Gluten free orange and almond cake

This week has been a very busy week, and I woke up this morning feeling like I was starting to come down with a cold. After a quiet morning, resting to try and keep the cold at bay, I felt the need to bake something. And oranges are good when you have a cold, right?

Browsing through some new magazines, I came across this recipe for a gluten-free orange and almond cake. I’ve wanted to cook one of these cakes for quite some time. Usually, they involve cooking a couple of oranges whole in water for 1-2 hours before blitzing them for the cake (seeds and all). This recipe interested me as you cut up the oranges, removed the seeds and cook them for only 30 minutes , so I decided to give it a go.

If you have a stand mixer and food processor, this is an easy recipe to prepare. The result is a beautiful moist cake. Serve it hot with some orange syrup and ice-cream for a dessert, or cold as a nice cake for afternoon tea. If you want to add more moisture or sweetness, drizzle it with orange syrup when it is out of the oven.

Orange and almond cake

You will need a 23cm spring form cake tin

Ingredients

• 2 oranges – scrubbed and roughly chopped (keep the skin on, remove any pips)
• 5 eggs – separated
• 200g caster sugar
• 225g almond meal (ground almonds)
• 2 tablespoons almond flakes
• Icing sugar to dust (optional)

Method

1. Place the oranges into a medium sized saucepan with one tablespoon of water. Place the lid on the saucepan and cook over a medium-low heat for 30 minutes or until the oranges are soft.
2. Preheat the oven to 160C fan forced (180C) and line the bottom and sides of a 23cm spring form tin with baking paper.
3. Once the oranges are soft, drain off the cooking liquid (if there is any) and process in a food processor until finely processed (like bread crumbs).
4. Whisk the egg whites until they form stiff peaks then add half of the sugar and whisk until the mixture is glossy.
5. In a separate bowl, whisk the egg yolks with the remaining sugar until thick and pale. You can use the same whisk you used for the egg whites. Add the processed oranges and whisk until combined, then fold in the almond meal.
6. Add a large spoonful of the egg whites to the orange mix and mix until combined. This loosens the mix and makes it easier to add the remaining egg whites gently. Add the remaining egg whites and fold to gently combine.
7. Transfer to the prepared tin gently so not to lose the air. Sprinkle with the flaked almonds and bake for 55 minutes, until a skewer comes out clean.
8. Allow to cool before removing from the tin and dusting with icing sugar.

Adapted from Easy Food magazine April 2013 – Gluten-Free Citrus Almond Cake