Flourless Orange and Almond Cake with Rosewater

I have planned to make this cake for about 4 years, but then get sidetracked by the gooey, rich, chocolate cakes! A recent recipe purchase included the recipe, so bravely ignoring the siren call of all the chocolate recipes, I got baking.This is really unbelievably easy to make and very pleasant to eat. There is a slight hint of bitterness, as you would expect with the whole oranges, but it is not unpleasant. Be sure to give yourself 2 hours before baking to boil the oranges.
Once it is baked and cooled, decorate with your prettiest edible flowers, invite some friends for tea (that you drink out of your prettiest cups), and sit back and enjoy their praises.

                                    Orange and Almond Cake
Cake:
2 Large oranges
1 cup castor sugar
6 eggs
2 cups ground almonds
 
Place the oranges in a pot of water and bring to the boil. Simmer for 2 hours, adding more boiling water as needed to cover the oranges. Drain and cool.
Preheat oven to 160C.
Split oranges open and remove seeds then puree in food processor. Mix all cake ingredients together and pour into a greased 24cm springform cake tin and bake for 45 minutes or until done when tested. Allow to cool in tin.

Orange syrup:
1/4 cup castor sugar
1/4 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
zest and segments of 2 oranges

Cook all syrup ingredients together till thick and syrupy

Icing and assembly:
40g butter
30 ml milk
2T rosewater
zest of half an orange
200g icing sugar
Optional; some chopped pistachios

Heat milk, sugar, rosewater and zest in small pot over low heat. Remove and stir in sufficient icing sugar to make a thick pouring consistency

Remove cake  from tin, pour rosewater icing over (you may not want to use all of it). Leave to set for 15 minutes, then drizzle syrup over. Decorate with pistachios if desired or flowers or both.

The sugar means this cake is not "healthy", but it is wheat free and yummy!
Adapted from:House and Garden Gourmet Winter 2015