From The Food of Portugal
Makes a 10-inch tube cake
Ingredients
2 1/2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon finely ground anise seeds [I use a coffee grinder]
6 large eggs, separated
2/3 cup sugar
finely grated rind of 1 orange
1 1/4 cups peanut ot vegetable oil
1 1/4 cups honey
1/4 cup brandy [or aguardente]
pich of salt
Directions
Preheat the oven to moderately hot (375 degrees F). Sift together the flour, cinnamon, and anise onto a piece of wax paper and set aside. In an electric mixer set at highest speed, beat the egg yolks, sugar, and orange rind 5 minutes until the color and consistency of mayonnaise. Reduce the mixer speed to moderate, drizzle in the oil, then the honey, then the brandy. Reduce the mixer speed to low, add the sifted dry ingredients in 3 to 4 batches, beating only enough after each addition to incorporate. Beat the egg whites and salt to soft peaks and fold gently but thoroughly into the batter.
Pour into a well-buttered 10-inch tube pan, rap the pan sharply on the counter 2 or 3 times to burst alrge air bubbles, then bake uncovered 50 to 55 minutes until the cake begins to pull from the sides of the pan and is springy to the touch. REmove the cake from the oven, cool it right-side up in its pan on a wire rack 10 minutes, then loosen around the edges and around the center tube with a small spatula. Turn the cake out, then invert it once so that it's right side up. Cool completely before cutting. There is no need to frost this cake; it's rich enough as it is.
