Orange Cake with Fruit

Separate the egg whites from the yolks. Beat the yolks with the sugar. In a separate bowl, beat the whites into a fluffy white foam. The lightness of the loaf cake depends on this.

Add the vanilla sugar, baking powder, and zest to the flour. Gradually add the yolks to the mixture, beating with a mixer.

Add the syrup or essence to the batter. Peel the orange and cut it into pieces, then blend it in a blender and add it as well. Beat everything with a mixer.

Carefully spoon the egg whites into the batter. Beat everything together.

Grease a silicone baking pan with oil. Pour in the batter. It should have the consistency of sour cream. Bake until done. Test with a skewer.

Tip — if your oven does not work well and has no fan, it is better to use a shallower pan. If the loaf cake still does not bake through, once the outer crust has hardened but the inside is still raw, you can remove it from the pan and finish baking it on a baking sheet.

Custard (or pudding—simply prepare it according to the instructions):

Combine the milk, sugar, and egg in a saucepan and heat. Add the flour and stir constantly with a spatula, without bringing it to a boil. If the custard is too runny, you can add more flour. If there are lumps in the custard, beat it with a mixer.

Decorating:

Spread a thick layer of custard over the loaf cake. Slice the fruit and "nestle" it into the custard.

Prepare the agar-agar or gelatin according to the instructions.

Place the loaf cake back in the pan and pour the jelly over it. The jelly helps keep the fruit looking attractive and shiny.

Appendix:

How to make your own orange syrup:

Blend the oranges in a blender (or juice them in a juicer).

Then strain the juice and squeeze it through cheesecloth, and mix it with sugar at a ratio of 1 liter of juice to 2 kg of granulated sugar.

Cook in an enamel saucepan over low heat for 10 minutes. Skim off the foam.

A couple of minutes before it is ready, add 4 g of citric acid per 1 liter of syrup.

Strain the hot syrup through cheesecloth again, let it cool, and pour it into clean, dry bottles made of dark glass.

Zest:

If you dry the zest yourself, try to chop it as finely as possible to begin with.

Spices:

If you have no syrup or essence on hand, you can vary the flavor of the batter with spices.

Spice mixture (20 grams per 300 grams of flour). Most of the mixture is cinnamon and sugar, with just a little of the rest on the tip of a spoon. This gives the batter a beautiful brown color. Add to the flour: 1. Cinnamon 2. Sugar 3. Coriander 4. Cardamom 5. Cloves 6. Nutmeg 7. Allspice 8. Black pepper 9. anise