Honey Orange Cake with Pistachios and Almonds

I developed this cake for my Creative Project as part of my BA Classical Studies final-year programme. I riffed off my mum's famous olive oil cake, which has been my absolute favourite thing for as long as I can remember. The aim of my Creative Project was to develop recipes inspired by what is known to us about the foods and eating habits from ancient Rome and Greece, which admittedly is very little. All of my recipes used honey as a sweetener, opting out of more processed sugars that dominate baked goods in our time. Similarly, I used olive oil in place of butter or other vegetable oils as it was produced, used and traded in large volumes in the Mediterranean. Both ingredients lend a beautiful fragrance and complexity to this cake, which combined with oranges and nuts create a cake that is irresistible. Not to worry, I will share my mum's OG recipe at some point, but for now...

Recipe.

Yield: 1 23cm/9" square cake.

Prep time: 15 mins.
Cook time: 20-25 mins.

Total time: 55 mins.

For the cake:

• 125g Greek yogurt.
• 200g honey.
• 50ml olive oil.
• 2 eggs.
• Zest of a lemon and an orange.
• 75g plain flour.
• 70g fine semolina flour.
• 25g ground almonds.
• 1 tsp baking powder.
• Pinch of salt.

For the syrup:

• 150g honey.
• Juice of one orange and half a lemon (use the ones you zested for the cake!)

To top the cake:

• 75g roughly chopped pistachios.
• 75g flaked almonds.

1. Place a rack in the middle of your oven and preheat it to 170ºC/150ºC fan or 350°F.
2. Lightly grease a 9" square tin and line it with baking paper.
3. In a big bowl, combine the Greek yogurt, honey, olive oil, eggs and citrus zest until well combined.
4. Add the plain flour, semolina flour, ground almonds, baking powder and a pinch of salt. Mix until just combined, careful not to overmix.
5. Pour the batter into the pan. Bake for 20-25 minutes until the edges are slightly golden and a tested inserted in the centre of the cake comes out clean... but don't turn off your oven yet! Let cool in the pan. 
6. While the cake is cooling, put the pistachios and flaked almonds on a metal tray and roast in the oven for 5-7 minutes or until you can smell the toastiness of the nuts. Trust your nose to avoid burning the nuts!
7. Prepare your syrup by adding your honey and juices to a pan or saucepan on medium heat. Bring to a boil for approximately 3-5 minutes.
8. Poke the cake all over its surface and pour the hot syrup over it. Top with the toasted nuts.

The cake will keep at room temperature for 3 days stored in an airtight container.

Hope you enjoy this honey ricotta Basque cheesecake! Let me know how it goes if you try it in the comments below.