Saint Phanourios cake with orange, apple & walnut
You won’t easily forget this, the Greek Orthodox cake “for lost things”. A little patience pays off: make this cake a day ahead to allow it to settle into a pleasingly dense and moist crumb.
Ingredients
zest and juice (60ml) of 1 large orange
100g sultanas
250g caster sugar
220ml light olive oil
2 large eggs
290g plain flour
1 tsp BP
½ tsp bicarb
1 tsp ground cinnamon
¼ tsp ground cloves
¼ tsp fine sea salt
2 apples, peeled, cored and cut into 1-2cm dice
100g toasted walnuts, roughly chopped
15g sesame seeds
Step 1
Line the base and sides of a 23cm round tin with baking paper and preheat the oven to 165C FF.
Toast walnuts, prepare apples & orange.
Step 2
Combine the orange juice & sultanas in a small mixing bowl and leave to macerate.
Step 3
Place the sugar & orange zest in a large mixing bowl and rub firmly between your thumbs and fingers for a couple of minutes to release the fragrant citrus oil. Add the olive oil and whisk well until the mixture turns opaque, then add the eggs one at a time, whisking well to combine.
Step 4
Combine the flour, BP, bicarb, cinnamon, cloves & salt in a bowl, then sift into the egg & oil mixture. Add the apple, walnuts & sultanas (incl orange juice) and mix tog til combined.
Step 5
Scrape batter into prepared tin, then scatter sesame seeds over the top.
Bake for 60-70 mins, or until a skewer inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean.
Step 6
Remove cake from the oven and onto a wire rack to cool completely. Turn out of the tin and cover with a plate or kitchen foil and leave for 24 hours before eating!!