Orange cranberry cake (1)

Conscious that most of my baking efforts have been lemon/lime based, when I saw fresh cranberries available at the local supermarket, I got a couple of boxes and picked up some clementines as well to make a festive orange cranberry cake.

Ingredients

5 small (or 2 medium) easy peeler oranges
zest of 2 clementines
3 large free-range eggs
1 cup (250g) demerara sugar
3 C (300g) almond flour
1 tsp baking powder

¼ C fresh orange juice

2 C fresh cranberries

Method

1. Put the oranges in a small pot and cover with cold water. Bring to a boil over medium heat and cook for 15 minutes. Drain and then cover the oranges with cold water again and boil for another 15 minutes. Drain and rinse with cold water and let cool till the oranges can be cut without burning your hands. Coarsely chop the oranges and remove any seeds.
2. Using a hand blender (or food processor), blitz the chopped oranges until smooth. Add in the clementine zest and blitz till mixed.
3. In a large bowl, use an electric mixer and beat the eggs and sugar together until the mix thickens.
4. Gently fold in the orange mix.
5. Mix in the almond flour and baking powder. Let the mixture sit for 30-60 minutes.
6. Mix in the orange juice and whisk for 1 minute till the liquid is fully absorbed.
7. Fold in half of the cranberries.
8. Preheat the oven to 170°C. Prepare a round 9" silicone pan / springform pan.
9. Pour mixture into the prepared pan and sprinkle the rest of the cranberries over the top of the batter.
10. Tap the pan on the counter a few times to release any air pockets. This ensures the cake will bake flat.
11. Bake for 1 hour or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Let it cool completely in the pan turning it out of the pan and cutting.

To be honest, I was a bit nervous about this cake. I don't think I've ever had a cake like this and didn't know what to expect. I was slightly worried that the orange, with all the peels and zest, would leave the cake bitter. I tasted the batter throughout the mixing process and thought I got the balance right, but one never knows. I also wasn't sure that the cake, in the absence of additional oils, would be moist enough. I added in ¼ cup of fresh orange juice in the hope that it would be.

And the verdict... it was one of the nicest cakes I've ever made! It turned out of the pan easy enough (very little stuck to the bottom of the pan, a reward for patiently letting the cake cool for over 12 hours) and it looked beautiful on the plate. 

Taste wise, the almond flour with the orange and zest mix produced a seriously moist cake (the juice must have helped!), and the tartness from the cranberry off-set the sweetness and was nicely balanced. If there's one thing I'd contemplate tweaking, it's using more cranberries, not much, just perhaps ¼ cup more. Then perhaps it will be the perfect cake.

Husband was eager to tuck in a slice after dinner. We brewed two mugs of green tea with orange and lotus flower. The perfect way to end a meal.