bring to a boil, remove from the heat and add the butter. Leave for five to 10
minutes, to cool and for the butter to melt, then stir in the zest, ginger and
cream. Beat in the eggs, then stir in the flour and baking powder until smooth.
Spoon a third of the cake mix into the tin, sprinkle with walnuts and cinnamon,
swirl them through, then add another third of the batter and repeat with more
nuts and spice. Spoon on the remaining batter, sprinkle on some walnuts and
cinnamon to make a top crust, and bake for 50 minutes, or until a skewer pulls
out with only a few crumbs stuck to it.