Olive Oil Citrus Cake With Pomegranate Glaze

We wake up to the songs of the birds- sonorous and sweet. God seems to have splashed all the colours from his palette on the canvas of our world. Dahlias are brilliantly colourful. We wonder at the amazing patterns of Gazania. Pansies and Chrysanthemums, Carnations and Dianthus have donned the vivid hues and toss their heads gently as the wind passes by. The grass is juicy and green. Grasshoppers and caterpillars are all thriving and multiplying. Nature is kind and comforting.

A garden lizard always perches atop Dahlias. Is the love for the flowers or does it hide to lunge at the bees is yet to be discovered. 

Yesterday, we had a colourful baking session. We baked an Olive Oil Citrus Cake. The cake was moist with lovely citrus flavours. We added a lot of Candied Orange Peels for the flavours. We used pomegranate seeds for the glaze. And the result was a colourful cake celebrating the colours of the Spring.

This is a delicious fruity cake. You will love the fresh, tangy and robust flavours of the glaze. The crumb is moist and delicately mellow with the burst of citrusy zest in every bite. It is a low fat cake that can make any occasion a special one.

Olive Oil Citrus Cake With Pomegranate Glaze

Ingredients

Cake

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• ½  cup almond meal
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• ¼  spoon (scant) salt
• 2 Free-range Eggs
• 1 cup minus 1 tablespoon caster sugar
• 1/3  cup olive oil (or any oil)
• ½  teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/3 cup fresh orange juice
• 2 tablespoons zest or orange candied peels chopped fine

Pomegranate glaze 

• 1 pomegranate
• ½  cup icing sugar

Instructions

1. Whisk together flour, almond meal, baking powder and salt.
2. In a large bowl whisk eggs and sugar till pale, creamy and fluffy
3. Add olive oil, orange juice and vanilla extract. Whisk until uniform and smooth
4. Preheat oven to 180 degrees C. Grease the sides and line the bottom of one 8 inch round baking tin.
5. Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients. Mix till well incorporated. Stir in zest or peels.
6. Pour into the baking tin. Bake for 25 - 30 minutes or until the top turns a beautiful golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean.
7. Remove from the oven. Remove from the pan after 10 minutes. Cool on the wire rack.
8. To prepare pomegranate glaze, remove seeds from the pomegranate. Take ½  cup seeds, take them in a strainer. Crush with fingers or with the back of a spoon. Collect the juice in a bowl.
9. Add 1 tablespoon juice to the icing sugar and keep stirring. Add more till you get a thick glaze.
10. Keep cake on a plate. Pour glaze in the centre so that it runs down the sides. Take a handful of pomegranate seeds and place them in the centre.
11. Slice and serve.