[dropcap style=”font-size: 60px; color: #9b9b9b;”] I[/dropcap]s it just me, or have you ever had the feeling you’re being stalked? By a cake?
At the risk of sounding a little ‘cray cray’, I’m going to put it out there and say this cake has been following me.
First at a friend’s dinner party in the form of little individual cakes with poached oranges on top. And then just a few days later it turned up at our Tuesday morning playgroup.
I’m not suspicious but I do take coincidences seriously. Especially coincidences involving cake.
And since I’ve been getting really lovely oranges from the farmers market this Winter, I figured the universe was telling me to make an Orange & Almond Cake for my Birthday treat this year.
If you’re new to Stonesoup, I have a tradition to share a special Birthday Cake recipe.
So to celebrate my birthday on Friday…
The Birthday Cake!
This year it’s my ‘stalker’ Orange and Almond Cake which is an adaptation of Claudia Rodens classic gluten-free cake using boiled oranges to add flavour and keep everything lovely and moist. It’s a really beautiful cake.
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Amazing Orange & Almond Birthday Cake
I love love love this cake. It’s fresh and zesty from the orange and super super moist. That being said, my small boys weren’t into it at all. I think they can sense when there isn’t any sugar.
It did feel a little blasphemous messing around with Claudia Roden’s classic recipe. But a diabetic girl has to do what she has to do. And so I experimented until I finally found a sugar-free / stevia based cake I was happy with.
The secret was to add butter, of course (shouldn’t I know by now that the secret is always to add butter). But if you’re not into stevia, you don’t need to miss out. Just skip down to the ‘real sugar variation’ Claudia has you covered.
enough for 8
takes 3 hours
2 oranges (450g / 1lb)
250g (9oz) unsalted butter, at room temperature
6 eggs
250g (9oz) almond meal
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon pure stevia powder
1. Place whole oranges in a medium saucepan. Cover with water and simmer, covered for 90 minutes. Drain and cool a little.
2. Preheat your oven to 180C (350F). Grease and line a round 24cm (9in) spring form pan.
3. Chop oranges in half and remove any seeds. Puree oranges in your food processor, until you have a nice smooth paste. Chop butter and add to the food processor. Puree until well combined.
4. Add eggs and puree again until smooth. Add almond meal, baking powder and stevia and stir until just combined.
5. Scoop mixture into the prepared pan. Smooth the top with a spoon.
6. Bake on the middle shelf for 30-40 minutes or until cake feels slightly springy and a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean.
7. Cool in the tin.
Variations
real sugar / no stevia – replace butter with 250g (9oz) caster sugar and skip the stevia. May take much longer to bake (Claudia’s recipe is for an hour).
no food processor – you might get away with a stick blender but you really need something to puree the oranges.
oranges with seeds – make sure you remove before and discard before pureeing.
large oranges – if your oranges weigh more than 450g (1lb), weigh your puree and discard any excess.
different citrus – can imagine blood oranges would be lovely. And will have to try it with cumquats next time the fruit on my tree is ripe.
nut-free – you should be able to use flour instead of the almond meal, you might want to replace it with some flour and some extra butter to make sure the cake doesn’t dry out. And test for doneness earlier than expected.
egg-free – unless your an experienced egg-substituter, I wouldn’t try it with this cake.
More Birthday Cake Love!
- 2019 Strawberry Almond Shortcakes
- 2018 Chocolate Walnut Birthday ‘Cake’
- 2017 Amazing Orange & Almond Birthday Cake
- 2016 Peanut Butter Cheesecake
- 2015 Paleo Carrot Cake
- 2014 Red Velvet Birthday Brownies
- 2013 Birthday Ice Cream Sandwiches
- 2012 Croissant Surprise Birthday Cake
- 2011 Delicious Lemon Birthday Cake
With lots of Birthday love,
Jules
xoxo
Thanks for the recipe I was looking for a recipe for oranges and this will do nicely! I don’t have any almond meal but I do have coconut flour, so I may give that a whirl. I assume you use the whole orange peel and all? Cheers!
Yes Ben… peel and all
Be careful with the coconut flour… you won’t need as much as the almond meal
Thanks Jules, I went ahea and made the cake and the coconut flour made the mix too thick, (I didn’t see your message then) but I added a cup of cream, but it was still too dry, so I guess it was a fail, but no matter I can add some orange syrup, although I will end up with a cake not really for diabetics or low carb. Still my son will enjoy it since he suggested the addition of syrup! Next time I will get the Almond meal, as I can use that for other low carb recipes. Thanks and Cheers!
Thanks for sharing Ben! I’m sorry you had a cake fail. Coconut flour is such a tricky ingredient because it absorbs so much moisture. I usually only use it for recipes specifically designed for coconut flour. Almond meal is so much more versatile and reliable.
Glad to hear your son was in on the experiment!
Thanks for the recipe I was looking for a recipe for oranges and this will do nicely! I don’t have any almond meal but I do have coconut flour, so I may give that a whirl. I assume you use the whole orange peel and all? Cheers! PS Happy Birthday!
Happy Birthday Jules!!! Thank you for the gifts :) Just one question though – do you puree the skin as well as the flesh? Now that my nut allergy son has been given the go ahead to have almonds, I’m interested in trying this cake…
Thanks Nicci!
Yes whole oranges… the lovely flavour comes from using the peel and the cooking time softens it so you don’t get any weird flavour.
Great news about your son and almonds! They’re one of my fave nuts.
Although I’ve found ground sunflower seeds (I use a spice / cheap coffee grinder) is the best nut-free substitute for almond meal :)
Happy birthday!
The recipe sounds very appealing. One question: do the oranges get boiled whole and with the peal on?
Thanks Corinna!
Yes whole boiled oranges… I know it sounds weird but it’s really really good!
Jx
I divided by 6 the quantities and make it cake in a mug in the microwave. It was awesome!! 15 min start to finish :)
Well done you Paula!
Would never have thought to microwave it. Thanks for sharing!
Jx
I have pure stevia in liquid form – should I still use 1/2 teaspoon?
I’m not really familiar with liquid stevia Danielle – maybe start with 1/4 teaspoon – taste and add more if it’s not sweet enough.
Let me know how you get on!
Jx
What ingredients are in the cream topping that’s shown in the photo?
IT’s just double cream Wendy – thanks for asking!