Keeping us warm on a snowy day food

Oh my, look what it's doing out there. Snow! Real, Canadian-like snow. I was going to drive somewhere, but I guess I'm not so it must instead be time to do some cold-weather cooking. A nice sun-shiney cake and a bin full of homemade granola should do the trick.

This is adapted from Ottolenghi's Orange Polenta Cake but as I don't much like polenta in cakes I've reworked it and it is now Orange Blossom Cake. It is gorgeously damp and looks like the sun and tastes like Portugal (if Portugal were a cake).

for the batter:
just shy of 1 cup butter
just shy of 1 cup sugar
3 eggs, just beaten
zest of two oranges
2 teaspoons orange blossom water
2 1/2 cups ground almonds
1 cup flour
1 tsp baking powder

for the caramel topping
1/2 cup sugar
2 tbsp water
2 level tablespoons butter
2 oranges, very thinly sliced

Glaze
bit of marmalade

Lightly butter a cake tin and line with parchment paper (really you want to do this otherwise you will create a very sad mess due to the caramelising). Heat the oven to 325 degrees.

Grate the two oranges and set the zest aside. Slice a smidge off the bottom and top of the oranges so that there is no white showing. With a small and delicate knife carefully cut away the remaining white bits of the oranges. Now slice them very thinly indeed (not so thin they'll fall apart but not so thick they will feel chunky when you bite into them: thinnISH). Make sure there are no pits because when the cake is upended you will the oranges.

Now make the caramel. Put the sugar in a nice, heavy saucepan and add the water. Stir gently to incorporate the water and slowly bring to the boil. Be very careful with it as a) it rather likes to burn and b) it rather likes to burn you. When it gets to a lovely golden caramel colour remove it from the heat. Standing well back carefully add the butter. Stir and then pour all over the bottom of the pan and tilt to coat. Lay the oranges in the caramel.

The cake is very quick and easy. Cream the butter and sugar then add in our eggs. Now introduce the orange zest and orange blossom water. Finally add in the flour, ground almonds and baking powder. Mix till combined but don't overmix. Pour over the oranges taking care not to dislodge them. Bake for about 40 minutes, tenting if necessary.

Remove from the oven and leave to cool for 5 minutes. While the cake is still warm (otherwise the caramel sticks like glue) turn the cake out and let cool. Remove the paper, natch.

Glaze the cake with a mixture of 4 tablespoons warmed up marmalade and hot water (boil up in a saucepan).