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October 9, 2012

Whole Orange Almond Cake

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It's incredibly gratifying to watch peoples' expressions when they eat my desserts.  It usually starts with a gasp after it is first revealed, as I like to present cakes and such on clean, sophisticated plateware (you eat with your eyes first, right?).  I sometimes hear an "eep!" from excitement when I set the plate down.  I soon see a grin that stretches from ear to ear after the first bite is taken.  I love it most when someone actually closes their eyes.  It is like a short-lived, yet personal bonding moment between them and their tastebuds.

But nearly every. single. time... someone will say, "Oh my gosh this has got to be packed with calories," or "Thank goodness I worked out this morning!"


I am always a little shocked, especially if it's a family member who says it.  Like, don't you know who I am?  I'm the household food police!  You want those Oreos?  I glare at you and list off every single ingredient I hate, why I hate it and why you should too.

So when my mother huddled over a slice of this cake and said, "Oh no, if I keep eating I won't be able to fit into my pants tomorrow ...  *takes bite*  ... but I can't stop, it's so good!"  I was speechless.  I rolled my eyes, picked my chin up off the floor and said "MOM, this is goood for youuu."  After I listed off the ingredients, she stopped hunching over her plate like a bear over her cub and proudly strut to the dinner table, healthy dessert in hand.


A superbly soft and moist cake that... has no oil or butter?  Yes.
A perfectly sweet cake that... has no sugar added?  Yes.
An incredibly decadent cake that is... cholesterol-free and lowers cholesterol?  Really?  Oh yes.
This is heaven on a plate for your tastebuds (and your waistline too)!


Whole Orange Almond Cake:  [sugar free, high fiber/protein, GF]
(makes one 8" cake)

     2 Oranges, preferably organic (mine were both 10" in circumference)
     1 cup Egg Whites
     1/2 tsp Almond Flavor (optional)
     192g (2 cups) Almond Flour
     120g (1 cup) Oat Flour
     192g (1 cup) Granulated Erythritol (or dry sweetener of choice)
     2 tsp Baking Powder

Directions:
1.  Wash the oranges thoroughly then pierce all over with a knife.  Place the oranges in a large pot and cover with water.  Bring this to a full boil, then lower the heat to medium/low-low and cover.  Simmer for one hour (oranges should be very soft and tender), drain and let cool slightly.  Cut the oranges into quarters, discard all seeds and puree in a blender.
2.  Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
3.  In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together the almond flour, oat flour, erythritol and baking powder.
4.  In a large bowl, add the orange puree, egg whites and almond flavor.  Whisk this well.
5.  Grease an 8" cake pan with oil (I used a lightly colored pan)
6.  Dump the dry ingredients over the wet and fold together.  Make sure there are no clumps.  Pour batter into prepared pan and bake for ~62 minutes, or until surface of cake springs back when touched.  Cool cake in pan for about 30 minutes, then flip onto a wire cooling rack, leaving pan over top for another 30 minutes.  Remove pan and let cool completely.  Slice and serve!

Notes:
1.  I used 2 organic navel oranges.  After pureeing, they measured 2 cups (465g)
2.  I pulsed almonds in my food processor until it turned into a flour.  I used one cup storebought almond flour and one cup homemade almond flour (for texture, freshness, etc)
3.  I sifted powdered erythritol over the cake for nice presentation


Talk about a decadent yet guilt free dessert!

28 comments:

  1. I truly love your blog and your recipes! What might you recommend to replace oat flour if you're on a grain/gluten free diet? Might coconut flour work the same? Or more almond flour? I'm just starting out on this eating healthy/Paleo lifestyle so I don't know all the little tricks of the flours just yet. Thanks!

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    1. Thanks! I haven't tried this recipe with other flours but you can try using sorghum flour, hazelnut flour or more almond flour :)

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  2. Ever creative, Jessica :) Omnomnom.
    Question - how do you think erythritol compares to xylitol and stevia-based sweeteners? Especially with the latter, I find it difficult to bulk up recipes. What's your solution?

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    1. Hi Mila! I have never used xylitol or sweeteners like it, but as long as it measures cup-for-cup like sugar, it should work. Many xylitol brands do nowadays.

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  3. Oh my Jessica, I could eat this whole cake at once I think. I'm crazy for anything 'orange' and cake....especially when it's guilt free :) I may have to drizzle some dark chocolate on top though. Wonderful idea!

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    1. Mmmm the chocolate drizzle sounds amazing, I can't believe I never thought about that (shame on me)!!

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  4. Ooh, I need to make this soon. My mom makes this orange cake from this chef named Christy Jordan (who uses so much oil, butter, and sugar in her recipes it isn't even funny) and now I can show her that delicious orange cake with REAL oranges, not artifically-flavored processed crap!

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    1. Thanks Caroline! If your mother is used to the intense orange flavor of the typical sugary cakes, feel free to add 1 tsp of orange oil or 1/2 tsp orange extract. This isn't the kind of cake that slaps you in the face with sugar or medicinal-tasting flavorings ;) I hope you guys like it!
      -Jess

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    2. I'll definitely try the orange extract... I need to stock up on extracts anyway before the winter baking season gets here! :)

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    3. I forgot to comment after trying it! *derp.* Anyways, we all loved it with the orange extract and my homemade almond and oat flours! I also may have had multiple slices as one dessert... :)

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    4. Yay I'm so glad you liked it! And the cake is so healthy, it's basically a REQUIREMENT to grab an extra slice ;)

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  5. this looks amazing. I can tell from the picture that it has that moist texture I like.

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    1. Thanks Shannon! It's super moist, dense and awesomely delicious ;)

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  6. Beautiful and delicious looking as usual! :) But geez Jessica, just how many cakes do you actually bake in a week to come up with so many awesome recipes?

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    1. Thanks Sonia! I actually baked this cake a few weeks ago but just got around to posting the recipe now ;)

      It's crazy though, I have an 8-page Word document of recipe ideas, recipes I've bookmarked, recipes I've already created and am waiting for a chance to make, and recipes that I've already made but need improvement... it's like a giant baking to-do list, except this is actually a FUN to-do list!

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  7. I'm guessing, since they're not beaten into a froth, that the recipe calls for egg whites instead of whole eggs in order to reduce fat and calories?

    Would you think that the cake would work as well with vegan egg replacers?

    It looks fabulous!

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    Replies
    1. I used egg whites instead of whole eggs to keep the recipe cholesterol free, as my family has high cholesterol. Egg yolks can be healthy in moderation, yet my parents still refuse to eat them.

      I've tried this recipe using flax eggs, but sadly, I didn't get a very good result :/ It was very heavy, dense and lumpy. It didn't rise and wasn't very appealing to look at either :(
      You can try making the recipe vegan by using 1/2 cup of flax eggs, 1/2 cup of Ener-G egg replacer "eggs" and increase the baking powder to 1 tablespoon. Just note that the flavor of the cake will change, but you can always drizzle the slices with agave or spread orange fruit spread on them!

      Hope this works out for you, tell me if it does!
      -Jess :)

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  8. Such a great, healthy recipe for those with a sweet tooth :)

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  9. This Is a very intresting recipe, favorited.. Will try soon

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  10. So pretty. I've heard this recipe from my roommate's sister and I guess I should really try it. Thanks for sharing the recipe. I almost forgot trying this one.

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  11. Yummy, I have to try this!
    justbeyourselfbypetra.blogspot.cz

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  12. This cake looks absolutely devine! I bet it tasted fantastic as well :)

    Chloe & Sarah

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  13. I LOVE reading your blog! Everything looks so yummy and healthy! I don't have almond flour...do you think I can use regular flour for the same moist dense results? Thanks!

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    1. Hi there! Almond flour is a key ingredient. You can probably use hazelnut flour or other nut meal, but I have only made this cake with almond flour+oat flour. You don't need to buy almond flour if you don't want to, you can just pulse a bunch of almonds until flour-like in your blender or food processor :)

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  14. I made you cake last week as my both sons are amateur boxers and need to keep weight, so food in our house is extremely healthy. It was fantastic to be able to eat a nice moist cake with hardly any calories. A million THANK YOU's is not enough! regards Diane , Sydney Australia

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    1. I'm so glad you made my cake Diane! I hope your sons do well in boxing, tell them good luck for me :)
      -Jess

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  15. This looks amazing but I do have a question. You wrote that your oranges were 10" in diameter. Where in the world do you find an orange that is 10 inches in diameter?

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    1. OMG how embarrassing! Silly me, I meant 10" in CIRCUMFERENCE! *smacks self in head*
      Sorry for the confusion, I must have forgotten my coffee that day...

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