Flourless Orange Cake

By Kath Dedon

 

I recently made this Flourless Orange Cake twice in one week. It’s really quite tasty. Since it’s wheat free (for me) and sweetened with honey (for Bob), it’s a dessert that was enjoyed by the whole family on Easter.

The first time I made it, I used 2 organic thin-skinned navel oranges. Following Elena’s lead (Elena’s Pantry), I used baking soda for leavening. It was great, but it rose quite a bit in the oven and then kind of collapsed in the middle.

The second time I made it, I used 5 Clementine oranges and used baking powder as Deb does at Smitten Kitchen. I think the baking powder gave it a more even rise and a slightly better texture. I think I’ll stick with baking powder.

I have concluded that it doesn’t matter what kind of oranges you use. Seedless are easier and it makes sense to me that you don’t want a thick rind like you find on some navel oranges.

I may not be done tweaking this recipe, but it’s good enough to share now. If you’re looking for a flourless cake, this is easy to make and delicious. It keeps well for several days.

I’m thinking about trying it with Meyer lemons soon!

(I also found that it makes a great breakfast. You got your eggs, you got your almonds, you got your oranges….) 🙂

a

 a

 

(Adapted from recipes on Elana’s Pantry and Smitten Kitchen)

 a

(print the recipe)

 a

Generously serves 8 – 10

a

Oranges – about 375g (13 – 14 ounces, or just under a pound – about 2 thin-skinned navel oranges or 4 – 5 Clementine oranges)

4 eggs

¾ cup honey

2 cups (224g) almond flour

½ teaspoon sea salt

1 teaspoon baking powder (Not all baking powders are gluten and wheat free, so make sure yours is if that’s important to you. The Rumford Aluminum-Free Baking Powder I used is gluten free.)

 a

a

1. Wash the oranges and put them in a large pot and cover with a lot of water. Bring to a boil. Cover and reduce the heat to a simmer and simmer for 1½ hours. (Check occasionally to make sure you don’t need to add more boiling water. My pot was big enough and I had enough water in it that I did not have to add more water.)

 a

2. Remove the oranges from the water and let them cool.

 a

3. Preheat the oven to 325˚.

4. Grease a 9-inch cake pan. Line the bottom of the greased pan with a piece of parchment paper and then grease the parchment paper.

5. Cut the cooled oranges into smaller pieces* and remove any seeds. Put the orange pieces, rind and all, into a food processor and process until smooth.

a

*After they cooled, I cut one of the oranges in half to confirm that they were seedless. The clementines were small enough that I just processed them whole. When I used the navel oranges, I quartered them first.

 a

a

a

6. Add the eggs, honey, almond flour, sea salt, and baking powder to the food processor and process until everything is well-combined.

 Measuring the almond flour – 224g

a

7. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for about 50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean.

8. Cool the cake completely on rack before turning it out on a serving plate.

a

9. Serve as is, or dusted with powdered sugar.

a