Tuesday 21 August 2012

Reminiscence of the: Flourless Orange Cake



Such nice weather on a Winter morning today. Given that I always wake up before sunrise to head to work, I had the privilege to wake up to the bright morning sun and it was soooooooo pleasant! How much I miss sleeping in on a weekday. It’s nearly the end of August and you know what that means...Spring is coming! I’ve never been much of a Winter person. I mean it’s nice to snuggle up in bed, cuddle up with friends, have a hot chocolate every morning, stay beside a fireplace and dress-up in boots and warm trench coats. However, I always look forward to the next few seasons coming up after a good 3 months of the freezing cold winter. Since today is my day off, I thought I’d bake a flourless orange cake as I’ve been craving to bake ever since my visit to Le Petit Gateau.

Citrus-flavoured cakes have never appealed to me but since it was the only cake that vegetarians can have, I ordered it. To be honest, it was one of the least appealing cake to me since I'm a huge chocolate fan and I go crazy over anything garnished with strawberry. I guess this is what you call fate? It was meant to be? The cake was amazingly moist and dense with the almonds bringing out that extra burst of orange flavour and more importantly the cake wasn't overbearing to eat. I loved it. It has done so much justice to citrus-flavoured cakes where I’ve become a mini-fan of it now. I must thank my friend Ham for bringing me to such a cool dessert place. So much dessert porn that you would be just smitten with all the cakes in there. Don’t walk in if you know you might possibly get a blood nose ;) Although there’s a limited number of selections compared to typical cake stores, but seriously a few signature cakes would be enough to keep you coming back.

Unfortunately, I don’t think I can afford to go back every single time. One slice of cake is quite expensive to have in a small, classy, dessert cafe and I'm poor :(  Therefore, I was determined to embark on a search for this recipe. One day I happen to come across Karen’s blog to find the flourless orange cake amongst her recipe index. Not only that but she also has a love for the flourless orange cake...a much more meaningful story than mine you could say. My desires for that cake had risen once again and coincidently, I have more than enough oranges at home that no one in my family ever bothers to eat.

These oranges are little bit different to the typical oranges that you’d see normally. The inside is not orange...it’s red! I would’ve had it mistaken as a mini grapefruit (when cut open) if my mum had not told me that it was an orange. With their close resemblance to the bright shining sun, it gives me all the more reason to come and bake this wondrous cake!

I’ve been a good girl today and started baking in the morning while the sun is still bright and shiny. What caught me by surprise was how liquid the batter was. In my mind I actually thought that this batch was going to fail and I won't be able to have some cake. Luckily, it rose beautifully in the oven. Phiew! But then the cake was probably a bit more moist based on my memories in comparison to Le Petit Gateau's. But it was still good to eat.

Flourless Orange Cake

(adapted from Citrus and Candy)
2 medium oranges, seedless (I used 4 small oranges)
6 eggs
1 cup caster sugar
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 cup almond meal

The water needs to be replaced 3 times so that the oranges don't reabsorb the bitterness that's been seeped into the water. Also the seeds and white pith will need to be removed when cutting up the boiled oranges to avoid any potential bitterness in the cake.
1. Wash and scrub the outside of the oranges and place the whole orange (skin and all) in a pot. Fill with cold water to cover. Place over medium-high heat and bring to boil.
2. Once it's boiled, allow it to simmer for approx. 20mins and replace with cold water and bring it to boil again. Repeat this process once again.
3. On the third round, once the oranges are boiled, let it simmer for about an hour and then drain the oranges. Set them aside to cool.
4. When the oranges have cooled, roughly chop them to pieces and remove any seeds and white pith. Place them in a blender or food processor (skin and all) and blend until you get a fine puree. Measure out 1 1/4 cups of puree and store the rest in a container (if any) for next use.
5. Preheat oven to 175°C. Grease and flour a 23-25cm cake tin. Alternatively, you may line the base with baking paper.
6. Using an electric mixer, beat the eggs, sugar and baking powder until thickened and pale in colour. Add in almond meal and mix well.
7. On low speed, gradually add in the orange puree in 2-3 batches. Beat for at least 20sec after each addition.
8. Pour the batter into the cake tin and bake for 50min ~ 1hr or until when the skewer comes out clean from the cake.
9. Allow the cake to cool for 10min before transferring it to a cooling rack.

Serve with a dollop of cream or whatever you may wish, but in my case it was white chocolate sprinkles.


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