ALMOND CAKE WITH CARDAMOM + BLOOD ORANGE

A rich, moist almond cake with a hint of cardamom and blood orange zest, with a simple side of blood orange slices... yep I gotta say, this cake is really working for me. I'm a total sucker for almond flour, my favorite ingredient in GF baking. I deeply appreciate that almond flour creations don't even try to mimic your standard wheat flour baked goods. Instead, almond flour treats have their own distinct flavor, texture, and magic deliciousness that no other flour can achieve - and I like that everything is packed with nutty protein.

Can I digress for just a moment to talk about our current citrus obsession? We are crazed around here as the winter citrus season winds down. Paul has been juicing up a storm - blood oranges, tangerines, cara caras, grapefruits, pomelos - whatever he can get his hands on. And two weekends ago, Paul and I walked over to our friend Laura's house to raid her extremely happy Meyer tree. I preserved a ton of lemons which will go to good use in the next few months - a tangy preserved lemon salad dressing seems to go with everything spring and summer.

GO WITH ANYTHING CAKE  adapted from Lucas Holloweg's Good Things to Eat
  • 3 eggs, room temp
  • 150 grams (5 1/2 ounces) powdered sugar, divided
  • 175 grams (6 ounces) almond meal
  • pinch of crumbled sea salt flakes
  • 1/2 blood orange, juice and zest (if you don't have access to blood oranges, any nice orange, tangerine, or lemon will work here)
  • 1/4-1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
  • for serving: 2-4 blood oranges, peeled removed and slices 
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Separate egg whites and yolks. In a medium mixing bowl, mix yolks with 125 grams (4.5 ounces) powdered sugar. Add almond flour, crumbled sea salt flakes, orange juice and zest, and cardamom. Stir to combine all ingredients - the mixture will be thick and paste-like. Set aside while you whisk your egg whites.
Before whisking egg whites, be sure to clean your whisk and bowl thoroughly so that there's not a hint of oil/grease to inhibit the eggs from whisking properly. I rub my whisk and bowl with a slice of lemon - the acidic juice cuts through any residue. Whisk egg whites until soft peaks form. Add the remaining sugar and continue to whisk egg whites they've formed stiff peaks.

Fold egg whites into the yolk/almond mixture. Don't overmix... we want some streaks of white after mixing.

Prep a 7 inch cake pan. First, thoroughly butter the inside of the pan. Then, cut a round of parchment paper to fit into the bottom of the pan - butter the paper too, just in case. Pour the batter into your prepped pan. Bake cake on the oven's middle rack for 35 minutes.

Let the cake cool on a rack before slicing. (Before removing the cake from the pan, be sure to slide a knife down around the edges to make sure it easily separates from the side of the pan.) Keep in mind... any gooey center of the cake will firm up as it cools.

Before serving, dust the cake with powdered sugar. Serve your slices of cake with rounds of blood orange on the side.

Serves 6-8







63 comments:

  1. Heavenly! This cake is marvelous and blood oranges are so delicious.

    Cheers,

    Rosa

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    1. Thanks Rosa! This morning, Paul left me a big glass of blood orange juice and I'm sipping it now. I can't get enough of that flavor.
      xoxo
      E

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  2. I love these sort of nutty cakes too. I made a chocolate hazelnut torte with finely ground hazelnut praline on top for mum's birthday cake today - it was GF as we had a coeliac friend coming & I thought of you! I think you'd have liked it.

    Blood oranges are the best, too - I love citrus in winter.

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  3. Emma, your hazelnut chocolate cake sounds heavenly! Wish I'd been there;) I've become a total convert to nut-flour baking... it's so rich and delish.

    xoxo
    E

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  4. The flavours in this cake sound so perfect together! I love it!

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    1. Thanks Katrina! The original recipe calls for lemon and cinnamon as accents, but I can't resist blood orange and cardamom and I have to say... they really work here:)
      xo
      E

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  5. wow im just intrigued by this..will have to try this sometime soon.

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    1. Dixya, it's really easy to make and totally satisfying. I hope you'll give it a go.

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  7. That cake looks amazing and I know those flavors are perfect! I'm so jealous of all those lemons. I should see if we can raid our neighbors tree this week .... ;) As always your photography is just beautiful too. I took a styling workshop last weekend and thought of you. One of these days we'll cook together. Have a wonderful week. xoa

    PS, those deleted Oregon Trail comments are from me, that was a blog I had years and years ago and I always forget to uncheck it in the drop down menu ;)

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    1. I would love to cook together sometime Ashley. If only we lived closer by!

      xoxo
      E

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  8. So pretty! I am huge lover of cardamom - the queen spice in my book!

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  9. Cardamom is my darling of the kitchen, I adore it. And almond flour, and blood oranges, all such wonderful things. But cardamom, yes please, always. Love the wealth of that preserved Meyer lemon image!

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    1. Me too, Emma! I love cardamom, though I have to say...my kids are always so sure about it.
      xoxo
      E

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  10. Love it all...the cake, the flowers, the preserved lemons, the shower of confectioners' sugar....and that cake.

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    1. Thanks Katie! Our kitchen has been full of citrus over the past few months and all the bright cheer makes me smile every time. xo

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  11. that looks soooo delicious! :) gotta see if i can find some blood oranges somewhere... the season here is almost over... :/

    but i'll have to keep the recipe for the next winter - thanks for sharing! :)

    greetings from vienna,
    salma

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    1. Salma, while the cake is super tasty with blood oranges, I think it would work with so many things. I'm thinking a rhubarb compote on the side with be wonderful:)
      xo
      E

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  12. I love this cake! It's so pretty and such a lovely combination of flavours; I love using ground almonds too and the texture they bring to the party. A perfect spring cake!

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    1. Thanks Kathryn. I've made so many variations on almond cake that I wasn't sure this one would bring anything new to my life, but it has added yet another tasty way to enjoy almond flour. It's so good! xoxo

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  13. I love almond flour not only for its taste but for the added texture it gives to baked goods.
    Strangely enough, this year I didn't go citrus-crazy even though I had my share of mandarins.
    I remember seeing your photos of Meyer lemon preserves on instagram and feeling particularly jealous. I have never tasted Meyer lemons, I'm so curious about their taste.
    Your cake looks gorgeous by the way :)

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    1. Magda, I'm with you.... the texture of almond flour is so good. I love the stuff.
      I have no idea why Meyer lemons haven't taken hold in Europe. They would grow beautifully there. A mix between standard lemons and mandarins, Meyers have this subtle sweetness that tempers the bitterness... heaven, I think.
      xoxo
      E

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  14. E,
    What beautiful pictures...it makes me want to make this right away as I do have some almond flour in my fridge. I shall make it and call friends over for coffee and cake...just because I can.

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    1. Oli, you put the biggest smile on my face. Yes, invite your friends over... that's what life is all about. "Just because you can." xoxo

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  15. YUMMMMMMMMYYYYYY!!!!!!! Love you E! Ames

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    1. Thanks Ames,
      Love you too dude!
      xoxxo

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  16. I love this kind of cake - light and fresh and full of flavour from the citrus.

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    1. Me too, Kate. Plus I love how easy it is:)
      xoxo

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  17. I love almond-flour baked goods, too! This cake sounds wonderful! Even though citrus season is winding down, the color of blood oranges still always floors me. What's in your preserved lemon brine? I have some on my shelf as well -- so excited for them to be ready! Beautiful citrus.

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    1. I totally know what you mean, I'm itching for spring produce to really hit, yet at the same time I can't get enough citrus. I guess that's the beauty of the in-between!
      My lemon brine is salt and lemon juice. What do you put in yours?
      xoxo
      E

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    2. Oh lemon juice, how interesting! This is my first try at preserving lemons, I followed an article from Bon Appetit magazine that uses sugar, salt, turmeric (for color I'm assuming) and a couple spices. We'll see how it goes!

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    3. Interesting brine... I'm curious to hear how it goes. Let me know!
      xo

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  18. This is gorgeous!

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  19. I have always wanted to preserve my own lemons! Love that you have neighbors with a very happy lemon tree. This cake is sublime and I need to bake with almond flour - I bet it adds that extra richness to any dessert. Hope you are enjoying the rain we are getting. Have a great week! Lisa

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    1. Lisa, almond flour will rock your world... then you'll dabble in all the nut flours... so much fun and deliciousness to be had there.
      I'm loving the rain. My garden is so happy.
      Have a good weekend! xoxo

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  20. I often make a similar cake without the blood orange, which sounds like a wonderful addition! I'm guessing you would like those cakes with pureed whole oranges as well? Love those! Hope you're doing well, Erin! xoxo

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    1. Denise, me too. I make so many almond cakes with some variety on the theme... almond flour, eggs... and each time I fall in love. The blood orange and cardamom gave this one a fun twist.
      All well here. I hope with you as well:)
      xoxo
      E

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  21. Almond cake is always a classic - but I love your twist on the flavours. Especially the touch or cardamon. Beautiful photos, as ever. Those orange and yellow ranunculi - stunning. And those pickled lemons - will you be able to post the recipe soon? Please. I would love to make some. x

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    1. Thanks Skye!
      A very simple recipe for preserved lemons is buried in my archives... http://yummysupper.blogspot.com/2010/05/preserved-meyer-lemons.html
      xoxo
      E

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  22. I adore cakes make with almond flour, I love the dampness and the flavour. Gorgeous cake!

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  23. Stunning cake, Erin. So envious of your citrus haul - we don't get nearly the selection up here. Also, I need to bake with more almond flour - the place where I'm the GF pastry chef is also a nut free restaurant, which admittedly can be tricky at times! Oh, if only I could use nuts there... Your cake is inspiring, nonetheless :) Have a great weekend!

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    1. You are a rock star Renee. I don't know how you are whipping up so many tasty baked good without using nuts - I rely on nuts for all of my baking.
      I hope you have a great weekend too!
      xo
      E

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  24. Beautiful! Would love to try this soon :-)

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    1. Aimee, I hope you enjoy the cake as much as we did. xo

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  25. Almond flour is my fave too. :) And not surprisingly, I have a very similar cake in my book! We're on a parallel wavelength with this one. xoxo

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    1. There can never be too many almond cake recipes in the world and I can't wait to try yours Kimberley! xoxo

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  26. Damn this looks perfect Erin! I love almond flour too... Yum xx

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    1. Almond flour is the best, isn't it Emma?
      I hope you're doing well with all the excitement around your book launch. I'm thinking about you!
      xoxo
      E

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  27. I too love almond flour, it adds such beautiful texture to bake goods! Love all those preserved lemon, I'm going to work on a batch soon! Hope everything is well with you! xxoo

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    1. Najwa, always good to hear from you! All is well here. No complaints:) xoxo E

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  28. Beautiful photos, especially the first one! I love almond-flour, too ... and with anything citrus, it's perfect. :-)

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    1. Thanks Helen! Me too.... the combination of almond flour and citrus gets me every time!
      xo
      E

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  29. I just made this. It was BEYOND good. I thought it would just be pretty pictures with no good results, but it actually sort of blew my mind. And cardamom. Who knew? Never even had it before. This cake is Sub.Lime.

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    1. Wonderful! I'm so glad you loved the cake. It's a keeper, isn't it?

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  30. This was fantastic! I've made it twice, never had a problem

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  31. Looks fabulous. It occurred to me when reading that I've always asked almond flour to work like wheat flour. That's why I get bad results. Better to use it in a recipe like this where it's complementing the other ingredients rather than working against them.

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    1. Yes! Almond flour is a different beast but a delicious one once you learn how to wrangle it. I have a super simple almond torte recipe in my cookbook which we make all the time. It couldn't be easier and it's so tasty!

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  32. love this cake recipe. One of may favorites. Delcious.

    Simon

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So good to hear from you... I appreciate each and every note you leave for me!

Thanks,
E