It was Aswin's birthday couple of weeks ago and that's usually when I search for a new cake recipe.
When I saw this orange and almond cake recipe, I was intrigued. Whole oranges with rind and all... really. And no flour, how will almond flour hold up to the baking? These questions were swirling in my mind. But curiosity got the better of me and I decided to give it a try.
And I'm happy that I tried. It had a delicate orange flavor, mild sweetness and the softness of the cake floored me. We took the cake to the restaurant where we dined. After dinner, we enjoyed the cake with our friends with some vanilla ice-cream.
I had some extra batter and I made a couple of small ones which are in the picture.
Orange and almond cake (serves 6-8)
(from Fig and Cherry)
Ingredients:
2 medium naval oranges
3 eggs
3/4 cup caster sugar
2 cups almond flour
1/2 cup flour
1 tspoon baking powder
For the topping
1/2 orange juice
3-4 tbspoon honey
10-12 almonds - crushed
Method:
Preheat the oven to 335F. Grease the cake pan and set it aside.
Cut the oranges in half. Place the oranges in a saucepan, cover with cold water, bring it to boil and cook for 15-20 minutes. Drain (to reduce bitterness) and repeat. Coarse chop and remove seeds. It is important that the oranges are soft.
Place the chopped oranges in a blender with a splash of water (if needed) and pulse until smooth (It should make about 12 oz).
In a separate bowl, beat the eggs and sugar together until thick and pale. Add the orange, almond flour, flour and baking powder and fold to combine.Pour the mixture into the cake pan and bake for 1 hour or until a skewer inserted into the center comes out clean.
Set aside to cool while you make the syrup.
Zest little of the half orange and then juice it. Add the honey to the orange juice and cook on low heat stirring constantly for about 2-3 minutes until it becomes syrupy. Gently poke holes all over the top of the cake with a skewer and then spoon over the syrup. Garnish with crushed almonds.
Serve warm or at room temperature with some ice-cream.
Here are the previous birthday cakes:
Spiced Applesauce cake
Black Forest cake
Chocolate cake with whipped cream
Happy Thanksgiving everyone!