Photo by Gwénaël Le Vot
SERVES 8–10
4 large navel oranges
4 large eggs, room temperature
8 large medjool dates, pitted and chopped
1 cup sugar
3 cups almond meal
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
¾ cup sugar
Preheat oven to 350 F. Place 2 oranges, unpeeled, in a large saucepan and cover with water. Bring to a boil and simmer for 30 minutes until tender. Drain and cool. Cut each orange into large pieces and set aside. Line the bottom of a 9-inch cake pan with parchment paper. Peel another orange and thinly slice. Cover the bottom of the cake pan with the orange slices in your desired pattern.
Into the bowl of a large blender, add chopped oranges, eggs and dates. Blend until smooth, scraping down the sides as needed. In a large mixing bowl, combine 1 cup sugar, almond meal and baking powder. Add blended orange mixture and vanilla. Mix until well blended, but do not overmix. Pour on top of orange slices in the cake pan and bake for 45–50 minutes or until golden brown on top. Check with a cake tester. If still wet in the middle, continue baking and check every 5 minutes. Remove from oven. Allow to cool for 15 minutes while you make the orange syrup.
In a small saucepan, over medium-low heat, combine the ¾ cup sugar and juice from the remaining orange. Cook, stirring for 2–3 minutes, or until sugar dissolves and the syrup thickens.
Turn the cake onto a serving dish so orange slices are on top. Carefully remove the parchment paper. Using a skewer, poke holes in the cake and spoon the syrup over cake.
Chef’s tip
In this recipe, I specifically recommend using navel oranges because they do not contain seeds. You can use other varieties of oranges, just remember to remove the seeds before adding to the batter.
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