Flourless Orange Cake Recipe
This flourless orange cake recipe is a delicate and moist gluten-free cake bursting with fantastic citrus flavor.
Orange Flourless Cake
Have you ever boiled oranges? I never had.
I’ve boiled their rinds and cut up orange slices for orange marmalade, but I’ve never boiled them whole.
At least, that was until I tried this gluten-free orange cake recipe.
As strange as it may seem to dump a whole orange with the rind on and everything into a pot of boiling water, just know that there’s a method to the madness.
If this recipe for flourless orange cake is any sort of proof of what boiled oranges taste like, then just know that they’re positively delightful.
Flourless Cake
One of the key parts to making a perfect flourless orange cake that has a light and delicate texture is to use almond meal.
Using almond meal, or almond flour, contributes to an incredibly tender crumb. Plus, it’s gluten-free friendly too!
The almond meal also adds a lovely almond fragrance and flavor, making every bite of this orange almond cake pure pleasure for your palate.
To ensure this cake ends up as airy and light as possible, be sure to sift the almond meal and granulated sugar before you mix them into the cake batter.
Orange Cake Recipe: Prepping Ahead
This flourless orange cake recipe requires a bit of advance planning. It’s not quite as simple and quick as something like my lemon ricotta recipe.
The reason for that is that you need to boil the oranges for this recipe for a couple of hours before you actually use them.
If you remember from my orange marmalade recipe, part of the trick to getting rid of the bitterness in oranges is to boil the rind.
It’s a trick I learned from Jacques Pepin, and while I don’t boil the entire orange for marmalade, I do for this recipe.
After the oranges have been boiled, they’re cut up into smaller chunks and tossed into a food processor, effectively puréed.
That’s why you can boil them whole and get away with it.
After that, the recipe is pretty simple to put together like most single layer cake recipes.
A combination of eggs, sugar, puréed boiled oranges, and almond meal make up this flourless orange cake. There is no oil and no butter.
How you may ask? Well, the ground almonds contain fat, which is enough to satisfy that part of the baking formula.
While I can’t call this flourless orange cake a healthy cake, per se, as it does have sugar in it, it’s at least healthier than a cake that would have used regular flour and any butter or oil, so there’s that!
Notes Before Baking:
- When making this cake, be sure to sift your almond meal and granulated sugar to get them as fine as possible. Doing this just helps guarantee the overall lightness and airiness of the cake.
- As strange as it sounds, you’re boiling the entire orange. Then, when you cut it up and add it to the food processor, you’re including all of its membrane, skin, seeds – all parts of the orange!
Orange Almond Flourless Cake
A light and delicate gluten-free orange cake made with almond meal and whole, fresh oranges.
Ingredients
- 2 medium oranges
- 6 eggs
- 265 g granulated sugar, note conversion below, sifted
- 250 g almond meal, note conversion below, sifted
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 4-6 tbsp sliced almonds for sprinkling on top
- powdered sugar to dust on top, optional
- baking spray or softened butter for greasing pan
Instructions
- Place the oranges in a large pot and fill with enough water to cover the oranges. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce to a simmer. Continue simmering for 2 hours. Then, drain the pot and let the oranges cool.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Using a small, sharp knife, carve out the stem/stalk from the oranges. Make the same kind of shallow, small carving on the opposite end of the oranges as well (the bottom of the oranges).
- Cut up the oranges (WITH the rind, seeds, membranes and all) into chunks and place in a food processor. Pulse until you've got a purée, and the only pieces of orange rind you see are the tiny specks; set aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk the sugar and eggs together until combined. Add in the orange purée and whisk. Add the vanilla and whisk again to mix. To the wet mixture, add the almond meal and baking powder. Mix until it's all combined well.
- Grease a 10 inch springform pan (or an equally deep pan) with baking spray (or softened butter). Pour the batter into your pan before sprinkling the top with sliced almonds. Bake the cake for approximately 1 hour and 10 minutes, checking on the cake at the 1 hour mark. Poke a toothpick in the center to check for readiness; it should come out with little to no crumbs.
- Let the cake rest in the pan for 10 minutes before lifting the edges of the springform pan off the cake. Let it cool to room temperature, then dust the top with powdered sugar.
Notes
If you have a scale, please use it for this recipe! If not, please note the following conversion:
260 grams of sugar = approx. 1 1/3 cups
250 grams of almond meal = approx. 2.6 cups or a scant 2 2/3 cups
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 10 Serving Size: 10 ServingsAmount Per Serving: Calories: 457Total Fat: 25gSaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 20gCholesterol: 115mgSodium: 102mgCarbohydrates: 51gFiber: 6gSugar: 43gProtein: 13g
This recipe is so much fun! After making it once, the following time I added a drop or two of rose water and a spoonful of mango purée. Another time I added a handful of dessicated coconut and some dissolved saffron. I preferred regular flour to almond flour in this recipe, but it is a KEEPER! Just don’t futz with it too much since it’s texture depends on the right balance of leavening agents and flavor.
Thank you for the kind comment, Ellen! Love the addition of rose water 🙂
Fab ideas!
I am an Airbnb host and this cake, along with a French press, is a favorite! If you run out of time, grab some mango purée and dessicated coconut at the Indian grocery. Sometimes they also have crushed nuts. If you’re really crazy use yellow cake mix, orange blossom water, and extra eggs.
Are the oranges boiled whole, or do I cut into pieces first?
The recipe sounds delightful, but need that clarification first.
Thanks
Hello! You’ll want to boil them whole first. 🙂
Hello, this cake looks divine!
I wanted to know if you use a hand held mixer or just a plain old whisk to combine the sugar and eggs?
And depending on what you use, how long should the sugar and eggs be beat or whisked … A minute, 5 minutes,?
Hi Diana! It’s entirely up to you! 🙂 I usually just beat sugar and eggs together until they’re thick and paler than starting, but honestly I can never really detect a major difference in texture by whisking for 1 min vs 2,3 etc. especially in cakes like this! 🙂
Beat those eggs like they owe you money!
Can I make this cake the day before?
Hi Elize, yes you can! 🙂
Hi, thanks for that wonderful recipe! I was wondering if I can use xylitol or allulose instead of regular sugar.
Hi Carlos, I don’t see why not! I’m not very familiar with using xylitol as a sugar substitute in baking, but from what I’ve read, it seems to be used 1:1. Hope it works out, please let me know! 🙂
this cake looks divine. I will try it next January/February when my orange tree fruits. Looking forward to it!
Merci beaucoup
I hope you enjoy Verdi! Thank you for the comment <3
Hi, I just put the cake in oven – i hope it turns out as beautiful as yours did. I will let you know.
Thanks, Linda Shapiro
Thank you, Linda! I hope you enjoy <3