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Home / Training / Nutrition / Recipes / 70 minute recipe: spiced orange and almond cake

70 minute recipe: spiced orange and almond cake

A tasty and easy-to-prepare cake, great for replenishing glycogen stores post-workout...

Orange and almond cake

There’s always room for cake post-workout, so dish up this delicious flour-free offering from Kate Percy and also replenish your glycogen stores…

For those triathletes who like the occasional slice of cake, treat yourself to this light, moist and scrumptiously sticky indulgence after your workout to replenish depleted glycogen stores – or serve up as an aromatic and summery pudding to impress friends and family. Either way, it tastes awesome with a dollop of natural yoghurt.

Flour-free, gluten-free and lactose-free (although not sugar-free, admittedly), this delicious citrus and almond combination is soaked with an orange syrup infused with exotic spices and then topped with toasted almonds. Our top #gofaster tip? Eat with a fork, especially if you have company!

Serves 10

Prep time 10mins

Cooking time 1hr

Equipment required 22cm diameter springform cake tin, two bowls, whisk, citrus zester, spoon and small saucepan

Nutrition (per slice)

›› Energy 339kcal

›› Protein 5.5g

›› Carbohydrate 35g

›› Fat 21.5g

›› Sugars 28g

›› Saturates 2.5g

›› Salt trace

›› Fibre 1.5g

Ingredients

For the cake

– 50g gluten free breadcrumbs

– 200g golden caster sugar

– 100g ground almonds

– 2tsps baking powder

– 150ml sunflower oil

– 4 large free range eggs

– Grated zest of 1 lemon
– Grated zest of 2 oranges

For the syrup

– Juice of 1 lemon

– Juice of 1 orange

– 75g caster sugar

– 3 x whole cloves

– A cinnamon stick

– 3 x star anise

– Toasted flaked almonds to decorate

Method

  1. Grease the cake tin and line the bottom with greaseproof paper.
  2. Pour the breadcrumbs, sugar, almonds and baking powder into a bowl and stir to combine.
  3. Break the eggs into another bowl, add the sunflower oil and beat with a whisk until light and fluffy. Stir in the orange and lemon zest and then fold the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Spoon the mixture into the tin and place in the cold oven.
  4. Set the oven at 180°C/gas mark 4 and bake for 1hr or until the cake is golden and firm to the touch.
  5. While the cake is cooking, prepare the syrup. Combine the lemon and orange juice with the sugar and spices in a small saucepan. Bring slowly to the boil and simmer for a couple of minutes until it becomes syrupy. Set aside to cool.
  6. When the cake is cooked, remove from the oven but leave it in the tin. Make a few holes in the surface by poling a skewer into the cake and then pour the syrup over the cake. Do this gradually, letting it sink in, and then decorate with toasted flaked almonds, and leave to cool completely.

(Images: Ewelina Karbowiak)

For lots more fuelling advice head to our Nutrition section.

Profile image of Liz Barrett Liz Barrett 220 Deputy Editor

About

220 deputy editor Liz Barrett started work on the magazine in 2007 as staff writer. Since then, she’s reported live from almost every major triathlon across the globe, including the Ironman World Championships, 70.3 Worlds, six ITU Worlds, Challenge Roth, the 2014 and 2022 Commonwealths, the London and Paris Olympics and the Rio Paralympics, to name but a few. Name a pro and chances are she’ll have interviewed them, so, unsurprisingly, she’s our go-to pro-athlete expert on the team. When not covering races, you’ll find her whipping words into finely-crafted shape for both the magazine and website.