With winter in our rear view mirror it’s time to welcome the sunshine in with this cheerful orange almond cake, topped with colorful citrus. I used two types of oranges, but you can use other citrus fruits as well, such as lemon, grapefruit and kumquats. The orange slices on top are not only beautiful; they also keep the cake tremendously moist. Serve the cake as it, or with a dollop of Mascarpone or strained yogurt.
The base of the cake is made from a combination of all-purpose flour, almond flour, juice and sour cream, creating a soft, tender and creamy cake. This cake is baked upside down, but the fruit is not caramelized as is traditional in an upside-down cake, preserving the vibrant colors.
Key Ingredients in This Recipe
You’ll find the complete list of ingredients and exact quantities in the recipe below.
- For the cake
- All-purpose flour
- Almond flour
- Baking powder
- Butter
- Yellow sugar
- Eggs
- Sour cream
- Orange zest and juice
- For the orange layer
- Sugar
- Slices of orange (I used a blood orange and a tangelos (honeybell orange)
How to Make Orange Almond Cake
- Step 1 – Mix yellow sugar with butter until creamy and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, and beat until just combined.
- Step 2 – Add orange zest, orange juice and sour cream and mix until combined.
- Step 3 – Mix all-purpose flour, almond flour, baking powder and salt. Add this flour mixture and beat until combined.
- Step 4 – In a glass jar or bowl, combine water and sugar and heat in the microwave, until sugar is completely dissolved. Allow to cool for a few minutes. In the meantime peel oranges and slice super thin, making use of a mandoline. Pour half of the syrup into a baking dish (8 x 8), lined with parchment paper. Arrange the orange slices over the syrup, filling the entire baking dish. I’ve used complete slices of the tangelos and used pieces of the blood orange slices to fill in the gaps. Pour the remaining syrup over the citrus.
- Step 5 – Now it’s time to add the batter. Place many large dollops over the orange slices and spread those towards each other to cover the entire surface. This way you can ‘connect’ the batter without moving the fruit slices around.
- Step 6 – Bake the cake in a 350 degrees F. oven for about 40 minutes. If the cake starts to brown too quickly, cover it loosely with aluminum foil. Transfer the pan to a wire rack and let cool for about 20 minutes, then invert the cake onto a plate. Let cool for 10 minutes more, before you cut into the cake.
Frequently Asked Questions
Insert a toothpick into the center of the cake. If it comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs, the cake is ready!
Yes, it is. However, this cake is made with all-purpose as well, so not appropriate when you are gluten sensitive.
Sure! Amaranth flour, buckwheat flour, chickpea flour, oat flour, to name a few.
It adds a really nice nutty flavor to this cake and other baking recipes. Almond flour is also higher in fiber, protein, but also higher in fat and calories. Think about it, almond flour is ground almonds, so the difference of nutritional values between almond flour and ‘normal’ flour should not come as a surprise.
A sensitivity to almonds may present itself quite innocently; rumbling and gurgling sounds from your stomach (this is often noisy and sometimes embarrassing).
Symptoms can be(come) more serious, like bloating, or stomach cramps and worse. As I am not a doctor, I would advise to consult your doctor. If the diagnosis fall in the ‘innocent’ category, you could consider ‘experimenting’ with the ratio almond flour : all-purpose flour and see what ratio will work for you to avoid any inconveniences.
Orange Almond Cake
Ingredients
For the Cake
- 120 grams all-purpose flour
- 100 grams almond flour
- 1.5 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 190 grams yellow sugar
- 125 grams butter
- 2 whole eggs
- 1 tablespoon orange zest from the blood orange or tangelos
- 1 tablespoon orange juice from the blood orange or tangelos
- 125 grams sour cream
For the Orange Layer
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 2 tablespoons water
- 1 blood orange
- 1 minneola tangelo/honeybell orange (NOTE 1)
Instructions
- Line a 8 x 8 baking dish with parchment paper. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- Mix yellow sugar with butter until creamy and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, and beat until just combined.
- Add orange zest, orange juice and sour cream and mix until combined.
- Mix all-purpose flour, almond flour, baking powder and salt. Add this flour mixture and beat until combined.
- In a glass jar or bowl, combine water and sugar and heat in a microwave until sugar is completely dissolved. Allow this syrup to cool for a few minutes.
- In the meantime peel oranges and slice super thin, making use of a mandoline slicer.
- Pour half of the syrup into the baking dish and arrange the orange slices over the syrup, filling the entire baking dish. Design the top of your orange almond cake at this moment. (NOTE 2)
- Pour the remaining syrup over the citrus.
- Now it's time to add the batter. Place many large dollops over the orange slices and spread those towards each other to cover the entire surface. This way you can 'connect' the batter without moving the fruit slices around.
- Bake the cake in the oven for about 40 minutes. If the cake starts to brown too quickly, cover it loosely with aluminum foil.
- Transfer the pan to a wire rack and let cool for about 20 minutes, then invert the cake onto a plate. Let cool for 10 minutes more, before you cut into the cake.
Notes
- I picked a minneola tangelo or honeybell orange because it is very juice and has less flesh or membranes inside. This means that a layer of tangelo slices are easy to cut and eat.
- I’ve used complete slices of the tangelos and used pieces of the blood orange slices to fill in the gaps.
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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