The Ultimate Tea-Time Showstopper
Gooseberry, Orange & Almond Dimple Cake
Forget the standard sponge. This is a cake of textures, tang, and sophisticated sweetness—a rustic masterpiece designed for those who appreciate the finer balance of flavors.
The Gooseberry, Orange & Almond Dimple Cake is the crown jewel of seasonal baking. It features a moist, golden crumb enriched with ground almonds (frangipane-style) and scented with the bright, floral zest of fresh oranges. The “dimples” aren’t just for show; they are deep craters filled with tart, jammy gooseberries that burst during baking, seeping their neon-green juices into the almond-rich batter.
Gooseberry, orange and almond dimple cake
Ingredients
- 7 oz Butter, softened
- 3.5 oz Self raising flour
- 1/2 tsp Baking powder
- 6 oz sugar
- Turbinado sugar For sprinkling
- Zest of an orange
- 2 ea Eggs – large
- 3.5 oz Almonds – ground
- 6 oz Gooseberries, topped and tailed
- 1 oz Muscovado sugar
- 2 oz Slivered almonds
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 355ºF. Grease and base line a 9 in springform tin with baking paper. Sift the flour with the baking powder and set aside.
- Put the softened butter into a bowl and whisk with an electric hand whisk for a few seconds until creamy. Add the caster sugar and half the orange zest and whisk until light and fluffy. Whisk in the eggs, one at a time, adding a spoonful of the ground almonds with each egg. Then gently stir in the remaining ground almonds and sifted flour.
- Spoon the mixture into the tin and lightly level the surface with the back of a spoon. Bake in the oven for 20 minutes, then carefully slide the oven rack out and sprinkle the gooseberries evenly over the top of the cake. Bake for a further 10 minutes.Recipe continues after advertising
- Meanwhile, melt the remaining butter in a small saucepan. Stir in the muscovado sugar, the remaining orange zest and slivered almonds. Carefully remove the cake from the oven and scatter the orange and almond mixture evenly over the top. Bake for a further 15 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean. Leave to cool in the tin for 10 minutes.
- Remove from the tin and lightly dust with a little Turbinado sugar.