This is a version of the orange cake that is floating around the World Wide Web. I’ve tweaked it so that it is easy and works for me and hopefully for you.
Orange almond meal cake/bread, gluten free
2 1/2 cups almond meal (I use Bob’s Red Mill)
1/2 cup sugar
4 eggs
2 egg whites
zest from 2 oranges
zest from 1 lemon (optional but gives it zip)
Juice from the 2 oranges
1/2 cup oil (I use canola)
1t baking powder
1/2 t salt
1t vanilla extract
1t orange extract
1/8-1/4 t cinnamon
1/8-1/4 t pumpkin spice
I use an 3 qt oblong Pyrex baking pan. It works. Or use two 8 inch square pans. Line the pan or pans with parchment paper. (So easy, you can just lift the cake right out.)
Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees.
Mix almond meal, baking powder, salt, cinnamon and pumpkin spice and set aside.
Zest the 2 oranges and 1 lemon. Cut up the 2 oranges into 4 parts each and squeeze the juice from the oranges (make sure to remove any seeds). Add vanilla extract and orange extract and set aside.
Beat the 2 egg whites and set aside (make sure the egg whites are stiff).
Beat the 4 eggs, add the sugar, beat again, add the oil, beat again. (Use a large bowl for this.)
Add the zest, extract and orange juice mixture, beat that in.
Add the dry ingredients, beat that as well.
Fold in the beaten egg whites.
Pour the batter into the lined baking pans or pans. Shake the pans slightly to make the batter even.
Bake the cake or cakes for about 30-35 minutes. Start checking your cake at about 25 minutes. You can test with a tooth pick, and make sure it comes out clean. Or I press down on the edge, if it bounces back, that’s good. (And then I press down on the middle to see if that bounces back as well.) The cake will be 3/4 of an inch to an inch thick.
Using the parchment paper, lift out the cake or cakes to cool. Cut into squares. I wrap each square in saran wrap and freeze them in a large freezer baggy. They taste even better after they have been frozen. (I think it’s because the freezing process softens the almond meal.)
The cake has a consistency of a very light corn bread. Sort of between cornbread and cake. People spread it with butter or margarine. Jelly, especially marmalade would be yummy too.