Orange and pistachio cake

I make this most often with seedless mandarins, as it makes life easier. You can also use the same weight of oranges or, indeed, any citrus you like, though you’ll need to remove the seeds before pureeing.

Cover 400g (14 oz) whole, unpeeled seedless mandarins with cold water in a saucepan. Bring up to a boil then lower the heat and simmer gently, covered, for 2 hours. Drain and let them cool, then puree, skins and all, in a small processor or blender.

Set your oven to 190°C (375°F) and butter a 21cm (8 inch) springform cake tin, lining the base with baking paper.

In a mixing bowl, lightly beat 6 eggs, then add 200g (7 oz) sugar, 200g (7 oz) ground almonds, 50g (2 oz) ground pistachios and 1 teaspoon baking powder. Fold in the mandarin puree.

Pour the batter into the tin and bake for 1 hour, or until a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean. After 30 minutes, cover the top loosely with foil if it's browning too quickly.

While the cake is baking, zest an orange and roughly chop 2 tablespoons pistachios, for decoration. Set aside.

Now juice the orange and combine it with 1½ tablespoons honey in a small saucepan. Heat gently until the honey dissolves. Off the heat, stir in 1 tablespoon rosewater.

Transfer the cake, in its tin, to a cooking rack and pour over the orange-honey syrup. Sprinkle with the zest and chopped pistachios. Allow the cake to cool completely before springing from the tin.