Hungry hungry hippo/Almond, orange and chocolate cake
By Mancunion
Ingredients
for the cake
- 200g softened unsalted butter
- 380g caster sugar
- 4 tangy clementines (or any tangy small orange) zested
- 280g ground almonds
- 5 medium free range eggs, beaten
- 100g plain flour
- a pinch of salt
for the syrup
- 80g caster sugar
- juice of 4 clementines
for the icing
- 90g unsalted butter
- 150g dark chocolate
- ½ tbsp honey
- kinder hippos (optional)
- lime zest (optional)
- orange zest (optional)
Method
Preheat oven to 160°C/350°F/gas mark 4, grease the base and sides and line the base with greaseproof paper.
Put the butter, 300g of sugar and the clementine zest in a mixing bowl and beat with a wooden spoon or electric whisk until all is incorporated and smooth.
Next add half of the ground almonds to the bowl and mix in. Gradually add the beaten eggs making sure they are fully mixed with the other ingredients.
Add the flour, salt and remaining almonds and beat until smooth.
Spread the cake mix inside the tin, level out and bake on the middle shelf of the oven for 50-60 minutes. To check if the cake is ready insert a skewer, or sharp knife into the middle of the cake. It should come out a little moist when ready.
When the cake is about ten minutes from being ready make the syrup by squeezing the Clementine juice in a saucepan with the 80g of remaining sugar then bring to the boil and simmer for a couple of minutes.
As soon as the cake is ready prick it all over with a skewer, making sure to go all the way down, then pour the hot syrup over gradually until the cake has soaked up as much of it as it can.
When the cake is cool make the icing by melting the chocolate, butter and honey in a bain marie and stirring to mix it all together. When this is done pour the icing over the cake and spread evenly.
If you like you can add the hippos, lime and orange zest at this point so it looks like a scene straight from the African plains. Also those hippos are really tasty.