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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
Cook Time2 hours
Total Time2 hours 5 minutes
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.