Inspired by the yummy orange and almond cake that I had at the Holburne Museum Garden Cafe last week, I thought I’d attempt to bake an orange and almond cake myself.
And guess what? …
It wasn’t a flop!
Look, it’s even cake shape (unlike last week’s brownie gloop which I had to turn into a chocolate ‘pudding’).
This cake is beautifully moist and has the most delicious almond flavour with a hint of orange.
AND, it’s got lots of lovely goodness in it, including B vitamins, vitamin C, vitamin E and a few minerals to boot. The cake’s also low GI, so it gives us slow release energy rather than those horrible refined sugar energy spikes.
AND it’s easy to make. Even for me! (and if I can bake it, you definitely will be able to 
)
One of my study group friends said it’s the best cake I’ve ever made. (To be fair, I haven’t set the bar very high with my attempts at baking, but it’s wonderful to hear that I’ve actually made something that’s more than edible 
)
M and Lil’ L absolutely loved it. In fact, Lil’ L said it was one of the best cakes in the world! For this reason alone, I think this cake deserves its own blog post. So here it is.
Orange & Almond Cake (Dairy-free / Vegan) Ingredients Method
100g / 3½ / 1 cup ground almonds
260g / 9 oz / 2 cups fine wholemeal (wholewheat) flour (I use Indian chapatti atta flour which is very fine and super cheap. You could use half wholemeal & half plain (all purpose) flour if you wish)
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
110ml / 3½ fl oz / ½ cup rapeseed (canola) oil
180ml / 6¼ fl oz/ 3/4 cup non-dairy milk (I use Alpro almond milk)
64 ml / 2¼ fl oz / 1/4 cup freshly squeezed orange juice (1 orange should be sufficient)
212g / 7½ oz / 2/3 cup agave syrup
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/2 tsp almond extract
finely grated orange rind from 1 orange
2 tbsp flaked almonds (to sprinkle on top)
Next time I bake this cake, I think I’ll try baking it in two tins and filling the middle with apricot spread. I love the apricot and almond combo and imagine it will work really well in this cake.
Now I just need Candy to show me how to make this cake gluten free, then we can all have a slice
Have a wonderful weekend everyone! I hope the sun shines wherever you are xx
This recipe has been submitted to Ricki Heller’s #Wellness Weekend
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Good looking cake. Looking forward to trying a contender for ‘Best Cake in the World’. Personally I’m inclined to trust Master L’s judgement in such matters. And it’s full of vitamins. How much better can cake get??
I know! Cake with vitamins! Can life get any better???
I wish I could help you on this one, but I have just about given up on gluten free baking. I refuse to use 42 different types of flour plus xantham gum and whatever other gums and starches and additions most recipes call for to make them gluten free. Although, the look and description of this cake does sort of make me want me to give it another try. I wonder if you upped the almond meal and used oat flour if it would hold together? I’ve made biscotti with all almond meal and it turned out beautifully.
Mmm biscotti… Now there’s something that I need to try making
I absolutely love biscotti but the version they sell in our coffee shops has butter in it. They seem to put butter in everything 
Oh this sounds delicious! I love almond in any baked good, it adds such a wonderful flavour. Your cake looks gorgeous
We make a really nice almond and pear cake at home – so good with Greek yogurt for afternoon tea!
Almond and pear sound like a beautiful combo for a cake! You’ll have to share your family’s recipe one day. We’d love to try it! x
I love citrus cakes – of there’s an orange or a lemon cake on offer, that’s the one I’ll usually go for. I had a delicious orange and polenta cake this week.
This recipe looks great!
I’ve been wanting to try polenta cake for ages. I’ve never actually had it before. I’ll have to check online for a dairy-free polenta recipe. Orange polenta cake sounds delicious!
That looks like a wonderful recipe, I bet it would go down very well with a lot of non vegans, will have to add to my ‘to bake’ list!
The orange almond cake not only tastes yummy but it’s really easy to make. That’s the sort of cake I love!
I am so glad you made this cake. After seeing it from your Holburne visit I so wanted to try it. Having the citrus in there is just like being able to pack a little sunshine into it.
I will have to check all of the ingredients to see if I’ve got them, but I am quite certain my children would love this little treat to appear on the breakfast table or packed away in their lunch boxes.
Thanks so much for this lovely treat.
Cake for breakfast? Could life get any better?? We need to seek out some more of these ‘healthier’ cake recipes. We could eat a different cake for breakfast each day of the week. Yay!
Oh I meant to let you know that I have given your the Liebster award.
Check it out here
http://mynaturallyfrugalfamily.blogspot.com/2012/03/liebster-award.html
My first blog award!
That’s so kind Rachel!
Thank you so much xx
This recipe is amazing! Substituted agave for brown rice malt syrup, almond meal for decicated coconut and half amount of non dairy milk for more orange juice. Left out almond extract and used 1/2 a vanilla pod instead of essence.
SO SO YUMMY.
Will be making again!!!
Thanks you SO much for leaving feedback about this cake. Hearing that you like it so much has made my day!
Next time I make it I’m definitely going to try out your subs. They sound amazing. I love the idea of adding dessicated coconut. Yum!
Thanks Sharon. Yeah Its a totally different cake, because of the coconut its probably a bit more moist and alot cheaper to make. I also made the original which was delicious!! I just always like to put my own signatures second time round when I make a recipe. I have just made another version which is Cherry, Cocoa and Coconut as a birthday pressie for my sister. Will update you on how its turned out!
xx
I’d love to hear how the Cherry, Coconut and Cocoa version turns out. It sounds amazing! If it does work out, please do send me the recipe as I’d love to give it a try. Thank you! x
This looks gawguss! Another one for my ‘to-do’ list..
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