Orange Almond Cake
This orange almond cake is not only gluten free, it’s super moist and has a beautifully sweet, delicate, intense orange syrup that absolutely hits the spot. A perfect autumn / winter cake using the plentiful seasonal oranges that are available during the colder months.
Last week I had the pleasure of my dear friends from Leeton come to Sydney for a visit. Living on an orange orchard, they kindly brought me a box of the most juicy, sweetly-scented navel oranges straight from their orchard. It doesn’t get any fresher than that! I love cooking seasonally and cooking with local ingredients is what I aspire to practice.
Orange Almond Cake
With all the oranges now sitting on my kitchen bench, I thought of this simple recipe which has, for many years now, been a hit time and time again. I’ve made this for dinner guests, brought it along to family picnics (easy to transport) and indulge with this simple creation for those cold, wintery weekends spent at home. I loved every mouthful then and still do. It’s in my Top 5 preferred cakes to bake.
So how simple?
Well I think you’re going to be surprised with just how simple it actually is to make.
Just a few steps and bake…Honestly! ?
Starting with the butter and sugar, beat until light and fluffy. Adding the eggs, (one at a time) together with the vanilla essence.
In a separate bowl, combine all the dry ingredients (almond meal, baking powder and orange zest), then stir into the cake batter.
Pour into a cake tin then cook. That’s it! Well that’s the cake part. You might be wondering “what about the orange juice? When is that used?”
Be sure to spread out the batter evenly in the pan. The batter is on the thick side, so I find a spatula dipped in water helps it to spread evenly.
What about the orange syrup?
A quick syrup is created over the stove top using the orange juice and sugar with a hint of star anise. Once the syrup is cooled, it is spooned over the cake which has been pricked with a skewer (or a raw spaghetti strand). It absorbs the liquid and plumps up with this fragrant, sweet citrus juice.
Like I said, this cake couldn’t be simpler. Guaranteed to be full of flavour and if you are like me, you dread the possibility of a beautifully baked cake sadly sink after all that hard work, it wont! It’s absolutely fool proof.
I like to serve it with rich coconut yogurt or vanilla bean cream.
You’re going to love it!
Orange Almond Cake
Ingredients
- 200 g butter (unsalted, room temperature)
- 180 g sugar
- 3 large eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla essence
- 200 g almond meal
- 1 tsp gluten-free baking powder
- 1 tbsp orange zest
Orange Syrup
- 250 ml orange juice
- 2 star anise
- 125 g caster sugar
- 1 tbsp orange zest
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 160°C.
- Grease a pan (20cm) springform tin lined with greaseproof paper.
- In a bowl, beat the butter and sugar until it is light and creamy.
- Add the eggs (one egg at a time) then add the vanilla essence.
- In a small bowl, combine the almond meal together with the baking powder and a tablespoon of the orange zest.
- Pour the batter into the tin and bake for 45 minutes.
- To check if the cake is cooked through, user the skewer test. If a skewer is inserted into the cake and the skewer comes out clean, then the cake is ready.
- Allow the cake to cool for 15 minutes before transferring it onto a plate.
Orange Syrup
- Place the orange juice, sugar, star anise into a saucepan and simmer over medium-low heat for 15 minutes or until the syrup is slightly thickened. Add the orange zest and set aside to cool.
- Prick the cake with a skewer, then generously spoon the syrup evenly over the cake.
- Serve with a dollop of vanilla bean cream or coconut yogurt.
This looks delicious. I’m definitely going to make that this weekend. With your directions, even I can’t screw this up!