Almond and Boiled Orange Cake with Bittersweet Dark Chocolate Ganache

Oh how it has been a while! Hello again to all my friends, I’m sorry it’s been so long. It seems like I underestimated how chaotic my life was going to be with two (gorgeous and cute) little boys on my hands and despite attempting to get back into blogging after having baby boy number two it all had to go on hold again when the little ones got sick…and then sick again…and then sick again. Nothing serious thank goodness, but it kept me busy.

Also keeping me busy was the muddy clothes, the yelling, the constant fascination with poop and farts, the food battles, the wrestling matches, the hair pulling (mummy’s of course) and of course the cuddles, the big sloppy kisses and the “I love you mummy”s. My brain is like scrambled egg right now. My clothes are covered in food and also some strange brown looking substance which I’m not game enough to smell, hoping it is chocolate but if I’m honest with myself I know it is unfortunately probably not as delightful as chocolate. My house is a chaotic mess. My once white couch (who buys a white couch by the way, dumb mistake Kate, dumb mistake) now looks like a Jackson Pollock study in brown. No one told me my life would be like this with two gorgeous boys but they also didn’t tell me I would be the happiest I have ever been, get the biggest cuddles and have the most amazing love for these two little guys.

In amongst all that chaos I have actually found a few spare minutes in the day to write a blog post. Yay! Whoop whoop! High five! Raise the roof! Yup, it’s that exciting to me. Never mind that it has actually taken me two whole weeks to put together this one post – that’s efficiency for you! So seeing as it has been such a long time coming I had to give you a goodie today and so here is my delicious Almond and Boiled Orange Cake with Bittersweet Dark Chocolate Ganache. It is so very moist but has absolutely no butter or oil in it. It is deliciously sweet but has no refined sugar it it. It is dense but light at the same time but has only almond meal/flour and no gluten in it. It is also a showstopper and fancy enough to serve up at a dinner party but is made completely in a food processor in less than five minutes. Perfect right! The only catch is that you need to take two whole oranges, skin and all, and boil them for two hours. You can do this the night before, or heck, you can even do it up to three days in advance and just pop them into the fridge and blitz them up when you’re ready to make your cake. Once the cake is made then it is drizzled with the most decadent (but super quick and simple to make) bittersweet dark chocolate ganache which is the perfect contrast to the zesty orange cake. If you are dairy free then you can always substitute the cream for 1/3 cup of coconut oil, put both the chocolate and oil in a small saucepan over low heat and heat until melted, leave until it cools and thickens slightly then drizzle over the cake. I prefer the ganache, but both are delicious and the coconut oil alternative makes a great alternative to that chocolate ice magic stuff kids put on ice cream – my little boy loves it and really does think it’s magic!

Enjoy the cake all you lovely followers out there who have stuck with me. I hope to see you again soon (less than two weeks I hope)!

xo Kate

Print

Almond and Boiled Orange Cake with Bittersweet Dark Chocolate Ganache

Prep Time 2 hours 20 minutes

Cook Time 1 hour

Total Time 3 hours 20 minutes

Servings 12

Author My Little Larder

Ingredients

Cake:

• 2 oranges washed throughly
• 4 free range eggs
• 1 cup unrefined golden caster sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 cups almond meal/flour
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder

Ganache:

• 100 g/3.5oz dark chocolate minimum 70 percent
• 1/3 cup cream

Decoration:

• sliced almonds freeze dried mandarins, cacao nibs

Instructions

1. Place oranges in a saucepan with enough water to just cover them then fit with a lid. Boil for 2 hours occasionally topping up the water if it gets low. When cooked, drain and allow to cool to room temperature. Chop into rough chunks and remove any large seeds. You can do this step in advance and store the cooked oranges in their cooking liquid in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
2. Preheat oven to 160C bake (140C/ fan bake). Grease and line one 22cm/ 9in round cake tin.
3. Place oranges, eggs, honey and vanilla in a food processor and pulse until well combined. Add the almond meal and baking powder and pulse until a smooth mixture forms.
4. Pour into your prepared cake tin and bake for 1 hour or until a skewer comes out clean. Remove from oven and allow to cool for 10 minutes in the tin before removing and allowing to cool fully on a wire rack.
5. While the cake is cooling make the ganache. Chop the chocolate finely and place in a medium size bowl. Heat cream in a small saucepan until bubbles start forming around the edge of the pan. Remove from heat and pour over the chocolate. Allow to sit for 5 minutes before whisking to form a smooth, velvety ganache. When you initially start stirring it may look like your mixture is splitting but keep whisking and I promise you it will come together. If your ganache is too runny leave it at room temperature (or even in the fridge in summer) until the desired consistency is reached. If your ganache is too thick, then microwave in 10s bursts until desired consistency is reached. Pour over cake and decorate with sliced almonds, freeze dried mandarins and cacao nibs.

Recipe Notes

To make the ganache dairy-free, substitute the cream for 1/3 cup coconut oil. Place chocolate and coconut oil in a saucepan over low heat until oil and chocolate are melted. Leave at room temperature (or refrigerate) until desired consistency is reached. Drizzle over cake.