This easy but oh-so-delicious cake recipe won't leave you feeling like you're missing out on anything if you're staying away from gluten. Refreshingly citrusy and moist, it's the ultimate example of one of our favourite combinations — aromatic and not overly sweet orange zest and creamy, lush mascarpone. Moreish!

Keep in mind gluten-free cakes don’t rise as high as their wheat-floured counterparts. Think of it as more of a tart. Covered in seared lemon rounds and mascarpone with vanilla seed cream — it’s pure indulgence.

Ingredients:

Makes: 1 x 20cm cake | Prep: 15 mins | Cook: 25–30 min

For the cake:

• 4 eggs, beaten
• 100 g sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 50 g butter, melted
• 100 ml buttermilk
• Zest of an orange
• 120 g almond flour
• 75g gluten-free flour
• 1.5 tsp baking powder
• ½ tsp salt

For the drizzle:

• Juice of an orange
• ½ cup of sugar
• Mascarpone
• Seeds from one vanilla pod
• Slices of orange, to serve

Method:

Step 1: Preheat the oven to 170°C and grease and line a 20cm cake tin (springform or not is fine)

Step 2: Beat the eggs with the sugar and vanilla extract. Stir in the melted butter. Add in the buttermilk and the orange zest.

Step 3: In a separate bowl, mix the almond flour with the gluten-free flour, baking powder and salt.

Step 4: Mix the egg mixture into the dry mixture, stir to combine and pour into the baking tin.

Step 5: Bake in the preheated oven for 25 minutes until cooked through. Remove and allow to cool.

Step 6:To make your topping for the gluten-free cake, combine the juice of an orange and sugar in a small saucepan, and allow to melt into a syrup on medium heat.

Step 7: Pour this over the cake as soon as the cake comes out of the oven. You want it to soak right into the cake.

Step 8: Next whip up your vanilla mascarpone. Mix 1 tub of mascarpone with the seeds of 1 vanilla bean pod. Add a little milk to loosen if necessary.

Step 9: For an impressive final touch, sear some orange slices in a hot pan — you can also use lemon or grapefruit for colour variety!

Serve the cake warm or cool with a dollop of vanilla mascarpone and your seared citrus slices right on top.