Whole Orange Cake Recipe 455

WHOLE ORANGE CAKE - FLOURLESS

Steps:

• Boil 10 minutes: Place oranges in a pot and cover with cold water. Bring to the boil over medium high heat. Boil for 10 minutes and drain.
• Repeat x 2: Put oranges back in the pot, cover with cold water and boil again for 10 minutes. Drain, then repeat once more (ie. boil oranges 3 x 10 minutes). Shortcut: Boil 40 minutes without draining, keeping an eye on water level. (Note 4)
• Chop: Rinse oranges, then cool slightly so you can handle them. Slice into 1cm / 1/4" slices then dice, removing any seeds. Cool completely.
• Preheat oven: Preheat oven to 160°C/320°F (140°C fan). Grease and line a 23cm/9" cake pan with baking/parchment paper. (Note 5)
• Blitz oranges: Place chopped oranges in a food processor (Note 6). Blitz on high for 4 x 10 second bursts, scraping down the sides in between, until it's pureed into a marmalade consistency with only a few visible bits of rind remaining. It does not need to be completely smooth.
• Blitz in remaining ingredients: Add almond meal, eggs, baking powder and sugar. Blitz for 5 - 10 seconds on high until combined.
• Bake 60 minutes: Pour into prepared cake pans. Bake 60 minutes until the surface is golden and a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean.
• Cool: Cool fully in cake pan. Unless using loose base pan, cover surface with baking paper to help you turn it out (cake is sticky so may stick to your hand and tear surface otherwise.)
• Serve: Decorate as desired - I used slices of fresh oranges, rind strips and sprigs of flowers. A dusting of icing sugar / powdered sugar is also lovely. Cut, then serve! See Note 7 for suggestions.

SICILIAN WHOLE ORANGE CAKE

Steps:

• Prepare an 8" springform pan by spraying with oil (or butter) and lining in parchment paper (sides optional, if you want really clean sides), then spray the paper, too.
• Place the sugar and eggs in a large bowl and beat with a mixer until light and fluffy.
• Sift the flour with the baking powder or Paneangeli then add to the mixture in the bowl a little at a time along with the softened butter. Continue to mix until completely blended, then stir in the yogurt.
• In a food processor, process the whole orange until it is almost pureed.
• Add this orange to the cake mixture (along with the vanilla if you used plain baking powder) and stir until evenly combined, then put the batter into the prepared tin.
• Bake for 50-60 minutes (depending on your oven), but test with a cake tester or skewer to make sure the orange cake is done before removing from the oven. Allow to cool for about 15 minutes, then remove the side of the springform pan.
• Prepare the glaze by melting the sugar in the orange juice and allow to simmer for a few minutes, just until the liquid has a syrupy consistency.
• Spoon and brush over the top of the cake and allow to cool completely before cutting.

WHOLE-ORANGE SNACK CAKE

Steps:

• Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Prepare the pan: Butter an 8-inch square baking pan. Line the pan with parchment paper, leaving a 2-inch overhang on two sides. Butter the parchment.
• Transfer the orange chunks and milk to a high-speed blender (or food processor) and process until it is the texture of smooth applesauce. (You should have about 1 generous cup.)
• In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
• In a large bowl with an electric mixer, beat the butter and granulated sugar on medium until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, scraping down the bowl as needed.
• Add half the flour mixture and beat just until combined. Beat in the orange mixture, then beat in the remaining flour mixture. Transfer the batter to the prepared pan and smooth the top.
• Bake the cake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out with moist crumbs attached, 35 to 40 minutes. Transfer to a rack to cool for 20 minutes. Then, using the parchment, transfer the cake to a rack to cool completely.
• While the cake cools, prepare the glaze, if using: In a small bowl, whisk together the confectioners' sugar, orange zest and orange juice. (Use a little less juice for a thicker glaze that will sit on top of the cake, or add a little more juice for a thinner glaze that will soak into the cake.)
• Spread the glaze over the cooled cake, then slice to serve. Store leftovers well-wrapped at room temperature for up to 3 days.