Orange Almond Cake

Fate has been tempting me to make this recipe. I first encountered it in one of Claudia Roden's cookbooks. Then at the Chowhound Message Boards, which eventually led me to Nigella's famed version with clementines. It's flourless. Virtually fool-proof. You can make it a couple of days ahead and it's even better that way. For a mid-week dinner party, it was the perfect dessert.

I had earmarked this recipe at the start of winter, when crates of clementines were everywhere. By the time I got to it, however, my clementines were lost and gone away. Upon some consultation with my pastry chef friends and references to other recipes, I figured out I need not be limited by the preachings of one domestic goddess. The organic oranges from George Cunningham's San Diego farm were as electric as a neon sign, its fragrance buzzing above the display at my favorite store in town, Liberty Heights Fresh. But of course, you could play around with clementines, grapefruits, and Meyer lemons.

The premise of the recipe is to poach the fruit whole until they're knife-tender all the way through. This takes about 2 hours of simmering in a pot of water. After that, it's all food-processor work. Process the fruit until you get a fragrant squidgy purée. Then you add the eggs, ground almonds, sugar, a touch of baking powder, and extracts. In this version, I added a touch of vanilla and orange-flower water, just for kicks.

All recipes call for a springform pan. But since mine went missing two years ago (I have yet to replace it, cheesecakes have not been a priority lately), I opted for two 9-inch cake pans. I filled them to about 1/2-inch to the top. They barely rose above that in the oven. The result? A great smelling kitchen and one of the moistest and pretty cakes I've ever created. I baked it on a Sunday night and snuck a little piece from the crust. Pure orange with a richness from the ground almonds.

I served it the following Tuesday night. The menu: Braised Chicken with Chard and Tomatoes—Fontina-Spiked Polenta—Belgian Endive and Baby Spinach Salad with Bleu d'Auvergne, Pecans, and Golden Raisins.

Sprinkling some superfine sugar on top really plays off the the texture of the almonds. A little whipped cream (barely sweetened with a splash of the orange flower water) and a generous shaving of chocolate were the only embellishments. Next time, I think I'll drizzle a dark chocolate sauce over it. Chocolate, citrus, and almonds. Just a few of my favorite things.

Orange Almond Cake
3 oranges (or 6 clementines, tangerines, or 4 Meyer lemons) * water for boiling * 6 eggs * 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar (1/4 cup more for lemons) * 2 1/2 cups ground almonds * 1 teaspoon baking powder * superfine sugar for dusting * whipped cream * dark chocolate shavings

Place the fruit in the pot and cover with water. Bring to a boil and cook for about two hours until it's tender all the way through (pierces easily with a knife, "like butta" as they say). Cut the fruit in quarters and fish out the white pips (the big chunk of white membrance usually at two points in the fruit). Then put the fruit into the food processor and puree. Pith, skin, and fruit—everything.

Add the eggs and pulse until combined. Add the dry ingredients and mix well. Pour into two prepared 9-inch cake pans or one 8-inch springform pan (buttered and parchment-lined). Bake in a pre-heated 350 degree oven for about an hour. Remove from the oven and let cool in the pan. When it's cooled, unmold and sprinkle with superfine sugar. Serve with whipped cream and chocolate shavings.

TIPS:
*You can make the cake ahead. It keeps for up to four days. After that the cake will resemble anything that sits still outside in a Seattle winter—mold and perhaps even moss will start to grow.

*You can even make components of the recipe in advance. For instance, I ground my own almonds (with the blanched slivered almonds from the bulk bin) one day to use later in the week. And you can poach the oranges to use another day. Just keep them covered and in the fridge until you're ready for some CuisinArt fun.

This recipe was tasted with Lisa—In a Nutshell in mind :)

Comments

[Alicat]

WOW! Those pictures are amazing. I love orange cakes, but I've never made a *good* one. lol. Fabulous post and pics..I might have to try this out sometime. :)

[Ilva]

Great great pics and a cake that makes my mouth water! Really great! (am I a bit boring today? at least I'm positive..)

[sam]

you ,mean whole including the rind?
i wonder if i could make it with mandarin satsumas. I just bought some at the market and then he dumped handfuls of free excess ones in my bag and so now I have a glut.

it goes without saying that your picture is mouth watering.

[Lisa--In a Nutshell]

Oh, Vanessa...you really DO want me to come to Utah and visit you, don't you? Okay, I relent. (Put some of this cake in the freezer for now.) And then you and Kalyn must take me to that restaurant that ALLEGEDLY has the best Mexican. And then, can we all go to Best Friends in Kanab? Seriously, this sounds like a fun trip!

[MM]

Oh, major drool. I love orange and almond. There goes my diet.

[Karina]

Gorgeous! Tempting. I love almond meal based cakes.

[dwight]

MMMMMMMMM...I am totally copping the recipe later...I've been trying to find a good almond cake/torte recipe to make a raspberry almond torte...the recipe I use isn't as light and most as I'd like, so this might work....

[vanessa]

dwight—this cake is pretty dense. If you need osmething lighter, you should find a recipe for an almond sponge using almond paste.

MM-"there goes my diet" is the mantra of my life!

LisaSD—you are always welcome to Utah :) Just let me know and we'll start our food and animal adventures!

sam—yep, the rind and all. the only thing to take out is the white pip that's attached to the navel/stem. for the mandarins, you'll need to keep and eye out for the seeds, too.

ilva—thank you for the positive words!

Alicat—let me know if you do and if you use the springform pan. It must be pretty good (and rich) with double the height!

[Rorie]

I want some of that entire menu - FONTINA-SPIKED POLENTA?????!!!!! - you are torturing me!

[Kalyn]

This cake does look great. It might be blasphemy to say it, but I could actually make this recipe low carb. Sorry Vanessa, I could not resist. BTW, I am writing about the Red Iguana right now with a link to you. I wrote it once and Blogger ate the post. I was using bad words after it happened. I had to go to Costco to cool off. Then when I was there someone used masking tape to alter my bumper sticker (The Bush Legacy - No Child Left a Dime) and put their own message (The Kennedy Legacy - No Child Left a Dime). Can you believe the arrogance? We are not even allowed to have our opinion on our own car according to these people. Needless to say, it did not improve my mood. At times like this I wish I liked to drink.

[BNA]

Oranges and almonds were so meant to be together...this is gorgeous.

And, omg, Kalyn, I cannot believe someone did that to your car's bumper sticker. You definitely need to make a low-carb version of this cake for medicinal relaxation purposes.

[mae]

Vanessa, the picture looks delicious enough for me. I must must must try this one out. SOON!

[Deanna]

I know I'm commenting on a very old post, so you'll probably never see this, but...

I made your orange almond cake recipe for a New Years potluck dinner, and it was such a huge success... everyone loved it, it was delicious! (I drizzled some dark chocolate over the top, which complemented the slightly bitter orange really nicely.)

Thanks for the awesome recipe!

[Maureen Kennedy]

I've been making this recipe for years--found it in a remainder-shelf cookbook by an Australian woman named Skye Sherrod or something (don't have it in front of me). Then years later I remember hearing something about Nigella having a "recipe sharing" relationship with Skye. Interestingly, more recently I read Nigella's Clementine version, where she says "I realised it was more or less Claudia Roden's orange and almond cake." So I'm curious about what's REALLY up. Is this laying a trail away from Skye, or what???

Love the cake--"very adult flavors" my mother says--and perfect now for my celiac-diseased 16 year old son (adult enough for it). I make it with Navels so I avoid having to take out seeds, and with Meyer lemons (on the stove this second!!!).

[Kawshar]

I have been looking for Nigella's receipe for a week and now I have your mouth watering photos.Just too good!
I come from far away and need the receipe in Imperial or Metric measures as I am sure our cups are not same size.Can you please help.I would like to make this cake very very soon.

Also my Eglish is not so good and what is a springform pan.Please help
I am so glad to have come across your receipe

Best Regards
Kawshar

[Kawshar]

I have been looking for Nigella's receipe for a week and now I have your mouth watering photos.Just too good!
I come from far away and need the receipe in Imperial or Metric measures as I am sure our cups are not same size.Can you please help.I would like to make this cake very very soon.

Also my Eglish is not so good and what is a springform pan.Please help
I am so glad to have come across your receipe

Best Regards
Kawshar

[Marion]

Kawshar- a springform pan is a pan with a removable bottom.Try 250 g ground almonds and 250 g sugar.

[Dan]

thank you for the recipe and photos. I easily made it yesterday and it came out great. I even added half a cup of poppy seeds.

My dinners guests throughly enjoyed. Served cake with light sour cream which complimented well and a platter of watermelon. Drink accompanied was a chilled botrytis.

regards

[Mireille]

Hi,
Thank you for the recipe.
I did it and unfortunately, it's way too bitter. My oranges were regular size.
I'm wondering what I did wrong?
Mireille

[Vanessa]

Hi Mireille,
I've discovered that some oranges have thick piths, the white bits below the zest. That's usually the source of bitterness. Oranges with thinner skins (try Cara Caras or something other than navels; unfortunately those living in Florisa or California are at an advantage, otherwise there are specialty food stores) or mandarins or even meyer lemons work well. Hope it works!