Orange and almond cake40

Posted on September 16, 2008 by ChristieGluten Free, Sweet Treats, Vegetarian


[Orange and almond cake w/ orange syrup]

If you love oranges, then this cake is for you. Two whole oranges (rind and all) give it a fiercely fruity flavour and deep orange colour. It’s a feast for the eyes as well as the tongue!

When I’d finished this cake and was enjoying the wonderful moist texture I had a bit of eureka moment. I thought ‘Hang on, I’ve make a delicious vegan cake again!’. I carefully went through the ingredients in my head – no butter, no milk, no honey, no cream…

I was just about to get really excited when I remembered the eggs… Oh well, nice try Christie. Better luck next time!

There’s good news for those on a gluten free diet though. You can just substitute the flour for another 1/2 cup of almond meal to make it completely gluten free. I was actually going to do this but didn’t quite have enough almond meal in the pantry so threw in the wholemeal flour at the last minute.

As with most cakes it was little too sweet for my liking. Never mind, The Bear and his brother happily gobbled up a slice and declared it even better a few days later at room temperature.

I can’t comment because there wasn’t any left!

Happy cooking, Christie

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Orange and almond cake
serves 6-8

2 oranges
3 eggs
3/4 cup caster sugar
2 cups almond meal
1/2 cup wholemeal flour (replace with 1/2 cup ground almonds to make it gluten free)
1 teaspoon baking powder

For the syrup
1 orange
1/2 cup caster sugar

1. Preheat the oven to 170C (338F). Grease and line a 20cm spring form cake tin.

2. Place the oranges in a saucepan, cover with cold water, bring to the boil and cook for 15 minutes. Drain and repeat. (Cooking the oranges twice makes the skin less bitter). Coarsely chop and remove seeds.

3. Place the chopped oranges in a blender with a splash of cold water and pulse until smooth.

4. In a separate bowl, beat the eggs and sugar with an electric beater until thick and pale. Add the orange, almond meal, flour and baking powder and fold to combine.

5. Pour the mixture into the cake tin and bake for 1 hour or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Set aside for 15 minutes to cool while you make the syrup.

6. Zest the whole orange, then juice. Boil the zest for 5 minutes in a saucepan to soften, then drain and return to the pan. Add the orange juice and sugar and heat on low stirring constantly for about 3 minutes until the sugar dissolves and it becomes syrupy.

7. Gently poke holes all over the top of the cake with a skewer and then spoon over the syrup. Serve warm or at room temperature.

LOVE CAKES? You might like to make one of these:
Chocolate and ricotta cheesecake
Rhubarb and coconut cake

  • http://noblepig.com/ noble pig

    What a lovely cake, I love a orange flavored dessert, maybe with a touch of chocolate syrup!

  • http://souvlakiforthesoul.com Peter G

    I absolutely go crazy for citrus style cakes Christie. This is a classic that I have not ventured yet into making. Looks like you did a delcious job!

  • http://accidentalscientist.blogspot.com Michelle

    Oh my, that looks amazing! (Love the plate too!). I’m going to have to find me some cheap almond meal – nuts are soooo expensive here it’s not even funny but I keep seeing recipes like this one that I instantly think: Oh! I have to make that…right now!!

  • http://www.morningcopy.com.au Bear

    So fresh and so clean! The perfect cake to celebrate spring. Thanks Christie

  • http://palachinka.blogspot.com/ Marija

    What a wonderful cake!

  • http://www.my-easy-cooking.com nina

    Sunshine on a plate….too beautiful!!! May I have a slice?

  • http://www.whiskblog.com/ Shari

    That looks so delicious! Love the color!

  • http://www.fearlesskitchen.com Fearless Kitchen

    This looks really delicious! It would be absolutely perfect, say, in January, when (in this hemisphere, anyway) you’re really craving that orange-citrus-Vitamin C thing.

  • Vani

    Lovely recipe – thank you! Could I substitute the Almond Meal with Wholewheat flour?

  • http://blog.lemonpi.net Y

    One of my favourite cakes because it’s so moist and bursting with orange flavour :)

  • http://www.hungryandfrozen.blogspot.com Laura @ Hungry and Frozen

    This looks utterly beautiful! I’ve always wanted to try one of these kind of cakes. Do you suppose it would work with lemons? I’m sure it would right, they’re pretty similar…sounds like a great cake for these days when butter is so expensive!

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  • http://www.evilchefmom.blogspot.com krysta

    this looks really good! do you think it would turn out if you used a combination of citruses?

  • http://www.figandcherry.com Christie

    Noble Pig – You are my kinda gal! Dark chocolate syrup would be heavenly with this cake.

    Peter Try it, it’s sooo easy. You’ll love it.

    Michelle – It’s actually a cake stand but you can’t see from the picture. I used it for my cupcake themed bridal shower. I love it!

    Thank you my lovely Bear – I love making you treats.

    Marija – Thanks!

    Nina – Why of course! Drop by ;)

    Shari – Me too!

    Fearless – Definitely. Citrus is in season in Winter too.

    Vani – I haven’t tried it but I’m sure you could. The cake will turn out a little drier though. Let me know how you go.

    Y – Sorry none left I’m afraid ;)

    Laura – I’ve made this with lemons before, that was actually my original recipe and I subbed in oranges this time and it worked a treat. So, yes!

    Krysta – Hmm, I know it definitely works with lemons (see above comment). Maybe a combo of similar citrus ‘colours’ like orange, blood orange and pink grapefruit. My instinct is to say yes. Please let me know if you try it!

  • http://www.lifeisafeast.com Natty

    You’ve sold me on this one! YUM!!!

  • http://www.flour-arrangements.com/ Sophie

    Nothing is ever too sweet for me, especially when oranges are involved! The color is beautiful; it’s like a golden sun cake! OOOOh, I’m craving this! I love the almonds too, yum!

  • http://www.applepiepatispate.com Jude

    This is going to be so great with all that almond meal. Intense is definitely one word to describe your cake :)

  • http://www.figandcherry.com Christie

    Natty – Hurray!

    Sophie – Golden sun cake – I like it :)

    Jude – Thanks! Hope you try it.

  • http://tangobaby2.blogspot.com/ tangobaby

    WOW.wow. I don’t mean to sound dumb, but what is caster sugar? If I make this, I don’t want to screw it up! It looks amazing!

  • http://www.figandcherry.com Christie

    Tangobaby – There’s no dumb questions around here… caster sugar is a really fine white sugar. I think it’s sold as ‘superfine sugar’ in the USA. The granules are smaller than regular sugar and dissolve more quickly.

    Let me know how you go!

  • http://human-canine-gastronome.blogspot.com Asterope

    Christie, this cake is making me very hungry!! and its too late to bake it!

    I made something *very* similar in base a few years ago, but with 1 addition and 2 small alterations:

    I added about 1 cup of poppy seeds – just think of syrupy citrus goodness with little crunchy bits of heaven mixed in!
    I also added the zest of 1 lime, and made a larger amount of syrup (to counteract the dryness of the poppy seeds) with a small bit of cinnamon bark boiled in with it.

    and its true… it does taste much better a few days after its made and all those flavours have had time to stew :)

  • http://cyclingcook.blogspot.com/ Sam

    I’ve just been reading through your blog. I love it! and your pictures are fantastic.
    I really like citrus so this cake is going on my “must try” list!

  • http://choosandchews.blogspot.com Dee

    Christie, this looks like something I could really put away! Thanks for the great recipe. Have bookmarked it.

  • http://wainwrightmedia.com tommy

    Your not helping my diet Mrs Connelly… this one looks sooo good!

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  • http://recipebuddys.com andy

    Im getting hungry just by looking at that delicious orange cake

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  • tonia

    Krysta, I just made the orange cake but substituted a large thick skinned lemon, I think they’re Meyers for an orange. It’s delicious, but I find it takes a lot less time in the oven then suggested.

    • http://www.figandcherry.com Christie

      Hi Tonia,
      I love Meyer lemons! That’s a great idea to include one.
      Regarding the timing – how long did you leave it in for?
      Cheers, Christie

  • http://pccuisine.com Jennifer Cote

    Sounds so good! I’m thinking next time, I may need to incorporate some of your ideas into my orange cake recipe. I love the idea of adding almonds. I added more orange flavor by using some frozen orange juice concentrate… I’m wondering if it would work in this recipe? It could cut the sugar quantity down some…
    Thanks for posting!

  • Doodie

    Nice!!! I made the same recipe a month ago, but I used tangerines and no flour. What an amazing cake! Truly gets better the next say, so make it in advance!

  • http://www.figandcherry.com Christie

    @Jennifer – Love the layers on your cake! I agree that juice from concentrate would cut down the sugar however I don’t like subbing in unnatural products when there’s fresh oranges available!
    @Doodie – Tangerines would be wonderful in this! They would make it slightly sweeter. The cake definitely gets better the next day – perfect for when unexpected guests turn up ;)

  • Mia

    Have made this cake twice already. Very successful. This cake improves with ages, so best eaten 2 days after you’ve made it (if you can wait that long).

    • http://www.figandcherry.com Christie

      Hi Mia – I’m so glad to hear that! I’ve got a couple of oranges sitting in my fruit bowl, I think it’s time to re-visit this yummy recipe :)

      You’re so right about it keeping well and being better a few days later – it’s just so hard to resist!

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  • EPM

    Absolutely love this cake- as does everyone who eats it! I have found that it doesn’t rise all that well- could I be doing something wrong? Grateful for your advice. xx

    • http://www.figandcherry.com Christie

      Hi EPM, Glad to hear your friends are impressed by it! It actually doesn’t rise very much as the ground almonds are quite heavy – at best, it only gets about 7-8cm high – it’s nice and dense. If you’re not even getting to this height then I would suggest beating the eggs and sugar together for a little longer than you are currently as this is what gives the cake volume. Good Luck! Christie

  • http://www.loselegfat123.blogspot.com Gordon

    Looking at this cake makes me want to drink orange juice.

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