Claudia Roden's Middle Eastern Blood Orange Cake
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2 large oranges, washed (I used 3 medium sized blood oranges)
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6 eggs, beaten
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250 g. ground almonds
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250 g. sugar
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1 teaspoon baking powder
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Icing sugar to dust if desired
Step 1 - Boil whole, unpeeled oranges in a little water in a covered saucepan for 2 hours (you can do this step a day or so ahead of time and keep the boiled oranges, once cooled, in the fridge). Discard water, allow to cool, then cut open, remove pips and chop roughly or pull apart into smaller pieces with fingers. OR if you don't want to spend as much time on this step (and let's face it, who does!), Julie from Cookbookaddict posted a comment below suggesting piercing the skins with a fork, microwave in a closed container on high for about 8 mins (depending on size of fruit) and turning them around after a few minutes.
Step 2 - Preheat oven to 190ºC/170ºc fan forced and line the base and sides of a springform tin with baking paper.
Step 3 - Blend oranges and remaining ingredients thoroughly in a food processor. Pour batter into prepared tin. Bake for 1 hour. If cake is still very wet, cook a little longer. Cool in tin before gently removing. Dust with icing sugar and zest and prepare to swoon...
](https://images.notquitenigella.com/images/middle-eastern-blood-orange-cake/a-blood_oranges.jpg)