Family meals serve as a reminder of the colours in our lives despite the challenges; they highlight the moments in life that fill our souls with warmth, peace and sentiment.

Mariam Hamdy is an Egyptian recipe developer, food stylist and photographer, who has been passionate about food since childhood. Shortly after working in architecture, she went on to pursue her passion and receive a culinary arts degree to spark her next journey in food and branding.

This ultimate heart-warming recipe is developed by Mariam, who shares all the visuals and steps you need on her own Instagram account’s highlights.

INGREDIENTS:

For the caramelized orange slices:

3 blood oranges

150 g brown sugar

½ cup of water

Juice of lemon about ¼ cup

1 tbsp melted butter

For the cake:

200 g butter

100 g sugar

50 g brown sugar

1 tsp vanilla

3 eggs

270 g flour

1.5 tsp baking soda

¼ tsp salt

¼ tsp ground cloves

Pinch of nutmeg

¼ cup blood orange juice

190 g sour cream

Directions:

1. In a shallow pot, boil the water and brown sugar, making sure that the sugar is all dissolved at the end.

2. Lower the heat and add your orange slices and simmer for about 10-15 on low heat. Meanwhile, line a 9 inch baking pan with parchment paper and brush it with melted butter

3. Line the orange slices on the bottom of the baking pan and drizzle half of the liquid on them or between the slices

4. To make the cake cream, mix the butter and both sugars on medium high speed. The creaming takes about 3 minutes until the mixture becomes fluffier and pale in color.

5. Add your eggs one by one while mixing on medium low speed

6. Add the vanilla and mix on medium speed for a minute or two

7. Now alternate between the wet and dry ingredients. Start with adding ⅓ of the flour mixture (flour, salt, baking soda and spices) on low speed.

8. Add half of the sour cream, then again ⅓ of the flour mixture, then the other half of the sour cream, then the last part of the flour mixture and lastly the orange juice. Don’t over-mix your batter or all the air you beat into it might get knocked out.

9. Pour the batter over the orange slices you arranged and bake in a 170 degree oven for around 30-40 minutes or until a skewer inserted comes out clean

10. When it’s baked, leave it to cook for 10 minutes and then flip it and carefully remove the parchment paper

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