This is a wonderfully light cake that never fails to impress — despite being incredibly simple to make. It keeps beautifully for several days. The Khobzit Bordgen is a classic of Tunisian cuisine that will delight both adults and children alike!
Ingredients
For the cake
- 50 g breadcrumbs
- 200 g caster sugar
- 100 g ground almonds
- 1½ tsp baking powder
- 200 ml sunflower oil
- 4 large eggs
- Zest of 1 large orange
- Zest of ½ lemon
For the citrus syrup
- Juice of 1 orange
- Juice of ½ lemon
- 75 g caster sugar
- 2 cloves
- 1 cinnamon stick
Instructions
- Oil a round cake tin generously — this is important so the cake unmoulds cleanly and looks beautiful.
- In a large bowl, combine the breadcrumbs, sugar, ground almonds and baking powder.
- Add the eggs, sunflower oil, orange zest and lemon zest. Mix well until fully incorporated.
- Pour the batter into the prepared tin. Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F) and bake for 45–55 minutes until golden and a skewer comes out clean.
- While the cake bakes, prepare the syrup: combine all the syrup ingredients in a small saucepan and bring to the boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Simmer for 5 minutes until slightly thickened. Remove the spices.
- As soon as the cake comes out of the oven, prick it all over with a skewer and pour the warm syrup over it evenly. Allow the syrup to soak in completely as the cake cools.
Bel hana! 🍊🇹🇳 (Bon appétit in Arabic!)
Tip: This cake is naturally gluten-free (thanks to the ground almonds and breadcrumbs, which can be swapped for gluten-free breadcrumbs). It keeps for up to 5 days wrapped at room temperature — and actually improves with time as the syrup soaks in further.