Recent Posts

Sunday, October 2, 2011

Orange & Almond Cake Recipe (gluten-free)

I have thoroughly enjoyed this orange cake recipe which I snagged from Delicious magazine last month.  I have altered it a little bit and also included a recipe for Mascarpone Vanilla Bean Custard...which is a great addition to this little cake, which I topped with candied kumquats.


Orange & Almond Cake

1 orange
3 eggs
100g sugar (I used organic rapadura sugar)
1 cup almond meal
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp vanilla extract
finely grated zest of 1 lemon

Place the orange in a small saucepan and cover with water and bring to a boil over medium-high heat.  Simmer the orange for one hour, topping up water as needed.  Drain, cool slightly and whiz in a food processor until a puree.

Preheat the oven to 180C/350F.
Beat the eggs and sugar until light and fluffy.  Stir in the zest, vanilla, baking powder and almond meal, then add orange puree, stirring to combine.  Pour the batter into muffin tins, ramekins or a cake tin.  Bake 12-15 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean.

Mascarpone Vanilla Bean Custard


Making a base custard and adding to it has become one of my favorite recipes, this compliments all kinds of desserts and can so easily be flavored however you like.  It is also perfect to use for cake filling, pies, crumbles, parfaits and is also delicious right out of the bowl!

4 egg yolks
1/4 cup sugar (or a little more if you want it sweeter)
1 vanilla bean
1 tablespoon cornstarch
3/4 cup milk
1/2 cup mascarpone cream
1 cup whipped cream (optional)

Place milk and vanilla bean (scraped) in a small saucepan on low heat.  Meanwhile whisk together the egg yolks, sugar and cornstarch.  Once the milk is hot, just before boil, strain it into the bowl with eggs.  Whisk together and put back in the pan over low heat.  Stir constantly until the custard begins to thicken and starts to boil.  Lower heat and stir quickly until thick and creamy.  Then remove from heat and let cool before placing in the fridge.

Once custard has cooled, whisk in the mascarpone and then fold in the whipped cream if you want a lighter texture.  Then you can add any additional flavors you want, such as lemon, berry liquors, cinnamon, etc.

Enjoy!

0 comments:

Post a Comment