Serves: 4
Prep Time:
Cooking Time:

Ingredients: (Serves 4)
1 blood orange, very thinly sliced
⅓ cup caster sugar, plus ¼ cup extra
1 cinnamon quill
2 star anise
4 cardamom pods, bruised
⅔ cup almond meal
⅓ cup self-raising flour
¼ cup reduced-fat Greek yoghurt, plus ½ cup extra to serve
¼ cup olive oil
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 tablespoons pistachios, roughly chopped

Method:

  1. Preheat oven to 180°C (fan-forced). Grease four one-cup capacity ramekins with cooking oil spray.
  2. Place ⅓ cup caster sugar, cinnamon quill, star anise, cardamon pods and 1 cup water in a small saucepan over medium heat. Once the sugar has melted, add blood orange slices and simmer for 10 minutes or until peel becomes soft and semi-translucent. Remove orange slices and if necessary, continue to simmer syrup until it has thickened and reduced to a drizzling consistency.
  3. Combine almond meal, flour, and remaining ¼ cup caster sugar in a large bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk together ½ cup yoghurt, olive oil, eggs and vanilla until smooth. Make a well in the centre of dry ingredients before pouring in the yoghurt mixture. Gently fold until just combined.
  4. Divide orange sliced between prepared ramekins, then pour over cake batter. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until an inserted skewer comes out clean.
  5. To serve, turn cakes out onto four serving plates. Drizzle over reserved syrup, then finish with a dollop of extra Greek yoghurt and pistachios.

Cooking Tip: The use of almond, meal, yoghurt and olive oil make these cakes lovely and moist. They can be made the day before serving and stored at room temperature.

Nutrition Tip: Like other citrus fruit, blood oranges are a great source of vitamin C. They have a much shorter season though, so make the most of them and enjoy them while they last!