Orange, pistachio & pomegranate cakes

Makes 9 cakes Prep 20 mins Cook 30–35 mins

170g caster sugar 2 medium oranges seeds from ½ pomegranate 75g unshelled pistachio nuts, shelled 125g butter, softened, plus extra

for greasing 2 eggs 50g plain flour ½ tsp baking powder

Preheat the oven to 180C/160C fan/ gas 4 and grease the muffin tin with butter. Divide 45g of the caster sugar between 9 of the holes (1 tsp in each).

Use a sharp knife to cut the top and bottom off each orange, then slice off the skin, keeping as much of the flesh intact as possible. Slice the oranges into cross sections, then quarter each section and place two segments into each hole of the tin opposite each other, with the curved edge sitting against the sides. Fill the remaining quarters of each hole with a layer of pomegranate seeds. Bake the fruit for 10 mins so they start to caramelise.

Blitz the pistachio nuts in a food processor until they resemble a fine powder. Cream together the butter and remaining sugar in a separate bowl until light and fluffy, then beat in the eggs one at a time. Add the flour, baking powder and ground pistachios to the bowl and continue to beat until the mixture is smooth.

When the fruit has baked for 10 mins, remove the tin from the oven. Divide the cake batter among each hole, spreading it to the edges, and bake for 20–25 mins or until the cakes are risen and a skewer inserted into the centre of one cake comes out clean.

Leave the cakes to cool in the tin for a few minutes, then run a knife or palette knife around the edge of each cake to make them easier to remove, then turn the whole tray out upside down over a board. A bit of hot syrup might escape as you turn the tray, so be very careful. Serve the cakes hot, with a big scoop of ice cream, or cold with a cup of coffee.

Combining fruits with nuts in baking is a timeless, tried-and-tested combination that you can rarely go wrong with. I’ve added citrus to the mix in the form of partially caramelised juicy orange, which adds another dimension to the cakes. Glossy, colourful fruit sits proudly on top of a moist pistachio cake, and the syrup created from the fruit and sugar soaks into the sponge, making these cakes incredibly moreish