Orange Almond Cake (Gluten-Free + Grain-Free)

Learn how to make the best orange almond cake with this gluten-free recipe. This cake is made with whole oranges that are boiled until soft to create a smooth orange purée that adds moisture and flavour to this single-layer cake made with ground almonds.

For this orange cake recipe, the whole orange is used, as with three fruit marmalade. To do so, you first have to boil the fruit. This softens the pith and the skin of the fruit so that it will have a better texture when blended to make the cake batter.

The cakes are moist and with a pleasantly coarse texture from the granular ground almonds. My favourite part of this recipe is that it uses the entire orange, peel and all. Just remember to boil the whole fruits (see recipe) to remove the unpleasant bitterness from the citrus. That's the secret to using whole citrus fruit in marmalade and cakes! The syrup I served it with reminds me of bitter-orange marmalade.

Boiling can also help remove bitterness while preserving the natural oils of the orange. The bitter compounds are soluble in water so are released into the water as you boil the fruit, while the oils are not soluble in water (not even boiling water), so these stay with the orange fruit. Boiling is a great way to reduce the bitterness of citrus fruit. 

Jump to:

• What You Need to Make a Gluten-Free Orange Cake
• Substitutions and Variations
• How to Make a Cake With Whole Oranges
• Serving Suggestions
• Orange Almond Cake Baking FAQs
• More Citrus Recipes
• 📖 Recipe

What You Need to Make a Gluten-Free Orange Cake

• oranges—use Navel oranges which have a fairly thin skin and no seeds
• eggs—I tested this recipe with large eggs. If you use eggs that are bigger or smaller, results may differ
• sugar—in order to allow the almond and orange flavours shine, use white granulated sugar. Brown sugar or maple sugar would interfere with the delicate flavours of this cake
• ground almond—this cake is gluten-free and grain-free, made with finely ground almonds, which is sometimes called almond flour
• leavening—baking powder helps to open the crumb a little so that the orange cake has a light, spongy texture.

Please see the recipe card for the exact ingredients and quantities.

Substitutions and Variations

• Oranges—I used Navel oranges, which have a thinner skin and no seeds. You can also try clementines. Use the same weight of clementines, check for seeds before processing, and measure the weight of the purée to make sure you don't add too much (or too little). Orange varieties with thicker skin, like some blood oranges and Cara Cara oranges, will have more pith and more bitterness.
• Nuts—I made this cake with ground almonds, but any ground nut will work. Ground hazelnuts would be excellent here, or even pistachios (but this will be more expensive).
• Orange syrup—I made homemade orange syrup as a topping for this cake, but you could also use orange marmalade, warmed to make it more spreadable. Another option would be to top the cake with a ganache glaze before serving.

How to Make a Cake With Whole Oranges

Instead of flour, these orange cakes are made with ground almonds and whole oranges. This would yield a denser cake if it weren't for two things:

• whipping the eggs with the sugar to incorporate air. Remember whipped eggs are an important leavening agent in baking: the eggs trap and stabilize bubbles of air, aerating the batter to reduce density and improve texture. It's the same principle as in this warm-milk cake or the chocolate genoise in this black forest cake
• baking powder acts as a chemical leavener which reacts to release a gas that provides lift to the cake batter as it bakes

By baking these orange cakes with almond meals, you end up with moist orange cakes that are both grain-free and gluten-free! On the other hand, this gluten-free lemon cake is made with mashed potatoes which lends a lot of moisture and softness to the cake. 

Step 1—place the oranges in a pot of cold water (image 1) and boil them for 2 hours until very soft (image 2). You should be able to press your thumb through the orange without much force when they are sufficiently cooked.

Step 2—Chop up the cooled oranges on a cutting board (image 3) then transfer them to a food processor (image 4) and process them into a smooth purée (image 5).

Tip—I like to do the boiling and processing of the oranges the day before I make the cake because these steps are longer.

Step 3—Combine the eggs and granulated sugar in the bowl of a mixer fitted with the whisk attachment (image 6) and whip them until pale and thick (image 7) before adding the orange purée (image 8). Whisk until smooth (image 9).

Tip: Make sure the orange purée has cooled before mixing it with the eggs.

Step 4—Whisk the almond flour with the baking powder (image 10). I like to use a Danish dough whisk for this. Add the ground almonds to the mixer bowl (image 11) and whisk them in. The batter will be thick but airy (image 12).

Step 5—Transfer the cake batter to a buttered springform pan lined with parchment (image 13) and smooth it from edge to edge with a mini offset spatula (image 14). Bake until deeply browned on the edges and golden on the surface (image 15).

Tip: This cake takes a long time to bake because of the high moisture of the oranges. The edges will be quite brown and pull away from the sides of the pan when the cake is baked. A cake tester inserted in the middle will come out clean and the cake will feel airy but set on the surface.

Step 6—While the cake cools, make the syrup by combining the orange juice, orange zest, granulated sugar, and alcohol (if using) in a small saucepan (image 16). Bring the mixture to a boil, ensuring all the sugar is dissolved and boil for 2–3 minutes. Let cool completely.

Step 7—Once the cake and the syrup have cooled, you can brush the surface of the cake with a thin layer of syrup (image 18), saving the rest for drizzling on the slices of cake as you serve them.

Serving Suggestions

I served this orange cake with the homemade orange syrup described in the recipe card, but you could also skip the syrup and serve this cake plain or with orange marmalade. You could also opt for a chocolate ganache glaze instead or even serve it with ice cream.

Orange Almond Cake Baking FAQs

More Citrus Recipes

Citrus gets many of us through the winter, here are a few other citrus recipes to brighten your spirits:

If you tried this recipe for the best orange almond cake (or any other recipe on my website), please leave a ⭐ star rating and let me know how it went in the comments below. I love hearing from you!

📖 Recipe