Tannaz's Orange Almond Cake with Candied Kumquats
Recipe by Tannaz Sassooni
"A haftsin Nowruz table traditionally features apple as the main fruit, but preparing a sweet citrus cake for New Years is not entirely farfetched. The mahi, or fish, in the traditional Nowruz meal of sabzi polo mahi is often prepared with Seville oranges or other citrus. And the orange blossoms that scent the cake are known by the lovely name of bahar narenj in Persian: “spring orange.” So what better way to mark the first day of spring than with a cake redolent of the fragrance of spring citrus?
I adapted my orange cake recipe from my very favorite cookbook, Claudia Roden’s "Book of Jewish Food". Get ready to declare this Judeo-Spanish Passover cake with a Vietnamese-inspired topping from a Chinese holiday for your Persian New Year table the new classic American Mash-Up." Tannaz Sassooni
Ingredients:
2 oranges
6-10 kumquats (plus 2 cups more to candy)
5 eggs separated
Pinch ground saffron
1 cup sugar for the cake, and another 3/4 cup sugar for the kumquats
2 tbsp orange blossom water
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 cups almond meal
1/2 cup water
Instructions:
For the Cake
Wash the oranges and kumquats, and boil them whole in a pot of water for about 1 1/2 hours, or until they are very soft.
Once they’re cool enough to touch, cut them open and remove seeds, and puree in a food processor.
Preheat oven to 325F. In a large bowl, whip egg whites until they form soft peaks.
In another large bowl, combine egg yolks, sugar, orange mixture, orange blossom water, baking powder, and salt.
Add almond meal, and stir to combine.
Gently fold egg whites into batter.
Oil bottom and sides of a 9-inch springform pan, and dust with more almond meal.
Pour batter into the pan, and bake for 45 minutes.
For the Candied Kumquats
While the cake bakes, prepare the kumquats: In a small saucepan, combine sugar, water, and saffron and bring to a boil.
Add kumquats, bring them back to a boil, then lower heat to medium.
Simmer until kumquats are barely translucent, about 7 minutes.
To serve, use a slotted spoon to pour kumquats over the cake, then a non-slotted spoon to pour the remaining glaze over the cake and kumquats. Enjoy!