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Simple sweet and slightly bitter orange syrup good on everything from ice cream to pound cake or pancakes – perfectly spiced for advent. Needs to marinate for a few hours or overnight so plan ahead. Chili can be added if you want to make it spicy.

Ingredients:

• 8 organic oranges or if you have them blood oranges
• 1 cup of brown sugar – more sugar if you like it sweeter
• ½ star anis
• 2 x 2 cloves
• 2 x 1 pinch cinnamon
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 2 pinches of chili flakes – optional

Putting it all together:

• Wash the oranges in warm water to clean them thoroughly.
• Dry them and scrape 2 oranges to collect their zests.
• Now peel the oranges over a bowl one at a time with a sharp knife removing both the orange and whites skins as much as possible to prevent too much bitterness.
• Slice the peeled orange in ca. ½ -inch / 2 cm. slices and place the slices in the bowl.
• Continue with the rest of the oranges.
• Add the star anise, 2 cloves, 1 pinch of cinnamon, seeds of 1 cardamom pod and the cinnamon stick, along with the sugar. Cover and let marinate for several hours or over night.
• The next day, remove the covering, stir the oranges and then strain the juice into a saucepan pressing down with a plate and/or a wooden spoon to remove as much juice as possible. Discard the fruit and spices.
• Add a pinch of cinnamon and cloves to the mixture. Bring it to a boil over medium heat stirring frequently. Reduce the heat, add the orange zest and barely simmer for 10 minutes to thicken. If you want to se the chili flakes to make the sauce spicy, add them for the last 5 minutes.
• Remove the syrup from the heat and cool down.
• Strain and discard spices. Fill into a sterilized bottle and let cool until use.
• Will keep in the fridge for a about 5 days if it lasts that long!