Set the oven at 200C/gas mark 6. Lightly butter 12 shallow bun, friand or madeleine tins. Finely chop 60g of candied peel and 60g of dark chocolate and set aside.

Put 180g of butter in a small pan and melt over a low to moderate heat, then watch carefully while it becomes a dark, nutty gold. Take care not to let it burn. Set aside and leave to cool.

Sift 50g of plain flour with 180g of icing sugar into a large mixing bowl, then add 100g of finely ground almonds .

Finely grate 1 small orange (you need 2 tsp) and add to the bowl together with the candied peel and chopped chocolate.

Separate 5 eggs , keeping the yolks back to make mayonnaise at a later time, then beat the whites in a big bowl to the consistency associated with sloppy foam (not to stiff peaks as you would for meringue).

Make a well in the centre of the ingredients, then pour in the egg whites and the melted butter and mix lightly.

Spoon the particular mixture into the buttered tins and bake for 10-15 minutes, until lightly risen, then remove from the oven. Leave to settle for 10 minutes, before teasing them from their tins with a small palette knife.

Make sure that there are no lumps of egg white in the cake batter, but at the same time take care not to overmix.

Don’t take your eyes off the butter while it is browning. It burns in a heartbeat. Remove from the heat the second you spot deep golden solids at the bottom.

In place of the candied peel, you could add roughly chopped pistachios.

Don’t worry if you don’t have the traditional baking tins to hand for these cakes. I have made them in tiny tart tins before now.

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