Whole Orange Cake is a light, moist, gluten free cake bursting with flavour of orange. Whole oranges, including the rind are used to make this unique and impressive cake.
Memories
Pre Covid time my cousin’s son just about 3½ years old had come to Nairobi to spend his holidays with his grandparents, my aunt and uncle. A shy and quiet boy, well back then, he instantly got talking to me which surprised my aunt. I had two weeks with him, playing games, him wanting me to stand by as he rode his scooter and loads of questions and answers. One day we were talking about cakes and he so proudly told me that his paternal grandma made the best orange cake. Had to know what was so special about the cake that impressed a toddler. His grandma informed me that she got the recipe from the internet, by Recipe Tin Eats.
I checked out the recipe and made the cake twice when I got back home to Mombasa. During Covid time exports to Europe were affected. That meant we got the best of fruits from South Africa and that included oranges. Not that the local Voi oranges are bad. I made the cake using both the South African Navel Oranges and the Voi Oranges. Both gave excellent results. After that, have made the cake a couple of times to celebrate birthdays or anniversaries.
Talking about oranges, it is unbelievable the amount of fresh orange iced tea I made with the abundance of oranges available. Best ever cold drink to beat the heat.
Sharing This Recipe With 2024 Alphabet Challenge Group
If you’ve been following me, then you must have seen my contribution so far for the Alphabet Challenge Group, initiated by Wendy. So far have loved the different recipes that participants have come up with for each letter. Letter O as such is not a difficult one as quite a few ingredients begin with the letter. Oats, olives, oranges, Oreo, onion, okra, oil, oregano, oolong, etc. As for dish names, we have omelette, obbattu which is a South Indian Sweet flatbread stuffed with cooked lentils, coconut and jaggery.
I had baked the Whole Orange Cake for hubby’s birthday which falls on Christmas Day. However, I didn’t get time to post the recipe after Christmas. Perhaps it was meant to be shared for the Alphabet Challenge.
The Alphabet Challenge Journey So Far
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Some Recipes With O On My Blog – Please Check Them Out
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We need whole fresh oranges. And no, fresh orange juice is not the substitute. The total weight of the oranges should be approx. 600g. Can be a little less or more. I usually buy 3-4 oranges of different sizes and weight them at home to nearly 600g. Wash the oranges thoroughly. I like to soak them in water for 15-20 minutes to remove any dirt. Boil the oranges in enough water for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes discard the water. Add fresh water. Boil the water. 10 minutes begin from the time the water boils. This is done three times in total. This process removes bitterness from the oranges. I allow the discarded water to cool and then use it for the plants.
The boiled oranges are allowed to cool for a bit. Chop them up roughly. Remove any seeds if there are any. Puree the oranges in a blender to a marmalade like consistency.
Shortcut Method: Allow the oranges to boil for 40 minutes without draining out the water. Keep an eye that the water level does not go down. I prefer the three times boiling method as the oranges become less bitter.
Almond Meal | Almond Flour
Can use either as the only difference is that almond meal is made from unpeeled almonds while the flour is made from blanched and peeled almonds. If you make the almond meal at home, sieve or sift it to remove whole almonds and larger pieces. I have used ready made almond flour.
Eggs
Need 6 large eggs for this cake. I have not tried and egg free version so cannot comment on that.
Caster Sugar
Use caster sugar or sugar which does not have large crystals. Don’t replace it with icing or powdered sugar.
Baking Powder
Leavening agent, helps the cake to rise.
Water
Enough tap water to boil the oranges
WHOLE ORANGE CAKE
mayurisjikoni
Whole Orange Cake is a light, moist, gluten free cake bursting with flavour of orange. Whole oranges, including the rind are used to make this unique and impressive cake.
Put washed whole oranges in a deep saucepan. Top it with enough tap water. The oranges should be covered with the water.
Place the pan over medium heat. Allow the water to come to a boil.
Allow the oranges to boil for 10 minutes.
Drain out the water from the saucepan. Add fresh tap water.
Bring the water to a boil. Allow the oranges to boil for 10 minutes.
Discard the water and repeat the process. In total we will be boiling the oranges thrice for 10 minutes.
COOL AND CHOP THE ORANGES
Allow the boiled oranges to cool a bit.
Roughly chop them up with the rind. Remove any seeds if there are any.
PREHEAT THE OVEN
Preheat the oven to 160℃.
Line the bottom of a 9 inch cake tin with some parchment paper.
BLENDING THE BOILED ORANGES
Add the roughly chopped oranges in a blender jug. Puree to a marmalade like consistency. Don't make it smooth completely. Leave some bits of oranges.
Add the almond meal, baking powder, eggs and sugar.
Blend for a few seconds to mix.
BAKE THE CAKE
Pour the batter in the prepared tin. Level the top if required.
Bake the cake for 55-60 minutes. The cake should appear golden in colour.
Insert a toothpick in the middle of the cake. It should appear clean.
COOL THE CAKE
Allow the cake to cool down completely in the tin. Don't try and remove it when it is warm as it may break.
TOPPING
Add any topping of your choice like orange slices, rind, candied rind, dried oranges, fruits like pomegranate, blueberries, or decorate with some flowers.
The cake tastes so good on its own. However, if you want to then serve it with some whipped fresh cream or sweetened Greek yogurt.
Notes
Make sure you boil the oranges 3 times to remove the bitterness.
Use fresh succulent oranges.
Allow the cake to cool down completely in the cake tin before removing it.
Any leftover cake should be stored in the fridge as the cake is very moist.
Don't blend the mixture too much after adding the almond meal or flour.
The weight of the whole oranges should be approximately 600g. Can be a bit more or less.
If you do try this recipe then please either
add a comment below,
send a picture to my email mayuri.ajay.patel62@gmail.com
tag me as #mayuri_jikoni on Instagram
or comment on Pinterest @mayuri62
Just in case we haven’t met before I’m Mayuri Patel from the coastal sunny town of Mombasa. In fact more of a global citizen now as I spend time between Canada and India. I’m the creator and writer of Mayuri’s Jikoni. Jikoni is kitchen in Kiswahili. Love cooking up a storm in my jikoni. When I’m not in the jikoni then you may find me reading fiction books, watching romantic movies, listening to Bollywood songs or enjoying God’s creation, nature. If my recipes can inspire you to cook at home then my job is done here. Cook up a storm in your kitchen with easy to follow vegetarian recipes right from soups to desserts.
Thanks Wendy, this is the first recipe I have tried from Recipe Tin Eats and love how clear the instructions are. I will be checking out more recipes from that blog.
Oh, this would be lovely with Cara oranges! And they have such a nice, thin skin too. I have whole citrus fruit cakes pinned but have not actually tried one yet and this looks so wonderful.
This cake is so gorgeous! And I love your story too! You must be the shy chile whisperer, lol! Interesting about how you had an abundance of oranges during that time. Again, beautiful!
This is very similar to the clementine almond cake I make with a recipe from Nigella Lawson. So moist and so good! Plus the house smells wonderful as the oranges simmer away.
14 Comments
Wendy Klik
July 17, 2024 at 6:16 am
I have made several recipes from Recipe Tin Eats and each has been amazing. I’m sure this gorgeous cake is scrumptious.
mayurisjikoni
July 18, 2024 at 3:44 pm
Thanks Wendy, this is the first recipe I have tried from Recipe Tin Eats and love how clear the instructions are. I will be checking out more recipes from that blog.
Jolene
July 17, 2024 at 11:56 am
I remember having cake like this at my Italian grandma’s house growing up! Looks beautiful too!
mayurisjikoni
July 18, 2024 at 3:39 pm
Thank you so much Jolene. I have read about the Italian version which I want to try. I think it uses all purpose flour.
hobby baker Kelly
July 17, 2024 at 12:35 pm
Oh, this would be lovely with Cara oranges! And they have such a nice, thin skin too. I have whole citrus fruit cakes pinned but have not actually tried one yet and this looks so wonderful.
mayurisjikoni
July 18, 2024 at 3:36 pm
Thanks Kelly, do try out the cake, am sure you’ll impress your family and friends.
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Karen’s Kitchen Stories
July 17, 2024 at 8:26 pm
This cake is so gorgeous! And I love your story too! You must be the shy chile whisperer, lol! Interesting about how you had an abundance of oranges during that time. Again, beautiful!
mayurisjikoni
July 18, 2024 at 3:35 pm
Thank you so much Karen.
Stacy
July 18, 2024 at 1:14 pm
This is very similar to the clementine almond cake I make with a recipe from Nigella Lawson. So moist and so good! Plus the house smells wonderful as the oranges simmer away.
mayurisjikoni
July 18, 2024 at 3:28 pm
Thanks Stacy and you’re absolutely right, the house smells so good.Going to try the clementine version this winter.
Radha
July 20, 2024 at 4:55 pm
YUM! Love the flavors of orange and almond in this gorgeous cake and by the way looking at this gorgeous cake, I’m craving for a slice right now.
mayurisjikoni
July 24, 2024 at 7:51 pm
Thank you so much Radha.