We’re keeping it simple today because delicious doesn’t have to be complicated. This flourless orange almond cake has become my go to cake for when I want to whip up something that’s easy but also mood-enhancingly good.
It is wonderfully dense and moist and has a marmalade-like flavour that is incredibly moreish. I especially love the way it fills our home with the most intoxicating smells of tart orange and earthy almonds. Now if only I could bottle that scent…
The presence of cooked and pureed whole oranges gives the cake an enticing depth of flavour. It is important to use beautifully sweet oranges. If they’re bitter, the cake will be bitter. Totally reasonable, right?
Bring a pot of water to the boil. Wash 2 large oranges and cook in the boiling water for 1½ hours. Drain and leave the oranges to cool a little. Remove the pips and then puree in a food processor – skin and all! This step can be done ahead of time.
Preheat the oven to 160°C. Grease and line a 22 cm springform tin with baking paper. In a large bowl, beat 6 eggs and 200g caster sugar until well combined. Stir in the orange puree followed by 250g almond meal and 1 tsp baking powder. Pour the batter into the prepared tin and bake for around 1 hour or until the top is golden and a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.
Cool in tin on a wire rack to room temperature. This cake needs no frills to be splendid but serving it with the best thick cream or simply dusting some icing sugar on top won’t hurt.
{recipe adapted from Stephanie Alexander’s The Cooks’ Companion}
I love orange and almond together. This cake sounds perfect! I’d love a slice with a cup of tea right now :)
This cake looks wonderful! I love how few ingredients there are and can just imagine how fragrant and refreshing this cake tastes with the infused oranges and almond meal combo! So simple and delicious!
Thanks Kelly!
We have a number of very productive oranges trees and I always look forward to winter time when we eat everything orange; breakfast lunch and tea!
What a perfectly golden result! I love cakes flavoured with orange, so fragrant and delicious.
I use the Claudia Roden recipe which sounds very similar and it’s so delicious! I also persuaded a non cook to try it and she loved it because it was so easy.
Yes! This cake has seduced a few of my friends who don’t normally make cakes too…
This really does look beautiful and pleasurably simple. Good tip on the sweet oranges – I made something similar a few years ago and it was horrible and bitter. The only time I think I have ever tossed out cake.
Thanks Nicole. I’ve had a few baking disasters – luckily I’ve never had a problem making this cake! I’ve read you can drain the oranges and refresh the water a few times to help avoid any bitterness…