My version of Claudia Roden’s classic gluten-free orange and almond cake. This cake is dairy-free, has no fat, no refined sugar and still it’s so good! Good and very simple to make.
The day I first got to know this orange and almond cake was the same day I tried Elefteria’s yemista’.
It was at a pot luck at Juliansdale Organic Farm and Susan, one of the guests, brought a fantastic orange and almond cake.
She had cut it in little squares so that everybody could have the possibility to try it.
As we all complimented her, she told us that it was Claudia Roden’s orange and almond cake, from her classic A Book of Middle Eastern Food published in 1968. She also told us that it was made only with four ingredients: oranges, almonds, eggs and sugar.
I was so intrigued that once home I immediately searched it up.
And of course I tried it, and tried it and tried it so many times, always thinking to post the recipe because it really deserves a place in my blog.
This is my version of Claudia Roden’s orange and almond cake. I replaced sugar with maple syrup, reduced the number of eggs and topped the cake with dark chocolate and flaked almonds.
As the first step of the making of this cake is boiling two oranges for 1 hour and a half, you may want to consider doing it on a day when you have time, but apart from that, the recipe is very simple and the result exquisite.
Another very important thing to keep in mind, make sure you use organic oranges! You will need them all and whole, so better without pesticides that are usually present in fruit peels, and especially in citruses.
As I said I replaced the sugar and also reduced the amount – I just use a quarter of a cup of maple syrup. If you are used to eat very sweet cakes add a bit more maple syrup in your orange cake.
But if your taste-buds are already used to less sweet dessert, or you simply want to trust me give it a try like this.
Most importantly give it a try full stop.
The moistness of this orange and almond cake will surprise you, considering there is no fat in it.
You can decide to leave it plain, as the original Claudia Roden’s recipe dictates, or do like me and top it with dark chocolate and flaked almonds.
The crunchy chocolate top creates a nice contrast in the texture of the cake and who doesn’t like when orange and chocolate meet?
Moist Orange and Almond Cake with Crunchy Chocolate Topping
In my version of Claudia Roden’s classic gluten-free orange and almond cake, oranges are perfectly paired with dark chocolate. This cake is dairy-free, has no fat, no refined sugar and still it is so good!
Ingredients
- 2 oranges organic
- 5 eggs
- 1/4 cup maple syrup or 60 ml
- 250 gr almond flour
- 1 tbsp baking powder
- 100 gr dark chocolate
- 2 fistful flaked almonds
Instructions
Wash the oranges and place them in a pot.
Cover them with plenty of water and let them boil for an hour and a half.
Drain them and when they are not too hot, cut them in half and remove the pips.
Place them in a food processor and reduce them to a puree consistency.
A part whisk the eggs until very firm, for about 10 minutes.
Add the maple syrup, the baking powder and the almond flour to the eggs and gently fold in.
Add the oranges and fold in.
Place the mixture in an oiled and almond floured cake tin. I have used a 20 cm diameter springform cake tin.
Bake in a preheated hot oven 180° for an hour, covering it with a piece of foil if the cake gets too dark.
Melt the chocolate in the microwave for less than a minute and stir it (or melt it at bain marie).
Pour the chocolate over the cake, using a spoon to help you cover the full surface.
Sprinkle the cake with flaked almonds.
Wait until the cake has cooled down before removing it from the springform tin.
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