Difficulty: Easy
Serves: 6
This Sicilian Orange Cake is possibly the best alternative cake, and really handy when regular flour is in short supply. You'll need some time to cook the oranges down, but other than that the cake is very straight forward.
The end result is a light, delicious and summery cake that's gluten-free as well!
Chapter 1
The ingredients
2 medium oranges (organic if possible)
6 eggs
265 g granulated sugar
250 g almond flour / ground almonds
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp almond extract
4-6 tbsp sliced almonds for sprinkling on top
Icing sugar to dust on top, optional
Softened butter for greasing the pan
Chapter 1
The method
- Place the oranges in a large pot and fill with enough water to cover the oranges. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce to a simmer. Continue simmering for 2 hours. Then, drain the pot and let the oranges cool.
- Preheat the oven to 170°C. Using a small, sharp knife, carve out the stem/stalk from the oranges.
- Cut up the oranges (WITH the rind, seeds and all) into chunks and place in a food processor. Pulse until you've got a purée, and then set aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk the sugar and eggs together until combined. Add in the orange purée and whisk. Add the almond extract and whisk again to mix. To the wet mixture, add the almond meal and baking powder. Mix until it's all combined well.
- Grease a 10 inch cake tin (or an equally deep pan) with softened butter. Pour the batter into your pan before sprinkling the top with sliced almonds. Bake the cake for approximately 1 hour and 10 minutes, checking on the cake at the 1 hour mark. Poke a toothpick in the center to check for readiness; it should come out with little to no crumbs.
- Let the cake rest in the pan for 10 minutes before lifting the edges of the cake tin off the cake. Let it cool to room temperature, then dust the top with powdered sugar.