Oranges and Pomegranates

The penultimate Sunday in June was one that gave a chance to relax after over a month of being on the road to catch with a wide range of good friends, have a holiday, play cricket and attend a stag do. That morning the rain dropped heavily from the sky but it was still quite warm so I took the dog a walk round the local wood and after drying out on my return I decided to make a cake.

As it was now officially summer, despite the rain, I made a cake with the juices of two summer fruits in the form of oranges and pomegranates. The choice for music for cooking was equally summery and took the form of the Eagles' 1980 live album titled Eagles Live. The album covered the last tour before their original split and it was a tour that after its last gig saw two of band members having a fight backstage after winding each other up during the gig with numerous insults between each number.

I added 175 grams of low fat margarine and 150 grams of caster sugar to a mixing bowl, I would normally add more sugar however a recent funny turn during a midweek cricket match had convinced me I may become a full-time diabetic if I do not cut down the sugar in my diet. I creamed the margarine and the sugar together for around five minutes until there was no loose sugar left in the bowl and it had been absorbed into the margarine.

I then added gradually the yolks and whites of three large eggs to the margarine and sugar which resulted in the mixture becoming exceptionally sloppy by the time I had stirred the eggs into it. So as to solidify the mixture I added 50 grams of ground almonds and 125 grams of self-raising flour to it gradually by stirring the ground almonds and flour in a little at a time until I had a mixture which was the consistency of partially melted butter.

I poured the mixture into a pre-greased 25 centimetre wide and ten centimetre deep cake tin and then added the grated skin of an orange on top of it. I cooked the mixture in the oven for forty-five minutes at 150 degrees (160 for non-fan ovens).

While the cake was cooking I made some syrup by using the juice of two freshly squeezed oranges, six tablespoons of pomegranate juice and four tablespoons of caster sugar. I stirred the ingredients together in a measuring jug and left them to one side.

After the cake was cooked I pulled it out of the oven and poured the syrup mixture onto the top it so that it soaked into the top half of the cake which in turn gave the cake the texture of a semi-damp sponge.

The cake was ideal food for a summer meal and had a very sweet and fresh taste which was enhanced by serving it with a large pot of plain Greek Yoghurt.

This moist cake tastes even better with a spot of Greek Yoghurt