Happy Birthday To Me

Good grief - I knew I was hopeless at remembering people's birthdays but it's a bit sad when I can't even manage a post about my own!

26 September is also the birthday of a co-worker and we had a shared morning tea. Pictured above is the delicious flourless citrus cake made for me by my boss. It was moist and dense and would be a lovely dessert cake because it's not too sweet. I imagine it would be even better served with a dollop of creamy Greek yoghurt or some marscapone.

Orange, Lemon and Almond Cake
Source unknown but based on a Sephardic recipe from Claudia Roden

Ingredients
1 orange
1 lemon
400g ground almonds
150g sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
3 eggs
Butter and flour for preparing tin
Handful of flaked almonds for decoration

Method
Simmer the orange and lemon in water til soft (the lemonw ill probably soften first) – allow about 45 minutes
Leave to cool
Open the fruit and remove the pips
Blend with just enough of the cooking liquid to make a pulp or push through a sieve
Beat the eggs in a bowl and stir in the fruit pulp and dry ingredients
Put into a greased and floured tin (one with a loose base is best) and sprinkle the top with the flaked almonds
Bake at 190 degrees celcius for about 40-50 minutes or until browned and springy to touch
Allow to cool a little and then remove from the tin and put on a serving plate
Dust with icing sugar if desired

Also on the morning tea table was a lovely lemon syllabub sponge cake which was a Ruth Pretty recipe from the Saturday newspaper, a hummingbird cake, chocolate brownies (recipe to follow in another post), some cute little cupcakes (coffee and lemon - but not together), and a lemon curd cake. I was too busy eating a little slice of everything to take photos.

I had a wonderful day which even included flowers and a card from my husband. My birthday gifts from friends included the usual suspects of chocolates, quilting fabric and wine. I also received Paris Sweets by Dorie Greenspan and Simple Indian Cooking by Madhur Jaffrey and I've already earmarked several recipes to try. My reading pleasure will continue with Eat Pray Love by Elizabeth Gilbert.