Tangy orangey gluten free cake

Tangy orangey gluten free cake

Apparently this week is “Afternoon Tea Week” and before this became my knowledge at the weekend I did something very rare: I baked a cake.
Restricting my sugar intake for health reasons has never been a problem for me since I definitely not possess a sweet tooth. But for some mysterious reason on Saturday I woke up determined to bake. And in the evening I caught up with the first episode of ‘Bake Off’.

In search for inspiration I landed on MsMarmiteLover‘s great blog, found a recipe for a gluten free almond and orange cake, and decided to make it myself. The only thing I changed from her recipe is adding dark rum instead of Cointreau, and using a bit more water and baking powder. Surprisingly for someone who hardly ever bakes, it worked brilliantly.

Here is how I did it.

Serves 6:

2 oranges, whole
2 oranges, thinly sliced
1 vanilla bean, scraped out
200g caster sugar
200ml water
A generous swig of rum
3 eggs
200g caster sugar
300g ground almonds
2 tsp baking powder
a tiny knob of butter
a sprinkle of flour

Method:

Simmer two oranges in a covered saucepan for one hour. Then take off the heat, put them in a food processor and blend.
While the oranges are cooking, slice the other two oranges and caramelise them with the vanilla , sugar and water in a wok or wide saucepan. About 15 to 20 minutes on medium heat should be enough. Then turn off the heat, add the rum and leave to the side.

Preheat the oven to 180º. In a bowl mix the eggs, sugar, almonds and baking powder. Add the blended orange pulp and mix again until you obtain a a uniform batter. Prepare a 26cm cake by greasing it with butter and sprinkling to with flour. Line the orange slices at the bottom, leaving the syrup for later, and then cover with cake mix. Cook for about 50 minutes until the top darkens to a dark orange glow, slightly burnt in places.

Remove from the oven, place a plate on top of the cake tin and flip it quickly so the orange slices remain on top. If the cake doesn’t come down right away, run a knife along the tin edges and around the base. That should be enough to detach it.  If necessary, thicken the caramel and rum mix slightly by boiling it further, then pour over the top.

Enjoy with a cup of tea and ‘Bake Off’. Or however you like.

Carolina Stupino

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