Blood Orange and Almond Teacakes

1. Preheat oven to 180°C (160°C fan-forced) and grease a regular 12-hole muffin tin.
2. Mix together almond meal, baking powder, ground spices and salt in a large bowl.
3. Beat butter, sugar and zest in a free-standing mixer with paddle attachment on high speed until light and fluffy, then add in eggs one by one, until combined.
4. Turn mixer down to low speed and add in almond meal mixture, then add half the blood orange juice and half the lemon juice (reserve remaining juice for the icing).
5. Divide mixture evenly among holes in muffin tin, and bake teacakes for 25-30 minutes until lightly golden and a skewer comes out clean.
6. Remove from oven and allow to cool for 10-15 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

Blood Orange Glaze

1. Add blood orange and lemon juice to icing sugar and mix well until the frosting has a pouring consistency. It should be fluid but thick. If too thick, add a little more icing sugar and if too thin, add a little more juice.

Candied Blood Orange Slices

1. Place lemon juice, water, sugar, cardamom, cinnamon and cloves in a wide-based saucepan, stirring on low heat until the sugar dissolves.
2. Increase the heat to medium and place blood orange slices in the pan. The pan should be wide enough so that all slices are submerged in the syrup and cook evenly.
3. Simmer until slices are soft and slightly translucent (20-25 minutes) with shape still intact. Place slices on wire rack to cool.

Assembly

1. Place cooled teacakes upside-down on a serving plate.
2. Drizzle with blood orange glaze and decorate with cooled candied blood orange slices.

Enjoy!