Orange and Hazelnut Crumb Cake
This is an unusual and delicious cake that we discovered at Camino Restaurant in Oakland and were directed to Darina Allen’s Ballymaloe Cookbook for the recipe. It is so easy to make and relies on breadcrumbs and ground nuts so no fear of overworking the batter. Our breadcrumbs are made from our own heritage whole wheat flour and bring extra flavor and color to the cake and we use ground hazelnuts instead of almonds though either will work well here. We serve this with our own kefir cultured creme fraiche and slivered, candied orange peel.
Ingredients
Serves 10 people
- ⅔ cup olive oil
- ¾ cup of toasted, ground hazelnuts
- ½ cup Roan Mills Breadcrumbs
- 2 Teaspoons baking powder
- 1 ⅓ cups sugar
- 4 large eggs
- 1 orange, zest and juice
- 1 lemon zest and juice
- 3 whole cloves
- 1 cinnamon stick
- Crème fraîche for serving
- Candied orange peel for serving
Preparation
Prep: 10 min • Cook: 40 min • Ready in: 50 min
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line the bottom of a springform pan with parchment paper and brush the bottom and the sides of the pan with olive oil. In a bowl mix together the ground nuts, crumbs, baking powder and 1 cup of the sugar. In another bowl mix together the eggs, olive oil and zest. Combine these together and scrape into the prepared cake pan. Bake for 40 minutes.
While the cake is baking make the citrus syrup by combining the spices, the rest of the sugar with the juice and cook over medium heat until sugar dissolves and the syrup begins to thicken a little. Once the cake has cooled a little remove the sides of the springform pan and place the cake on a sheet pan. Poke small holes all over the top of the cake and drizzle the syrup over it slowly, allowing the syrup to absorb. Leave the cake to rest at room temperature, it will keep for several days at room temperature covered with a cake cloche. To serve top a slice with a dollop of crème fraîche and a few strands of slivered candied orange peel.
Recipe from the Kenter Canyon Farms test kitchen