Gluten-Free Flourless Orange and Almond Cake

Perfectly moist and delicious, this Gluten-Free Flourless Orange and Almond Cake ticks all the boxes. Serve with vanilla bean infused double cream for an indulgent treat. 

I must admit that I don’t do a whole lot of gluten-free cooking. There’s no-one in my house who is gluten-free, so it’s not really high on the agenda. But then there’s THIS cake. Yep, this cake makes me want to eat gluten-free for the rest of my life. Say hello to the most super-yummy and citrusy Gluten-Free Flourless Orange and Almond Cake. This is one cake that you want to meet and then meet again and again.

I’ve been making a similar gluten-free orange and almond cake for years (it has the best orange syrup over the top… drool!), but this time I wanted to try something new. I wanted to keep the awesomeness of the original cake, but make it even better by adding flaked almonds on top (if you’ve ever tried my Gluten-Free Lemon & Ricotta Cake, you’ll know all about my love of almonds on top!).

And because I wanted to use almonds on top, I also wanted them to stay crunchy (because that’s totally how almonds should be!). This meant that I had to kiss goodbye to my syrup, which made me very sad… but then I totally made up for it by sprinkling icing sugar over the top AND adding a huge dollop of vanilla bean double cream. Mmm absolutely delicious!

So now I’m really torn over which of the two cakes is my favourite gluten-free flourless orange and almond cake. Both are SO good in their own sweet, sweet ways. I have to say that if you’re going to be taking a cake somewhere, then I think this version pips the syrup version at the post… mainly because you don’t have to deal with syrup and cars (which is never a good combination!).

You can serve this cake warm or cold – and honestly, it’s insanely good either way. I also decided to make a vanilla bean infused double cream to serve with the cake. It’s so easy. You just add a little bit of icing sugar and vanilla bean paste to a container of thick double cream. Give it all a really good stir and pop it into a serving bowl along with some grated orange zest (totally optional… but again… SO good!).

xx

Gluten-Free Flourless Orange and Almond Cake

Perfectly moist and delicious, this Gluten-Free Flourless Orange and Almond Cake ticks all the right boxes (and so many more!). Serve with orange and vanilla bean infused double cream for an indulgent treat.

5 from 3 votes

Print Pin Rate

Course: sweet

Cuisine: Cake

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour

Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes

Servings: 12 serves

Calories: 350kcal

Author: Lucy - Bake Play Smile

Ingredients

• 2 navel oranges
• 6 eggs
• 250 g caster sugar
• 250 g almond meal
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 50 g flaked almonds
• 2 tbs icing sugar for sprinkling

For the cream

• 250 g thick double cream
• 1 tsp vanilla bean paste
• 2 tbs icing sugar
• grated orange zest to decorate

Instructions

Conventional Method

• Wash the navel oranges and place into a large pot.
• Cover with water and bring to the boil on the stovetop for 2 hours (add more water during this time).
• Remove the oranges from the water and allow to cool completely (they'll be nice and soft).
• Preheat oven to 160 degrees celsius (fan-forced). 
• Grease and line the base and sides of a 22cm springform pan with baking paper and set aside.
• Cut the ends off the oranges and discard.
• Chop the cooled oranges into pieces and place into a food processor.
• Process until completely smooth and no lumps remain. Set aside.
• Beat the eggs and caster sugar in a large bowl until pale and frothy (about 2 minutes on high using hand-held beaters).
• Add the orange puree and stir through.
• Add the almond meal and baking powder and stir through.
• Pour the mixture into the prepared baking tin.
• Sprinkle the flaked almonds over the top of the cake.
• Bake for 60 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the middle comes out with just a few crumbs on it.
• Allow to cool completely in the tin (preferably place it into the fridge overnight.
• Sprinkle with icing sugar just before serving.
• To make the vanilla bean double cream, place the cream, vanilla bean paste and icing sugar into a bowl. Mix together until well combined.
• Spoon into a serving dish. Sprinkle with grated orange zest.

Thermomix Method

• Wash the navel oranges and place into a large pot. Cover with water and bring to the boil on the stovetop for 2 hours (add more water during this time). Remove the oranges from the water and allow to cool completely (they'll be nice and soft).
• Preheat oven to 160 degrees celsius (fan-forced). Grease and line the base and sides of a 22cm springform pan with baking paper and set aside.
• Cut the ends off the oranges and discard.
• Chop the cooled oranges into pieces and place into the TM bowl. Slowly increase to Speed 7 and continue to process until completely smooth (you'll need to scrape down the sides of the bowl occasionally). Set aside in a separate bowl.
• Clean and dry the TM bowl. Add the eggs and caster sugar and mix on Speed 5 for 30 seconds.
• Add the orange puree and mix on Speed 5 for 10 seconds.
• Add the almond meal and baking powder and mix on Reverse, Speed 3 for 20 seconds.
• Pour the mixture into the prepared baking tin.
• Sprinkle the flaked almonds over the top of the cake. Bake for 60 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the middle comes out with just a few crumbs on it.
• Allow to cool completely in the tin (preferably place it into the fridge overnight.
• Sprinkle with icing sugar just before serving.
• To make the vanilla bean double cream, place the cream, vanilla bean paste and icing sugar into the Thermomix bowl. Mix on Reverse, Speed 3 until well combined and smooth.
• Spoon into a serving dish. Sprinkle with grated orange zest and crushed pistachios.

Notes

RECIPE NOTES

Whole orange cake recipe - this cake is made using whole oranges (including the peel!). The oranges are boiled until soft and then pureed into a smooth paste. 

Boiling time - boil the oranges for 2 hours before chopping into pieces and pureeing until smooth. 

Type of orange - if possible, choose navel oranges which are seedless, juicy and bright in colour. If you can’t find seedless oranges, remove the seeds once the oranges have been boiled and chopped up. 

Almond meal - you can buy packets of pre-made almond meal from the nuts section of any supermarket. Almond meal is the same as ground almonds – so you can always make your own almond meal by grounding whole almonds if you prefer. 

Browning - If you notice that your cake is browning too much, simply place a sheet of foil loosely over the top and continue to cook. 

Springform tin - we recommend using a greased and lined springform tin. This allows the dense cake to be easily removed after baking and doesn’t;t disturb the flaked almonds on top. If you don’t have a springform tin, you can use a well greased and lined cake tin (with the base and sides lined with baking paper) and very carefully remove the cake once it’s cooled. 

Storing and serving - this cake can be kept in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days or frozen for up to 2 months. Serve at room temperature or warmed up slightly (it’s delicious with whipped cream on the side too!). 

 

Nutrition

Calories: 350kcal | Carbohydrates: 33g | Protein: 9g | Fat: 22g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Cholesterol: 110mg | Sodium: 41mg | Potassium: 154mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 27g | Vitamin A: 485IU | Vitamin C: 13.9mg | Calcium: 108mg | Iron: 1.4mg

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