🍊 Whole Wheat Orange & Almond Tea Cake (Healthy + Festive)

Ingredients (for 1 loaf, ~8–10 slices)

Dry:

• Whole wheat flour – 150 g

• Almond flour (or finely ground almonds) – 50 g

• Baking powder – 1 ½ tsp

• Baking soda – ½ tsp

• Cardamom powder – ½ tsp

• Pinch of salt

Wet:

• Fresh orange juice – 120 ml

• Orange zest – 1 tsp

• Thick yogurt (unsweetened) – 100 g

• Olive oil / cold-pressed sunflower oil – 60 ml

• Jaggery powder or coconut sugar – 100 g (adjust sweetness)

• Warm milk – 2 tbsp (infuse with 6–8 saffron strands, then cooled)

Optional add-ins:

• Chopped almonds or pistachios – 2 tbsp (for crunch)

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Method

1. Prep: Preheat oven to 170°C. Grease and line a loaf tin.

2. Saffron milk: Warm 2 tbsp milk, add saffron strands, let it infuse and cool.

3. Wet mix: In a bowl whisk yogurt, jaggery/coconut sugar, oil, orange juice, saffron milk, and orange zest until smooth.

4. Dry mix: Sift together whole wheat flour, almond flour, baking powder, baking soda, cardamom, and salt.

5. Combine: Gently fold dry into wet using a spatula. Do not overmix. Batter should be thick but spoonable.

6. Add-ins: Fold in nuts/cranberries if using.

7. Bake: Pour into tin, bake 35–40 mins until golden and skewer comes clean.

8. Cool completely before glazing.

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Healthy Festive Glaze

Orange-Honey Glaze (refined sugar free):

• 2 tbsp fresh orange juice

• 1–2 tsp honey or maple syrup

• ½ tsp orange zest

• Whisk and drizzle over cooled cake.