Incredibly Moist, Flavorful and Easy: Whole Orange-Almond Cake

Whole Orange-Almond Cake is incredibly moist and flavorful, and it’s gluten-free! It’s made with whole oranges (peel included) to deliver a burst of citrus in every bite. Bonus: It comes together easily in a food processor, making it a simple yet impressive dessert.

Happy Thursday!

I’m back as promised with a recipe for Whole Orange Cake seen at my

Citrus-Infused Flower Arrangement & Table to Brighten Winter!

The original recipe for this whole orange cake is attributed to James Beard Award winner Claudia Roden and her cookbook, A Book of Middle Eastern Food.  I’ve seen lots of versions of this recipe online and was intrigued by the whole oranges in this cake! Plus, I was all in when I saw a method calling for throwing all the ingredients together in the food processor! As there is no gluten in almond flour, your cake will stay tender without the fear of overmixing when whirling your ingredients around in food processor.

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I’ve made this cake several times. The first time was last summer, thinking it would be a refreshing and easy summer dessert. It would, but I didn’t take into account that the oranges sitting in the grocery store in July are out of season, dry and flavorless. Since oranges are a key ingredient, you want to use fresh and juicy oranges at their peak of freshness, which makes winter in the U.S. the perfect time of year to make this cake.

The recipe calls for using two whole medium-sized oranges, (about 3 inches in diameter) peel and all. The oranges become ‘jammy’ after boiling, which extracts the bitterness of the pith and peel. This contributes to the cake’s moist texture, which reminds me of a Tres Leches Cake. This first time I made this cake, I used a regular 9” cake pan. Because this cake is so moist, it’s hard to remove from the pan without wrecking it, which is why I recommend a springform pan.

Besides being so moist, what I also love about this cake is that it isn’t overly sweet and is healthy-ish, requiring just a few ingredients:

🍊 Whole fresh oranges

🍊 Almond flour or almond meal (which is ground almonds, see note below about difference)  

🍊 Sugar

🍊 Eggs

🍊 Baking powder (make sure it’s gluten free if you’re making this as a gluten free cake)

🍊 A touch of pure almond extract if have some in your pantry

You can serve it with a simple dusting of confectioners’ sugar or for additional sweetness, add a tangy Cream Cheese-Orange Glaze.

I used Cara Cara oranges that are sweet (and pink!) available December – March, with the peak season January – February, in the U.S. The peel and pith of Cara Cara oranges is thinner than a navel or Valencia orange, which is a plus when it comes to boiling/softening. I’ve seen recipes for whole orange cake with varying times for boiling oranges, ranging from 30 minutes to 2 hours. I split the difference and boiled mine for 1 hour. The longer the fruit boils, the less bitter it will be. Salted water also helps reduce the bitterness. You can do this a day in advance and refrigerate your oranges until ready to bake your cake.

There is no butter or oil in this cake. The cake’s richness comes from the eggs and almond flour, eliminating the need for additional fats. It does require 6 eggs which seems like an indulgence in an era of eggflation, but the 6 eggs provide structure for the cake and help emulsify the ingredients. If you use extra-large eggs, you can use 5 eggs.

Whole Orange-Almond Cake Ingredients

2 medium fresh, seedless oranges (about 3” in diameter) with rind on

1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder

6 large eggs, at room temperature

1 1/4 cups granulated sugar or orange sugar (recommended, see below)

2 3/4 cups almond flour or almond meal, spooned and leveled

1/4 teaspoon pure almond extract (optional, but recommended)

Powdered sugar for dusting

Orange Sugar

This is a great way to infuse additional citrus flavor in your baked goods, using lemons or oranges -> see my Lemon Sugar in Lemon Pistachio Zucchini Bread. I added orange sugar the second time I made this cake which was noteworthy, taking just a couple of minutes to do!  

🍊 1 1/4 cups granulated sugar

🍊 1 medium *organic orange, washed and dried; peel only, no white pith

*Note: If using non-organic oranges, soak in warm water with 2 teaspoons of baking soda for a minute to remove any chemical residue on peel.

Wash and dry the orange. Peel using a serrated peeler, avoiding the bitter white pith.

In a food processor, combine sugar and orange peel. Process until the zest is fully incorporated, and the sugar is fragrant and orange-colored, about a minute. Use immediately or store in a resealable bag in the refrigerator.

To Make the Cake:

🍊 Boil the Oranges: Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Wash the oranges and boil them for an hour until very soft, with pot covered. Drain, cool, and cut into quarters, removing any seeds. This can be done a day ahead, storing the cooled oranges in the refrigerator.

🍊 Preheat the oven to 325°F. Grease and line the bottom of a 9″ springform pan with parchment paper for easy removal.

🍊 In a food processor fitted with a steel blade, puree the oranges until mostly smooth with a few rind bits. Add the orange sugar, pulsing to combine.

🍊 Mix the Batter: Add eggs and almond extract, pulsing to mix. Add almond flour and baking powder, pulsing until the batter is well blended.

🍊 Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake for 60 minutes, checking after 45 minutes for overbrowning; if needed, tent the cake with foil. The cake is done when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

🍊 Cool and Serve: Cool the cake completely in the pan.

Add cream-glaze if desired, or simply dust with powdered sugar. Garnish with orange slices or peel if desired.

Optional Cream Cheese-Orange Glaze

4 oz. cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup powdered sugar, sifted

2–4 tablespoons orange juice

To Make the Glaze

Mix softened cream cheese with powdered sugar until smooth. Gradually add orange juice until reaching the desired consistency.

Storage

With or without the Cream Cheese Glaze, store this cake in the refrigerator, as it is very moist. I find that the flavor improves as it ages and is good chilled. Enjoy within 5 days for best flavor.

Optional decoration:

Cut thin slices of oranges with rind on, and cut a slit to the middle. Twist and place on the cake, as shown. I used this Citrus Peeler/Zester to make strips of orange rind for the cake.

Either almond flour or almond meal can be used to make this cake with the differences noted below:

While both almond meal and almond flour are made from ground almonds, the key difference is that almond flour is made from blanched (skinned) almonds, resulting in a finer texture and lighter color compared to almond meal, which is typically made from unpeeled almonds and retains the skins, giving it a coarser texture and darker appearance; almond meal will yield denser baked goods with a slightly nuttier, more notable almond flavor with almond flour will give a lighter texture.

Print Recipe

Whole Orange-Almond Cake

This delightful Whole Orange-Almond Cake is incredibly moist and flavorful, and it's gluten-free! It's made with whole oranges (peel included) to deliver a burst of citrus in each bite. Bonus: It comes together easily in a food processor, making it a simple yet impressive dessert. Makes a 9-inch cake.

Prep Time5 minutes mins

Cook Time2 hours hrs

Total Time2 hours hrs 5 minutes mins

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Keyword: almond flour, food processor cake, gluten free, lactose free, whole orange cake

Servings: 12 servings

Equipment

• food processor
• 9" springform pan

Ingredients

Cake Ingredients

• 2 medium oranges fresh and seedless, with rind on, about 3” in diameter
• 1 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 6 large eggs at room temperature (or use 5 extra large eggs)
• 1 1/4 cups orange sugar or granulated sugar orange sugar is optional, but recommended; see below
• 2 3/4 cups almond flour or almond meal spooned and leveled
• 1/4 teaspoon pure almond extract optional but recommended
• confectioners' sugar for dusting

Orange Sugar

• 1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
• 1 medium *organic orange washed and dried; peeled orange rind only, no white pith

Optional Cream Cheese-Orange Glaze

• 4 oz. cream cheese softened
• 1/2 cup powdered sugar sifted
• 2+ tablespoons orange juice use 2 - 4 tablespoons orange juice

Instructions

To make cake

• Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Wash the oranges and place them in the boiling water; cover pot. Boil until very soft, about 1 hour. Drain, cool, cut into quarters, removing any seeds. You can do this the day before, refrigerating oranges after cooling.
• Preheat oven to 325°F Grease and line the bottom of a 9" springform pan with parchment paper
• Place chopped oranges in a food processor fitted with a steel blade. Process on high, scraping down the sides, until it's pureed with only a few visible bits of rind remaining; it does not need to be completely smooth. Add orange sugar, pulsing until combined.
• Add in eggs, almond extract; pulse. Add almond flour and baking powder. Pulse until combined and batter is blended.
• Pour into prepared pan. Bake 60 minutes, checking after 45 minutes to tent surface with foil to prevent overbrowning. Bake until the surface is golden and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
• Cool fully in cake pan.
• If desired add cream-glaze to cake when cooled. Make a double recipe if you’re wanting extra to serve on the side. Alternatively, dust with confectioners' sugar instead of glaze. Garnish with additional orange slices or orange peel if desired.
• Cake is very moist so it’s best to refrigerate whether you use add the cream cheese glaze or not. Flavor improves as it ages and it good chilled, served from the fridge. Enjoy up to 5 days for best flavor.

To make orange sugar

• For maximum orange flavor: Wash and dry orange. Using a serrated peeler, remove orange peel from orange, leaving behind the pith (the white part next to the peel which is bitter.) If you accidentally remove the pith with peel, use a knife to scrape pith off of peel.
• Place sugar and peel in a food processor bowl fitted with steel blade. Process until the zest is completely incorporated into the sugar; about a minute or until the sugar becomes fragrant and pale orange with no large pieces of peel remain.
• Use immediately for best flavor or place in resealable plastic bag, removing excess air and refrigerate until ready to use.

To make glaze

• Combine softened cream cheese with powdered sugar, mixing until smooth, then add orange juice a tablespoon at a time, thinning to desired consistency.

Notes

• Oranges are the main ingredient, so use fresh in season oranges for best results. If unsure, sample an orange to make sure it’s sweet and juicy and not dried out from sitting on the grocery store shelf. I used Cara Cara oranges, available December-March (peak season Jan. - Feb. in the U.S.) The peel and pith of Cara Caras are thinner than a navel or Valencia orange which is preferable for a shorter boiling time.
• Use gluten-free baking powder if making this for GF purposes.
• If you don’t have a food processor, use a high-powered blender to pulse oranges, then use a mixer to to make cake.
• Oranges can be boiled and refrigerated the day before. Bring to room temperature before making recipe.
• Recipes for whole orange cake vary with boiling times for oranges from 30 minutes to 2 hours to extract the bitter flavor from pith. I boiled mine for 1 hour. The longer the fruit boils, the less bitter it will be. Salted water helps reduce bitterness also.
• When measuring almond flour, spoon and level it into your cup instead of scooping out of the bag, which will yield a heavier cup. While both almond meal and almond flour are made from ground almonds, the key difference is that almond flour is made from blanched (skinned) almonds, resulting in a finer texture and lighter color compared to almond meal, which is typically made from unpeeled almonds and retains the skins, giving it a coarser texture and darker appearance; almond meal will yield denser baked goods with a slightly nuttier, more notable almond flavor, while almond flour will give a lighter texture. 
• Serve a dusting of confectioners’ sugar rather than cream cheese glaze if preferred.
• *If not using an organic orange for the orange sugar, soak and agitate orange in warm water mixed with 2 teaspoons baking soda for a minute to remove chemical residue from peel.

If you’re in the market for a food processor, this KitchenAid 13-Cup Food Processor

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I hope you give this Whole Orange-Almond Cake a try! 🍊

It’s a taste of culinary sunshine in every slice!

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