Sicilian Orange Cake
This Sicilian orange cake is based on whole oranges that are cooked and ground together with the rind, which ensures so much flavor from the orange. The prolonged cooking in water takes out all the bitterness of the rind, and the original recipe doesn’t even contain flour, but almond meal.
I made it inside a baking ring, lined with sweet cookie crust dough, and a lattice on top, but this is totally optional (if you insist, I have the dough recipe here). To you guys I recommend to keep things simply, because really all you need to make it is a strong food processor. A cake that is super easy to prepare and delicious!
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Sicilian Orange Cake:
Equipment: A single round cake pan, 20 cm in diameter, lined with parchment paper
Recipe: A single cake
For the orange confit
| Ingredient | Amount (g / units) |
| Organic Oranges | 2 Medium sized oranges, about 260-270g each |
| Water | QS, for initial boiling |
For the cake batter:
| Ingredient | Amount (g / units) |
| Whole Cooked Oranges | 2 Oranges, edges taken out |
| White Granulated Sugar | 280g |
| Vanilla Sugar | 20g |
| Almond Meal | 300g |
| Cinnamon | 1 tsp |
| Baking Powder | 10g |
| Eggs | 350g (7 medium sized eggs) |
| Orange Liquor or Vanilla Extract | 10g |
For the cooking the oranges:
- Into a medium sized pot, add water until it reaches just about 2/3 the height of the pot, and bring it to a boil.
- Add in the oranges, and cook, covered with the lid, over medium-low heat for 2 hours, until the oranges are very soft to the touch. Note that the water will evaporate during cooking, and more needs to be added after about 1 hour of cooking.
Cake preparation:
- Preheat your oven to 170C (fan mode off), setting a baking rack at the lowest level of your oven.
- Using your hands, take out the edges of the oranges, and split open them in the center. Check out for any kernels, and remove them manually.
- Into a bowl of a strong food processor, add the oranges, sugar and vanilla sugar, and process for 1 minutes. The oranges should be pureed to a smooth consistency without any lumps.
- Add in the almond meal, cinnamon and baking powder, and process for 1 more minute.
- Finally, add in the eggs and liquor, and process for 1 minute to a smooth consistency.
- Pour this mixture into the prepared pan, and bake for 60-65 minutes, or until a knife inserted into the center of the cake, comes out clean. You could loosely cover the cake with some aluminum foil after about 30 minutes of baking, to prevent overbrowning.
- Let the cake cool down on a cooling rack before cutting into it.
