I few weeks ago I was asked by one of the mums at mothers group about cooking with almond meal, and the type of cooking you can do with it. It reminded me of the wonderful biscuit recipe I was given when I was doing a detox that consisted only of almond meal, water, salt, paprika and herbs – they were so healthy and really yummy (thank goodness because I had to stop eating fruit, dairy, carbohydrates, red meat, and everything processed – I was basically living on vegies, chicken and some nuts … I looked and felt amazing afterwards though!!!!). I will try and find the recipe for those biscuits, but in the meantime I found a wonderful recipe for flourless orange and chocolate cake – definitely not detox approved!!
Flourless chocolate and orange cake
- 2 small thin-skinned oranges, approx. 375g total weight (or 1 large)
- 6 eggs
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
- 200 g almond meal
- 250 g caster sugar
- 50 g cocoa
- orange peel, for decoration (I used 2 rose buds)
- Put the whole orange/oranges in a pan with some cold water, bring to the boil and cook for 2 hours or until soft (Note: make sure you check them frequently and add more water to stop them boiling dry)
- Drain, and when cool, cut the oranges in half and remove any big pips.
- Blend everything – pith, peel and all – in a food processor as smooth as you can get it.
- Preheat the oven to 180°C Butter and line a 20cm tin.
- Add the eggs, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, almond meal, sugar and cocoa to the orange puree in the food processor. Blend until you have a smooth-ish cake mixture.
- Pour into the cake tin and bake for an hour (test with a skewer – it should come out clean). Check after 45 minutes because you may have to cover with foil to prevent the cake burning before it is cooked through, or it may need a little less than an hour depending on your oven.
- Leave the cake to get cool in the tin, on a cooling rack. When the cake is cold take it out of the tin.
- Simple garnish – Decorate with strips of orange peel or coarsely grated orange zest
- Elaborate garnish – melt 100g of 70% cocoa dark chocolate with 30 g butter and a teaspoon of olive oil, add the rind of an orange. Poor over the top of the cake when cool, allowing to drip down the sides. Place the petals of a rose in the centre of the cake, with one rose bud sitting int he middle.
More recently I used this cake as my daughters 1st Birthday cake. I cooked two, and stacked them on top of each other and covered them in butter icing… it was a hit!
Whilst this cake is perfect for the gluten and dairy-free among us… it is also guaranteed to be a crowd-pleaser for those without dietary requirements.
Cheers,
Bernice
Hey Bernice! 
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