Orange and Almond Cake
The first recipe that I want to share is a Spanish Orange and Almond Cake. I have chosen this recipe because it was the first cake I had after finding out that I couldn't eat gluten and dairy that was truly delicious. It is moist, flavoursome and totally unadulterated by gluten free flour or substitutes. You don’t need to add anything or adapt anything in this recipe to make it suitable.
It is a versatile cake that can be served with cream, ice cream or berries. You can have it as a pudding or for afternoon tea. It is a cake that both my mother and mother-in-law bake when I am there and it is always without fail a crowd pleaser.
The recipe that I use, is by Norma MacMillan and I found it on All Recipes. However, if you look around the Internet there are many other recipes that are either the same or have a small addition i.e. a spoon full of honey!
PICK YOUR ORANGES!
Some recipes call for Seville or Valencia oranges. However, I found that these are not easy to pick up in your local supermarket and often come with a hefty price tag so I just use whatever oranges are available at the time.
A CHOICE OF TOPPINGS...
For a friends wedding, I iced the cake with a vegan chocolate ganache and this went down an absolute storm. And for my mothers birthday I took it one step further and put a layer of shredless marmalade between the cake and the chocolate ganache to turn it into a giant Jaffa Cake – although this was absolutely delicious, it was aesthetically very messy and definitely not a birthday showpiece!
Some recipes have the addition of an orange syrup drizzled on top and while this is delicious, I think the recipe works just as well with a sprinkling of icing sugar.
So now to the recipe itself….
Orange and Almond Cake
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook time: 50 minutes
Servings: 10
Tags: gluten free, dairy free
Ingredients
- 2 oranges, about 280 g (10 oz) in total - scrubbed and roughly chopped (with skin)
- 5 eggs, separated
- 200 g (7 oz) caster sugar
- 225 g (8 oz) ground almonds
- 2 tbsp flaked almonds
- Sifted icing sugar to decorated
Instructions:
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Wash and scrub the oranges to clean off any dirt and wax. Chop the oranges roughly, discarding any pips and put in a small pan. Add 1 – 2 tbsp of water, cover and cook on a low heat for 30 mins or until the oranges are soft. Leave the oranges to cool.
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Preheat the oven to 180°c (350°F). Grease a 23 cm (9 inch) spring form cake tin and line the bottom and sides with baking parchment. Finely chop the oranges: you can do this by hand or use a food processor. I use my Nutri Bullet!
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In a large bowl whisk the egg yolks and half the caster sugar until pale and thick. Fold in the almonds then the orange puree until it is well combined.
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Whisk the egg whites in a large bowl until they forms stiff peaks, then gradually whisk in the remaining caster sugar. Continue to whisk for a minute or two.
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Slowly and carefully fold the egg whites into the almond and orange batter until it is all mixed, and then transfer the mixture to your cake tin. Level the top and then sprinkle with the flaked almonds.
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Bake for 50-55 mins or until firm on top. The top tends to brown very quickly so after about 20 minutes place a loose sheet of foil over the top.
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Once removed from the oven, leave it to cool before removing from the tin and dusting lightly with icing sugar.
To see the original recipe on All Recipes click here
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