I know I haven’t written in a long time and was hoping to be in my new kitchen a long time ago, unfortunately, the pandemic that’s gripped us all means its not quite finished.  But please do not dismay as I have been cooking, as many of you see in my instagram feed .

With everyone staying indoors, people have taken to either learning a new skill or resurrecting a faded passion.  Most have taken to baking – hence the flour-crisis hitting our local food stores.

BUT HAVE NO FEAR – this flourless orange and almond cake will banish any cake-pangs that may have been growing in your house and will keep children (young and old) happy, even if for just a few minutes!

Flourless Orange and Almond Cake

Ingredients:

2 large oranges
6 large eggs
225g ground almonds
225g caster sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder

Method:

1st: Wash the oranges and simmer, unpeeled in water for 2 hours or until a knife can be pushed through the peel with no resistance.

2nd: Allow them to cool, cut them open to remove the seeds and the green stalky part.  Puree the oranges in a food processor.

3rd: Preheat an oven to 190ºC (175ºC for fan assisted ovens). 

4th: Add the remaining ingredients to the food processor and mix thoroughly.  This can also be done easily in a large bowl.

5th: Pour the mixture into a buttered and floured cake tin with a spring form base (I used a 20cm/8 inch springform cake tin).

6th: Bake for approx 50mins until a knife inserted in the centre comes out clean.  Allow to cool in the cake tin before turning it out and cooling on a wire rack.

The diameter of your cake pan, size of the oranges and your oven’s temperature accuracy will all determine how long this cake should be baked for.  Remember that this is a moist cake but cooked all the way through.   

The cake easily doubles up as a dessert should you wish to serve it after a meal with vanilla ice cream on the side or as the base to a fruity trifle.