Upside Down Orange & Almond Cake
A citrusy almond olive cake with hints of cardamom. It also happens to be gluten-free, dairy-free and can be made refined sugar-free!
“We have to eat every orange in the world and not be afraid, because the homeland isn’t oranges. The homeland is us.”
From Gate of the Sun by Elias Khoury
Recipe
For the candied orange slices:
Three to four oranges of your choice, thinly sliced
1 cup sugar or sweetener of choice (I use half a cup of monk fruit sugar, and half a cup of honey so that it is refined-sugar free!)
1 cup water
3 crushed cardamom pods or 1/2 tsp of ground cardamom
For the cake:
Zest of 4 oranges
2 cups of finely ground almond flour, blanched or natural
2 tablespoons cornstarch
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2/3 cup granulated sugar (you can substitute for Monk Fruit sweetener, coconut sugar, or another sweetener if you want it to be refined sugar-free!)
4 large eggs, separated
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Method
Begin by washing and then zesting the oranges into a bowl of a stand mixer, or a large bowl.
Thinly slice the oranges using a mandolin or a sharp knife, about 0.15-0.20 inches thick.
In a saucepan, combine the sweetener/sugar, water, and crushed cardamom pods. Let the syrup come to a boil then lower the heat to medium low. Add the sliced oranges in a single layer, and let simmer for 15 - 20 mins.
Preheat then oven to 350°F. Grease an 8 or 9-inch round pan with olive oil, making sure to oil the sides as well. Line the bottom of the pan with a parchment paper circle.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the almond flour, corn starch, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
Using an electric mixer or a stand mixer, whisk together the orange zest, olive oil and sweetener/sugar for 5 minutes until thoroughly combined. Add the egg yolks and vanilla and whisk to combine.
Add the almond flour mixture into the oil-sugar mixture and whisk to combine.
In a clean bowl and with a clean electric mixer, whisk the egg whites until soft peaks form. This will take about 3 minutes.
Mix in a scoop of the egg whites into the almond flour mixture to loosen it up. Then, carefully fold in the rest of the egg whites.
Arrange the candied orange slices in the bottom of the pan, overlapping them slightly. Transfer the batter into the pan smooth the top.
Bake the cake until golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the middle of the cake comes out with a few crumbs, about 35 - 40 minutes. (The baking time is a guideline and the cake should be checked at 35 minutes of baking and then every few minutes until the toothpick/cake tester comes out with moist crumbs, and not wet batter).
Let the cake cool in the pan for 10 minutes and then flip the cake onto a rack to let cool completely.